This is bbc news. Im ben brown. The headlines. A momentous day in the global fight against coronavirus. 90 year old Maggie Keenan is the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Vaccine outside trials. The moment marks the start of the biggest Vaccination Campaign in the history of the nhs. Well have the latest on the roll out from across the uk, as hundreds follow margarets example. I say go for it. Go for it because its free and its the best thing thats ever happened. Please go for it, thats all i say, you know . If i can do it, well, so can you. Ijust urge people to contain their impatience. Its a very, very exciting moment, but theres still a lot of work
to be done and a lot of discipline to be maintained. After months of disruption for schools and their pupils, the Scottish Government says next years higher and advanced higher exams will be cancelled. We will adopt the new model that has been developed and base awards on teacher judgement of evidence of learner attainment. This is safe, it is fair and it better recognises the reality of the disruption. No news on a trade deal, but the uk and eu have reached agreement on how rules in the brexit withdrawal deal in the brexit withdrawal deal will be implemented, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland. Rugby world cup winner Steve Thompson and seven other former players are to take legal action, claiming the sport has left them with permanent brain damage. A service is under way at st pauls cathedral to mark the end a service is underway at st pauls cathedral to mark the end of National Grief awareness week
and remember those whove lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic. Hello. Its being called v day, the long awaited start of the uks Vaccination Programme. At half past six this morning at a hospital in coventry, 90 year old Maggie Keenan made history when she became the first person in the uk to be given a Coronavirus Vaccine outside a clinical trial, and that wasjust the beginning. In the hours since then, hundreds more people have been given the jab as the National Health services biggest Vaccination Campaign gets underway. Borisjohnson has thanked Health Workers and scientists, but urged the public to remain cautious. Uk has an initial supply of 800,000 vaccines to be given over the next
few weeks to people on the high priority list, including the over 80s, care home workers and nhs staff. 50 hospitals in england have been chosen as vaccination hubs, sites where the jab will be administered. In scotland, there will be 23 vaccination sites, including all major hospitals and in the highlands. The Welsh Government is promising to administer 6,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of this week. And in Northern Ireland, where theres currently a two week lockdown, 25,000 doses of the vaccine have arrived. The firstjab has was administered in belfast to a 28 year old nurse. This report is from our Health Correspondent sophie hutchinson, and a warning it contains flashing images. 90 year old Margaret Keenan, being prepared for her Coronavirus Vaccine this morning. A modest scene at this hospital in coventry, yet one on which rests the hope,
notjust of a nation, but also much of the world, to finally free ourselves from the virus. And it felt good. All done. Cheering and applause. It was fine, i wasnt nervous at all. It was really good. Id say go for it. Go for it, because its free and its the best thing thats ever happened. At the moment. So, please do go for it. Thats all i say, you know . If i can do it, so can you. And becoming the first person to receive the jab in the uks Vaccination Programme attracted quite the crowd, to the amazement of the nurse who administered it. I do this all the time, i have done hundreds of vaccinations but never with such interest and people wanting to know whats going on and wanting to actually witness it. So, it was really surreal. From nurses in belfast to 90 year olds in bristol, the Vaccination Programme was rolled out across all parts of the uk today. And for those who were behind it, it was a landmark moment. It was really, really emotional. I cannot tell you just how much emotion there was in that vaccination centre. This is a truly historic day, a turning point in this pandemic, another world first for the nhs, the start of the largest Vaccination Programme in our history. And to see the roll out, the Prime Minister returned to St Thomas Hospital in london where several months back, he had been treated for coronavirus. Latest figures from the office for National Statistics suggest deaths of a 20 above average in the last week of november, and mrjohnson stressed the need for caution. I urge people to contain their impatience. It is a very, very exciting moment
but theres still a lot of work to be done and a lot of discipline to be maintained. Cheering and applause. I think i will have a little rest after this when i go to the ward, and then ill phone my family. Im going home this afternoon. So, thats it, then. And the hospital, are really. They were wonderful. I am going to miss them, really. All the attention i have been getting. But margaret will be back in just 21 days for her second injection. That will give her the full protection and, by the end of the year, millions of other elderly people and Health Care Workers will also be given the jab, perhaps the best possible gift this winter. Sophie hutchinson, bbc news. Great scenes there. Professor martin marshall
is 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 theyre ready . I do think so. Its 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. Theres 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. Its 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. Thats
