Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. Our headlines today too late to leave Emergency Services in parts of southern australia say its no longer safe for some to evacuate and predict a day of extreme danger. The search for father of four and firefighter Anthony Knott. Hes now been missing for 10 days. Retail in crisis more than 60 high street shops a day closed this year, a sharp increase on the year before. But is there still hope for our high streets . Ill take a look. Halfway through the premier League Season and liverpool are 13 points clear at the top. Sadio mane scores as his side beat wolves 1 0 amidst var controversy at anfield. Good morning. You have sent in some gorgeous sunset pictures from last night and we love seeing them. This one is of darlington, sent in by chris. Keep them coming watch out for some patchy mist and fog first thing to much of england and wales, dry though, and scotland and Northern Ireland, you have some rain. More in 15 minutes. Its monday the 30th of december. Our top story Emergency Services in parts of southern australia have said its now too late for people in the path of wildfires to evacuate. Yesterday, tens of thousands of residents and tourists were told to leave due to worsening conditions. Officials are predicting a day of extreme danger with soaring temperatures, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction. Lets get the latest now from our reporter shaimaa khalil, whos in sydney. Shaimaa, a crisis showing no sign of abating. It sounds like an extremely dangerous situation for many. It sounds like an extremely dangerous situation for manym it sounds like an extremely dangerous situation for many. It is, and injust dangerous situation for many. It is, and in just the last hour or dangerous situation for many. It is, and injust the last hour or so, there has been an emergency warning issued for an out of control bushfire in an area, neighbourhood threatening the north of the city of melbourne, so really close to one of the major cities in victoria. All in all we understand ii the major cities in victoria. All in all we understand 11 emergency fire warnings have been issued in the state of victoria and the area under the greatest threat is on the east coast of that state in the area of east gippsland. We have seen people told to evacuate the area but as of a few hours ago authorities have said that now it is too late to evacuate, because a huge chunk of the main highway which is the only way in and out of the area has been closed so now people are told to ta ke closed so now people are told to take shelter where they can in their homes, take shelter in areas where there are water surfaces which, in itself, is tricky because of the drought, so yes, the extreme danger continues in victoria as the firefighters continue to fight those out of control blazes. Thank you for bringing us right up to date. Lets speak to lucie morris marr, who was in metung in victoria on a family holiday. She was evacuated from her hotel with her husband and two children. Lucie, thank you for talking to us on bbc breakfast this morning, so tell us a little bit, how were you told you needed to evacuate . Tell us a little bit, how were you told you needed to evacuate . M tell us a little bit, how were you told you needed to evacuate . It was surreal, actually, we were on the beach on sunday afternoon and we got Text Messages saying to evacuate and at that point everything seemed calm and did not seem urgent and all of the locals and the hoteliers and shopkeepers thought it was business as usual and so we were getting these messages but the locals did not seem alarmed over sometime it was like what should we do because eve ryo ne was like what should we do because everyone was on holiday and it was the equivalent really of asking cornwall believe on bank holiday in august. You can imagine the upheaval and no one wants to go but the State Government urged and the police and firefighters all saying you must leave because today as it turned out it was over a0 degrees, it was windy, it was a perfect storm fires in australia and am very relieved we did leave the area in the end. 0bviously, lucie, having the discussion with the family and husband than other people, 30,000 people like yourself are on holiday and many people are making the decision not to go. Absolutely, so as we left this morning it was about half past five in the morning and i spoke to another family who said we live six hours away and we have paid for the whole week that we think we will be ok and where we were was a la ke will be ok and where we were was a lake village and it is beautiful la ke area lake village and it is Beautiful Lake area with beaches and you sort of think you are safe with water but a lot of journalists of think you are safe with water but a lot ofjournalists have covered bushfires here in victoria and about three years ago there was a fire that ripped through a coastal town andi that ripped through a coastal town and i was the first to get there and it was devastating so i have the experience of saying just being near water does not mean we are immune. In these circumstances, the winds of this heat, it is unpredictable fire behaviour and it can leap down roads and beaches and so it is best to leave. Were looking at pictures now. I wonder what it has been like for your children, they are and ii . Thats right, actually as we came to oui thats right, actually as we came to our new accommodation they are nine and ii. Our new accommodation they are nine and 11. As we come into our accommodation, my son sat and did a painting and he called the last three and it was a tree with fire all around it and it sinks into children that the panic is there and thatis children that the panic is there and that is why we think we need to take them out of the circumstances and a lot of people talking about it on their phones and children pick up on this, iam their phones and children pick up on this, i am a mother and even though i was this, i am a mother and even though iwasa this, i am a mother and even though i was a journalist but with my own children i had to leave. Thank you very much for talking to us about that, lucie is one of many with her husband and two children who have, i suppose, followed the guidelines to evacuate but 30,000 people on holiday in that part of australia and many choosing, as lucie was saying, to stay where they are but really terrifying conditions over the next few hours and days. We will keep you up to date with that of course on bbc breakfast and on the news channel as well. The mayor of new york has announced a series of measures to tackle what he calls a crisis of anti semitic attacks. It comes after five people were injured in a knife attack at a rabbis house in new york state on saturday. Bill de blasio said security will be stepped up injewish areas and changes to the curriculum will be made to teach students how to tackle hate crimes. A man who opened fire during a Church Service in texas has been shot dead by members of the congregation. The gunman killed two people at the church in fort worth before two worshippers returned fire. Police say they are still trying to determine the attackers motives. Rebecca long bailey says shes considering standing to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the labour party. Writing in the guardian, the shadow business secretary says labours compromise solution on brexit and a lack of trust among voters was partly to blame for its election defeat. More than 60 high street shops a day closed their doors for the final time this year, according to new figures. The centre for Retail Research found just over 16,000 stores were shut, with large retailers the worst affected. The centre also predicts that the rate of shop closures will increase next year. Those are some of the main stories around this morning but lets return to another one making the headlines today. Police in sussex are into the tenth day of searching for a father of four who disappeared after a night out with friends. Firefighter Anthony Knott hasnt been seen since the 20th of december. His fiancee says she feels numb, not knowing whats happened to him. Jon ironmonger reports. Ten days gone and Anthony Knotts disappearance remains a total mystery. A firefighter with the london fire brigade, the 33 year old went missing during a work night out in the lewes in sussex on the 20th of december and he had been to various pubs in the town and was last seen leaving the lamb just after seven p. M. He is a family man, he loves hisjob, he loves his friends, he loves his kids, his christmas, this is not something he would intentionally do, he would not wa nt to would intentionally do, he would not want to stay away so thats why we are want to stay away so thats why we a re extra want to stay away so thats why we are extra worried because its. It is just not like are extra worried because its. It isjust not like him. And we are thinking. Werejust the isjust not like him. And we are thinking. Were just the worst. Such teams have scoured the nearby river which was flooded in recent days but have found nothing. Police say there is no evidence to suggest anthony has left the town or that his disappearance was the result of criminal activity. They have now released the cctv which shows him walking with a distinctive bounce in his step in the hope that he could jog his step in the hope that he could jog someones memory. The Emergency Services are expected to continue searching for their colleague this morning. Jon ironmonger, bbc news. Lets speak to detective inspectorjohn gillings, who joins us now from lewes Police Station. Good morning to you and thank you so much forjoining us and this is such a worrying time for the family. What are the current lines of enquiry you are the current lines of enquiry you are following . We are following a number of lines of enquiry at the moment. Today we will have searchers out on the ground again and we will have offices doing house to house in the vicinity of lamb and also cctv sweeps and trawls and we will have a tea m sweeps and trawls and we will have a team of detective at the Police Station assessing the cctv to see if it helps us in anyway a lead. And i know that you have said that when releasing the cctv that he had a distinctive walk so tell us a little bit about that because you are asking people if they perhaps recognise him. Yes, the family describe anthony as having a distinctive walk, they say he walks on the balls of his feet which leads into looking like he is bouncing along and he was also on the cctv rubbing his hands which we can see him doing with the pub itself early on in the evening. 