right, for a number of reasons. It needs to be stored at very, very cold temperatures, and what you take it out of that situation, it has a limited life so a limited period of time between taking it out and getting it into the patients who needed to. Also because it has a very large supply it comes in bars of five, so when you go out into of individual care homes or homes, you have to be careful not to waste any. You need to be careful its used effectively in the prioritised people, which is the over 80s and the first instance. Just talk to us about the priority list. Are you happy with it, the way the different priorities of age and so on have been set out . Yes, we are happy with it. Its guidance produced by the joint committee on vaccinations and immunisations, a very experienced group. They were driven by the research and evidence and look at what are the highest risk factors. Weve asked some hard questions about where people perhaps were younger that had pre existing conditions might fit in or where people from black, asian or minority ethnic populations might come in. What weve been told based on the evidence is h is the most important factor, the highest risk factor age is the most important factor. Therefore, its entirely inappropriate that the over 80s on the first group entirely appropriate. Thatll be into the new year. Its going to be a great day when its finished. Martin, thank you very much indeed. Good luck to you very much indeed. Good luck to you and all the gps around the uk who are going to be given the vaccine in the coming weeks. Theres also been promising news on another of the leading vaccines. The makers of the oxford vaccine have become the first in the world to publish final stage trial results in a scientificjournal. A study in the lancet confirms
that the astrazeneca jab works in an average of 70 of cases. The paper, assessed by independent scientists, sets out full results from advanced trials of over 20,000 people. Regulators, who will have seen the same data, are considering the jab for emergency use. With me is professor sarah gilbert, who has been leading the oxford vaccine team. Thank you so much for being with us, professor. I know youre incredibly busy. What can you tell us, how would you some of these results in the lancet in terms of translating them for our viewers out there . Good afternoon. So, we havent produced any more data that was published in the efficacy results that were announced a little while ago, but what we are now doing is providing a lot more information about the trials, how they were run, the number of people and the safety analysis in more than 23,000 people. And how that contributed to the success meant of safety and efficacy that weve now been able to publish in full today. So, we have the full details of the Statistical Analysis agreed by regulators, which determines how we worked out how effective the vaccine is. We also have been able to publish the fact that from 21 days after the first dose, nobody was vaccinated would have to be admitted to hospital with covid or have severe covid disease, which is really important as well. When he first came out with the data, there were some questions about the figures when you first. The average of 70 was based on a half dose followed by a full dose found to be 90 effective and some people are saying it was a relatively small trial. What more can you tell us about that . The data we have in the paper is still the same numbers, and we had to meet
with the regulators agree with the regulators that both groups would be in the efficacy analysis. We were seeing differences and efficacy which were unexpected. Theres also difference in the efficacy against asymptomatic infection, which was monitored from people who are taking weekly swabs and sending them in. Even if they had no symptoms, we were finding out who was having asymptomatic infections and half those folders vaccinations have great efficacy in that group is welcome, so we do think it is a realfinding and we need to do some more work to understand exactly why were seeing these differences. And in terms of when you might get Regulatory Approvalfor the when you might get Regulatory Approval for the oxford vaccine, what are your thoughts on that . Are we talking days, weeks . |j what are your thoughts on that . Are we talking days, weeks . I dont think days. We still have to, our
partners still have to complete the final immunology submissions to regulators. But then its over to the regulators to make the decisions, so its being submitted to the regulators of this country and also in brazil, where some of the trials are being conducted. It will then be assessed by the who, and theres also a trials sponsored by astrazeneca in the us. So there will be a lot of news coming out im sure in the coming months, im not sure in the coming months, im not sure exactly the timeline for any of those approval. So, you arent sure that we would see the oxford vaccine being given to anybody this year . Its still a possibility, but we cant know that with any certainty. Just seeing the Pfizer Vaccine being given today, obviously, the world and this country need as many vaccines as possible. It isnt a race in the sense that not one winner, we need all these vaccines. Absolutely, we need to have multiple vaccines to protect people all around the world. No one vaccine manufacturer is going to be able to make enough doses to protect everybody. Astrazeneca are willing to make 3 billion doses by the end of next year, but thats not enough on its own. Were going to need the doses from other companies as well, and its very good news that different technologies are proving to be safe and effective because that gives us a better chance of being able to make large amounts of doses and if only that if only one technology was working. We hope to see the roll out of more vaccine because what really, really need to protect people is to help large rumbles of people vaccinated. Large numbers. Your vaccine is simpler in many ways. The logistics, the oxford vaccine is much simpler. Yes, its stored in a normalfridge. That makes it a lot more simple for
clinics to use. Its stored in the same way most vaccines are stored, atli same way most vaccines are stored, at 4 degrees, and it doesnt need to be at low temperature storage. Its also cheaper, which is going to be particularly of interest to low Income Countries which we hope will be able to provide a large number of doses. Which means it can actually get to people. Great to talk to you. Ill let you get back to work. Sarah gilbert, thank you so much. The headlines on bbc news. A historic day in the global fight against coronavirus. 90 year old Margaret Keenan is the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Vaccine outside trials. After months of disruption for schools and their pupils, the Scottish Government says next years higher and advanced higher exams will be cancelled. No news on a trade deal, but the uk and eu have reached agreement on how rules in the brexit
withdrawal deal will be implemented, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland. The latest official figures show there were 12,282 new Coronavirus Infection recorded in the latest 24 hour period. And 616 deaths were reported thats of people who have died within 28 days of a positive covid i9 test. That brings the total number of deaths across the uk to 62,033. All 11 areas living under scotlands toughest level four coronavirus restrictions are to be downgraded to level three. The changes, which will take place from friday, will allow nonessential retail and hospitality to reopen, two weeks ahead of christmas. The first minister Nicola Sturgeon said prevalence of the virus has fallen significantly in all 11 areas in west and Central Scotland in level four,
but warned against complacency. Over the past three weeks, 11 local Authority Areas have been under the very severe level four restrictions. I am pleased to say that prevalence in all 11 of these areas has fallen significantly. For example, in the week to friday the 13th of november, glasgow recorded 281 new covid cases for every 100,000 people in its population, by friday, the 4th of december, that number had fallen to 150. In the east, case numbers per 100,000 of the population have more than halved from 224 to 104, and in both north and South Lanarkshire case numbers have fallen by well over a third. The following infection rates in these areas, which of course of the most highly populated in the country, have contributed to an improvement in the situation across scotland as a whole. The Scottish Government has announced it is cancelling next years higher and advanced higher
exams. The Scottish Education secretary john swinney made the announcement this afternoon in the scottish parliament. Im therefore announcing today that there will be no higher or advanced higher exams in 2021. Instead, we will adopt a new model that has been developed and base awards on teacher judgement and evidence of learner attainment. This is safe, it is fair, and it better recognises the reality of the disruption so many pupils have had to their learning in the course of the fact the last few months. Ive taken action previously to support schools to respond to covid with additional investment of £135 million, which includes the recruitment of more than 1400 additional teachers and temporarily suspended inspections. However, an acknowledgement of the additional workload of assessment of National Qualifications in this unique Academic Year in the absence of exams, i intend to make an exceptional one off payment to teachers
and lecturers who are critical in assessing and Marking National five, higher and advanced higher courses this year. The uk government has confirmed it will take out controversial parts of its internal market bill after hammering out a deal a deal with the European Union 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 Shefcovic 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 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels. Agreement there, and that presumably does it improve mood music in terms of the wider trade deal that is
still really on a knife edge. Good evening. It certainly is an obviously because this is brexit, there are so many twists and turns. Hour by hour, we get highs and lows. Earlier in the afternoon when this was announced, this was welcomed by a lot of people, particularly the irish government, saying this was a good thing that gave momentum to the wider trade talks. The fact that agreement had been reached on the divorce deal, but we heard earlier today that Michel Barnier told european many ministers from the 27 Member States that his assessment was the mood was moving towards their being no trade deal for december 31st. Clearly, people their being no trade deal for december31st. Clearly, people are hoping to get a deal. Things are moving in the wrong direction, so that was really a reality check that even though agreement had been reached between the eu and the uk on the divorce deal and it was welcomed by everyone here, that the uk was withdrawing this threat to break the
law and override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement. It doesnt necessarily translate to an eminent breakthrough by a long way on the wider trade talks. Stay with us, because were just going to have a quick listen to michael gove, has been reacting this afternoon to this agreement. He was asked what had been agreed today and why special revisions are required from Northern Ireland . The only land border is on the island of ireland. We seem real gained maids through the peace process. It was. From unionist to ensure that we could safeguard these process but also make sure that Northern Ireland s businesses could benefit from the strength of the uk internal market. Thats what this agreement does. The remaining people throughout this process who said it would be impossible to provide Northern Ireland s businesses with a secure
Northern Ireland s businesses with a secure place within the uk internal market and also access through the absence of a hard border to ireland and to the eu Single Market. That is what we have done in ha rd market. That is what we have done in hard negotiation with the European Union, and its a success for the people of Northern Ireland. In order to get what you want today, we had to get what you want today, we had to make an extra ordinary. Just a year ago today, you said they were dropping those causes but push the negotiations to the brink. Was it worth that hassle . Didnt make any difference to have done that . Absolutely. We need to make sure that if we didnt secure agreement on these important questions, that we reserved the right. To safeguard Northern Ireland s position within the United Kingdom. That was always out the United Kingdom. That was always ouraim, to say the United Kingdom. That was always our aim, to say court the territory of our country to safeguard our country. Weve been able to make