0k, him doing with the pub itself early on in the evening. Ok, so we know that he left the pub that after that, i mean, is there any indication at all as to where he went . At present, no. We are focusing our search in the vicinity of the pals which is the direction he was last seen walking when he left the pub but obviously there is no additional cctv that shows him heading ina no additional cctv that shows him heading in a different direction, slightly later on at 20 to eight in the evening, so we are also focusing on enquiries around that, around cctv. And i know that some people have said that the floodwaters have made things difficult. Tell us about the impact of that. It has been challenging. But while we have been co ordinating the search we have certainly not been doing it on our own with fantastic support from the london fire brigade, east sussex fire and rescue and her majesties coastguard and a number of volunteer search groups who have allowed us to have enhanced specialist capacities we have deployed boats along the river and dogs and we have also used drones and helicopters to assist us in those harder to reach areas. We know he was expect to return that night, wasnt he, because his fiancee had to go to work and this just makes it so difficult in this situation forfamilies, just makes it so difficult in this situation for families, doesnt it, the not knowing what has happened after such a long period of time . Yeah, it must be horrendous for them and we are looking to support them, we have deployed specialist officers to liaise directly with the family and they can pass information from us and they can pass information from us to them and then from the family back to us. From the public, what do you really need from people . back to us. From the public, what do you really need from people . I mean, ijust want you really need from people . I mean, i just want to say the public has been absolutely fantastic with the level of engagement, coming to us with investigation information, helping us over the Christmas Period but at this point in time we do not wa nt but at this point in time we do not want them to become come down and be involved in any further searches. It is still a dangerous area with flood water, and we have specialist teams the concern is if the public come down and conduct their own searches they could get into difficulty so at present we are asking for information and if they have any cctv, view it, and if it is of use, contact east Sussex Police on 101. Thank you very much. Well get the weather from carol in a moment. But before we do, we want to show you a few photos of last nights sunset youve sent in. Tracy captured this shot of the skies over durham castle. Lilac kathryn took this beautiful photo of longshaw in the peak district. And judy snapped this moment in platfields park in manchester. Some of the colours are extraordinary i feel like i really missed out carol would know, she has more pictures, and the weather as well good morning to you two. Not only did we see some beautiful sunsets last night but were seeing beautiful sunrises for some of us this morning. A real variety of temperatures in the north, it is about 12 degrees in dalwhinnie and further south around gatwick in shortage, it is freezing orjust below. Some clear skies so we will see some sunshine today. Also cloud around with some rain moving across scotla nd around with some rain moving across scotland and also Northern Ireland and as it does that through the day, you will find it will start to weaken, getting across north west england later on in the day so running up in the far north where it will be breezy. I had to be there is patchy mist and to watch out for. Bits and pieces cloud around. If you started off with sunny skies, the chances are you will hang onto them through the course of the day. Temperatures not bad for this stage in december, eight in the north, 12 in the south. Through this evening and overnight the weather front producing the rain will continue to sink south, initially having some spots of rain on it but then it will wea ken spots of rain on it but then it will weaken and be not much more in a band of cloud so a cloudy night across wales, southern england, but pushing northwards to the north midland, northern england, Northern Ireland and scotland, clear skies, a colder night, colder than the one that has just gone. As we head into new years eve, or hogmanay for some of us, you see we start off with sunshine and a nippy start. Any mist and fog