progress with the eu and i really wa nt progress with the eu and i really want to thank the Commission Vice president , who is the joint chairman of the joint committee, working together. We worked through the detail in the way which ensures that we no longer need to proceed with these clauses because we can be confident that Northern Ireland s position within the United Kingdom a secure, position within the United Kingdom a secure, even as position within the United Kingdom a secure, even as Northern Ireland s access to the Single Market is also secure. Access to the Single Market is also secure. Where are we on the brexit negotiations for a trade deal tonight . Do think there will a deal . The Prime Minister has our way obviously been to brussels and we hope they will be on the eu side. I think its critically important to recognise we voted to maintain control of our borders, of our waters, of our taxes. We have to ensure that those deadlines, those principles of independence and
sovereignty, are respected by the eu side. I hope that the eu will recognise that. A deal all of our interests, but. Not ideal at any price is the message. Just listening to michael gove, he said it was the right thing to do to introduce these controversial clauses. This safety net was the phrase that was used, saying it was important to safeguard the internal market, that trade would be able to move free between different parts of the United Kingdom. Ive got to tell you, they say that had a profound effects on the talks. In terms of the trust between the United Kingdom and the eu. London may deny that, but if you talk to diplomats here, they say after that point, they looked to the people they were negotiating with and thought, what are we to make of
the United Kingdom making this threat to rip up parts of the agreement . Threatening to go against parts against International Law . And you here and now in internal test internal discussions. You do hear some Member States saying look what theyve threatened to do here, how do we know we wont do it again . Of course, thats something london would deny. I think also, another thing to stress is what mr gove was a saying is that the eu has to move, have to fundamentally recognise that the uk has left the European Union and is now under the sovereign independent country, and he would say the eu has to change his position. The problem there is that the eu would say almost a parallel thing, saying the uk needs to. If it wa nts thing, saying the uk needs to. If it wants this special access to the Single Market of 450 million people, and asked to agree to some common standards, and asked to be willing
to give guarantees that it wont undercut european businesses. London would say that is tying the country to eu Apron Strings forever and ever, and that simply cannot be the case. Its really hard at this point to see how theyre going to square that, how theyre going to reconcile this very difficult position. Nick, good to have you with us. Thank you for taking us through all of that. Louise haigh is a labour mp and shadow Northern Ireland secretary. She joins us now from westminster. Thanks very much for being with us. Do you welcome this agreement between the uk and the eu . This deal on the implementation of the brexit Withdrawal Agreement . What are your thoughts on what that means for the irish border . Yellow of course we welcome a step back from the
it was always going to be the case that agreement would need to be reached through the joint committee. Unfortunately, over the last few months, the threats to rip up our International Treaties and agreements have really fractured trust with the European Union and squandered time and left Northern Ireland s businesses without the time to be able to implement the protocol from the 1st ofjanuary. The fact is the transition period will end on the 1st ofjanuary, and because the government has wasted this time and approached the negotiations as such reckless in such a reckless manner, they havent been able to implement those systems. That will have a profound effect on trade within the uk, and as michael gove said, Northern Ireland needs access to the uk internal market but this is not the story for that. It will end up with disruption on the border on the 5th
of january. Disruption on the border on the 5th ofjanuary. In terms of a trade deal, as weve heard, its still on a knife edge. A trade deal between the uk and the eu. Michael gove was saying its in all our interests, but they eu uk want to do a deal for any price. Obviously, its in the interest of Northern Ireland and the interest of Northern Ireland and the entire uk. Businesses, consumers and workers to secure a deal. There isa and workers to secure a deal. There is a price to not securing a deal. The office of budget responsibility said it could put £40 billion of our gdp alone when businesses in the economy are reeling from the impact of the covid pandemic. The very last thing we need at the moment is no deal, so we hope this progress on agreement around the protocol s progress towards securing a deal more widely because we all need to see it and Northern Ireland needs to see it and Northern Ireland needs to see it. That a terrorist free deal in orderto see it. That a terrorist free deal in order to reduce any section of the border tariff three. We
actually want to see the government reach a deal and we will look at the detail. Its far preferable, whatever it looks like to a no deal scenario. Many thanks. With the number of deaths linked to coronavirus now over 60,000 in the uk, many bereaved families and friends will mourn loved ones this christmas. All day we have been marking the end of National Grief awareness week, and my colleaguejane hill is at st pauls cathedral jane. Thank you very much. That song is going on right now in st. Paul s cathedral in london. The dean of st. Pauls, who ive been talking to, said it was the First Special song theyve had since the covid pandemic