form should lift. Then the cloud across the south west through southern counties, through the midlands, also wales and Northern Ireland. Likely to see a few spots of rain coming across devon and cornwall and the Channel Islands and perhaps as far as does dorset but nothing too substantial. Temperature wise, eight in the north, four in edinburgh, ten as we pushed down towards plymouth. If you are staying up and maybe going out on new years eve, round about the midnight hour for many, on new years eve, round about the midnight hourfor many, it is going to be dry. Some clear skies and patchy fog across parts of eastern scotla nd patchy fog across parts of eastern scotland and north east england in particular but you can see how the cloud is building as we go through the course of the night. But really it should stay dry. Again for some of us under clear skies you will need to wrap up warmly but for many, it will not be too bad at all. During the day, new years day, we have this transient ridge of high pressure, whether from scooting across the far north of scotland and also here it is going to be quite breezy. To put the pictures on that, quite a cloudy day, and the cloud or thin and broken parts of some of us will see some brightness. Whether from scooting across the north bringing in some cloud, maybe the odd spot of rain, on the whole, foremost, it will a dry day. It is not going to be a cold day but temperatures will be lower than they have been so were looking at seven in the north to ten in plymouth, also in stornoway. As we head into the early part of new year of 2020, a new decade, mainly dry with some rain in the north west, colder, overnight mist and fog but if you are travelling on thursday and you are travelling on thursday and you are in the north of scotland, expect some severe gales and they could tra nsfer some severe gales and they could transfer into the central belt later in the day. Cannot believe it. The new decade has taken me by surprise. It has got you out a bit. 0bviously it has got you out a bit. Obviously it shouldnt have. Thank you for your lovely pictures you have been sending in as well. 0ne you have been sending in as well. One thing to talk about which is 1 million miles away from those lovely pink is is it has been a very tough yearfor pink is is it has been a very tough year for the pink is is it has been a very tough yearfor the high pink is is it has been a very tough year for the high street. Pink is is it has been a very tough yearfor the high street. We have talked about big names closing down. The sheer numbers of close names who had to close the doors last year. We finally got some official figures that really make it really clear how difficult it has been. It is notjust Big Chain Stores we have talked about, but a lot of independent firms as well. The centre for Retail Research have been logging which stores have gone, theyve crunched the figures and this is what theyve found. More than 16,000 shops pulled down their shutters for the final time this year thats about 61 shops every working day. Its a rise of almost 1,500 from the number of stores that closed in 2018. That was a bad year. The situation was particularly bad for the large retailers, the likes of debenhams and mothercare. They closed almost 6,000 shops, up 80 on last year. Just over 10,000 independent retailers also closed in the same period. What is actually going on . Joshua bamfield is a director at the centre for Retail Research and joins me from leeds now. Look at these figures, it is pretty stark. It gives us a sense of how tough it is. It is the same problems. Yes, that is right. It is weak consumer demand, high business costs, high Business Rates and competition from online retailers. Given that, it is hoped this trend will be reversed. We see all the big names disappearing. Will see them come back with two it is very difficult to come back if Business Rates and occupancy costs remain at the present level. We are suggesting in this report that the government should look very quickly at reducing Business Rates so that companies who are ina Business Rates so that companies who are in a decent situation are able to survive and revive if they are in difficulties. But probably in 2020 there is going to be an improvement in consumerspending, there is going to be an improvement in consumer spending, which will obviously aide retailers. But the issue i think is very much about ensuring that all types of retailer pay the same and equal amount of Business Rates and corporate taxation. That is going to give a lot of help to retailers. Lets talk about some specifics. Business rates in Consumer Confidence you might say are out of the hands of retailers except by government and dependent on how we are all feeling on the economy. Lets talk about individual things that might change, and this is about rethinking what a high street is. Should i high street be just about shops or should it be about the community, somewhere where we go from coffee, a haircut, a cinema, a barand we go from coffee, a haircut, a cinema, a bar and we we go from coffee, a haircut, a cinema, a barand we might we go from coffee, a haircut, a cinema, a bar and we might spend we go from coffee, a haircut, a cinema, a barand we might spend in a shop . The high street has got to become an entertainment and area of interest as well as shops, but without shops, people are going to venture into the high street twice a week in orderto venture into the high street twice a week in order to see a fashion parade one day and play a video game the next. It is not a matter of alternatives. It is a matter of how to ensure that the high street provides services for all their citizens and the local community. The government has launched a number of initiatives over the years, the idea of injecting a bit of cash, may be making car parking cheaper, may be making car parking cheaper, may be cutting back on some of the best realisation that has meant that places are isolated. Are these schemes enough . We throw money at them, advice, help, offering retailers a bit of guidance, but nothing really seems to stem this tide of closures. That is absolutely right. I think every few months there is another great idea that people put into operation and then say, well, that was insufficient. What we need is long term Strategic Planning covering the high street, and involving spending that is going to occur over a five to eight year period rather than a comparatively small amount of money that will disappear into or three years. In addition i think we need to see multiples as an important part of the high street. The big giants, and they need support. The government has done a lot in the pre eminent governments have done a lot to help the smaller retailers, but now the larger retailers need help as well. If they asked to survive in the high street. Important point. Joshua, thank you for explaining that. At this time of year, we tend to look back at the year that has gone, and me remind you of some of the names that have disappeared. Here are some of them. It is easy to forget how quickly they disappear. They all pulled down the shutters for the last time on the high street in 2019 will do what will 2020 have in store . It could be a tough january according to some of the latest retail figures. We will talk about that in the new year i am sure. 0k, sure. Ok, then. Thank you. I have a card in my wallet. I used to love going to blockbuster. No blockbuster. Well, yes. Last night was a fascinating match again because of the video assistant referee. Liverpool look like they are flying at the moment. The 17th consecutive home leg at the moment. The halfway stage. Exactly. Well is not happy after last night was that much. Will. Liverpool will end 2019 top of the premier league. Theyll take some catching now after restoring their 13 point advantage with a 1 0 win over wolves. Not for the first time this season, the video assistant referee had a big influence. It overturned referee anthony taylors decision to disallow sadio manes goal for handball by adam lallana. Wolves then thought they had scored an equaliser soon after, but pedro netos goal was ruled out because jonnys foot was offside in the build up. Look at how close that is. Dont get clarification of what is happening, they dont tell you is going on. How offside, we dont know. We need to check. We dont know. It is tough to take. It has happened to us now the last two games. We have to play the best two teams in the world in three days. The decision in the decision are happening against us so it is hard to take. Manchester city beat Sheffield United 2 0 at the etihad. The goals came from Sergio Aguero and kevin de bruyne. City are third in the table, 1a points behind liverpool, and have played a game more. Chelsea had a stunning comeback to beat arsenal 2 1. The gunners were 1 0 up with less than ten minutes to go at the emirates when chelsea struck throuthorginho and tammy abraham. David moyes has returned to west ham to manage the club for a second time. Moyes kept the hammers in the premier League Last Season during six months as caretaker manager at the club. Hes replaced manuel pellegrini, who was sacked after saturdays home defeat by leicester. Rangers won at celtic for the First Time Since 2010, beating them 2 1 at celtic park in the scottish premiership. Nikola katic scored the winner in the second half of a typically explosive match. Rangers are now two points behind celtic and have a game in hand. Steven gerrards side havent lost in the league since celtic beat them in september. You can see how much it meant to him. Michael van gerwen is a step closer to successfully defending his title at the world darts championship. Hes through to the semifinals at Alexandra Palace after beating Darius Labanauskas 5 sets to 2. Van gerwen now faces englands nathan aspinall. Peter wright plays gerwyn price in todays other semi. And after her success at the world championships, Fallon Sherrock will be the first women play in the world series of darts next year. We look forward to seeing her. Great news. Isnt it . It is so nice to see her profile rising and bringing more attention to the womens game. She has been brilliant the last few weeks. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. We will be back with the major headlines injust a we will be back with the major headlines in just a few minutes time. Good morning from bbc london. Two teenagers are in hospital after a double shooting in walthamstow last night. Heres greg mckenzie. The police were called here to st james s street just the police were called here to st james s streetjust after 10 30pm last night the reports of gunfire. When they arrived they discovered an 18 year old who had been shot altered by a 17 year old who also had been stabbed and shot. Both are currently recovering in hospital. 0ne currently recovering in hospital. One is said to be in a critical condition. The police are continuing to appealfor condition. The police are continuing to appeal for witnesses this morning. The mayor of london sadiq khan says parts of north london will see more Police Patrols today after anti semitic graffiti appeared on a synagogue and shop fronts. The graffiti appeared in the hampstead area and belsize park. Scotland yard say they are treating the incident as racially motivated. Covent garden will host a series of performances today, which will give a sneak preview of this weeks new years day parade. Three us marching bands will bejoined by samba dancers, mexican folk singers and britains got talent stars. The parade on wednesday will see more than 8,000 performers from numerous countries from all around the world. The strike on South Western Railway enters its final week today. Rmt members have been on strike since the beginning of december. The action is likely to affect new years eve events. The dispute is over the role of guards. Lets take a look at the travel situation now. No major problems on the tube at the moment. 0n the trains, Great Western are operating a reduced and amended timetable due to major Engineering Work between paddington and slough and heathrow airport. 0n the roads, this is the approach to the blackwall tunnel. Busy but moving from greenwich. In walthamstow, the shooting we mentioned earlier has meant st james street is closed in both directions between coppermill lane and st james mews. In kidbrooke, kidbrooke park road is closed southbound between why gall road and cambert way due to water mains repairs. Now, the weather with gill brown. Hello there. Good morning. Its been a cloudy couple of days, but today i think we should see some sunny spells and some brightness. Were holding onto a lot of that cloud, but we are also going to still keep those mild temperatures. So, this is the scene as we start the day this morning. Quite a cloudy commute, i think, for most until we start to see cloud thin and break and some brighter spells coming through as we look to the afternoon. The temperatures still very mild for this time of year, up to 11 or 12 degrees. So, into this evening, again, were holding onto that cloud for quite some time, really. I think we will have some clear periods through the evening and into the early hours, but it is going to stay fairly overcast and grey. We might see temperatures drop away to around 2 or 3 degrees celsius. Over the next couple of days as we look ahead to new years eve, we are holding on to those mild temperatures, but we are always going to keep those clear skies. If you are out seeing some fireworks, you should see have clear skies to do just that as we look towards 2020. Thats it. If you are heading out, have a lovely morning. Im back in half an hour. Hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. Heres a summary of this mornings main stories from bbc news. Emergency services in parts of southern australia have said its now too late for people in the path of wildfires to evacuate. Yesterday, tens of thousands of residents and tourists were told to leave due to worsening conditions. Officials are predicting a day of extreme danger with soaring temperatures, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction. Earlier we spoke to lucie morris marr, who was evacuated from her hotel in victoria whilst on a family holiday. Leavers we were on the beach on sunday afternoon here and we got these leavers we were on the beach on sunday afternoon here and we got these Text Messages saying to evacuate and of course about point everything seemed calm and it did not seem urgent handle of the locals and the hoteliers and shopkeepers but it was business as usual and so we we re but it was business as usual and so we were getting these messages but the locals did not send alarm so for some time with your thinking what shall we do and everyone is on holiday and it was equivalent really of asking cornwall to leave on bank holiday in august. Police in sussex are into the tenth day of searching for a father of four who disappeared after a night out with friends. Firefighter Anthony Knott hasnt been seen since the 20th of december. Sussex police have released new cctv footage and say they hope the distinctive bouncy way he walks mayjog someones memory