began in march. It is to mark the end of grief awareness week, as you say. At five oclock, the bells ring out to mark the start of a one minute s silence to remember all those who lost their lives in this most extraordinary and difficult year. At about 250 people were allowed into st pauls four, as you see, very much socially distanced evening. Ive been talking to people all afternoon here who have lost loved ones over the course of the pandemic. Some took coronavirus, some to other health issues, and it was striking, people telling me that they hoped that this ceremony, this song would be some sort of closure,
because they reminded me that as we all know, there have been not the sort of funerals that we might be used to, not the sort of commemorations for someones life that we might all want when we lose a loved one, and it is very striking the people ive spoken to who have said they have found that in particular very, very difficult because of all the limits on numbers and the social distancing rules around funerals, and they have found that really very, very hard to deal with. Ive been talking to the deans of st pauls, and i asked him what role he felt st pauls itself in the community had been able to play this year during the pandemic. St pauls has been around, as you know, for hundreds of years, and its always been a place for remembering, for grieving,
for expressing our sadness at those that weve lost. And so being a place where people can come to physically has been important, so people have come to light candles and to pray during a pandemic when weve been able to be open and weve continued praying for people here. But also finding ways to help people who are outside the cathedral also to remember and to grieve. And part of that is the remember me project. Explain how that works. I was talking to the bishop in april and we said, 0ur doors are closed, what can we do to help people when normally we would be having remembering services and funerals and so on . And we came up with this idea of having the remember me book online so that people were able to put a memorial up for someone that they loved to Say Something about them, to have a picture of them so that they were not lost and forgotten, so that together, we could see those who we have lost. And its very moving to go onto the website and see all the pictures and the messages that people have left about those who they love. And such an extraordinarily challenging year because most of us probably know someone whos died this year, it may be from covid, may be from natural causes, but we havent been able to grieve
and what we would consider the usual way. We havent been able to hold funerals in the way that we might wish, and some people will have been grieving, literally, in isolation compulsory isolation and that is an acute situation, isnt it . Yes, its the isolation with grief that is so disabling and why its so important to be able to be together and the loss of being able to have those times to be together or having very small funerals, where family and friends are unable to attend. And thats something which we need to recognise and to work with, and so the idea behind the remember me book was giving people a way, its not the same, but on the other hand, it is sharing their experience. Thats david the dean of st pauls just
thats david the dean of st paulsjust a thats david the dean of st pauls just a little bit earlier today. And you see here, the dome of the cathedral lit yellow, and for many, the cathedral lit yellow, and for any the cathedral lit yellow, and for many, many buildings up and down the uk, they will be lit yellow tonight to remember everybody who has lost their life in this, the most extraordinary year, buildings across the country and National Monuments will be lit to remember loved ones. That project that the dean of st pauls talked about, the remember me project is ongoing, so if you have lost a loved one this year, anyone who lives in the uk, you can go online and upload a photo, write a few words about your loved ones. From here at st pauls cathedral, ben, back to you. Jane, thank you so much. And you can read tributes to some of the thousands of british people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic at bbc. Co. Uk news or on our news app. Sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. 0llie foster has the latest for us. Good evening. A group of former professional rugby players are planning legal action against the sports governing bodies claiming that rugby has left them with permanent brain damage. 42 year old Steve Thompson, cant remember being part of englands 2003 world cup triumph. He is one of 8 former players all diagnosed with early onset dementia who are taking part in the legal action. Rugby world cup winner Steve Thompson and seven other former players who claim the sport has left them with permanent brain damage are planning to take legal action against the games governing bodies. It is the first move of its kind in world rugby and, if successful, could change the way the game is played. The world governing body says it takes player safety very seriously and uses the latest research in injury prevention. 0ur correspondent Chris Mclaughlin has more. tx vt pres the 13 barbarians players that breached Covid Protocols is really 2003, the greatest crime. Cant number the games, whatsoever. Anything that happened in those games. Former herbert Steve Thompson is 42, this month, he was diagnosed with early onset dementia, he blames repeated blows to the head. Young during scrimmage sessions, when you pass out, you come up people are training to me get back up, and youve got these bright white lights around your eyes, and you are not with it, and suddenly, you will be doing that time after time. You know, they werejust doing that time after time. You know, they were just making doing that time after time. You know, they werejust making us use our head constantly. 11 former professionals have recently been tested, all have early onset dementia. For now, hr preparing legal action. So its expected that next week, a pre legal letter will be delivered to the rfq, the w are you and world rugby. Its a letter that has the potential to change the very fabric of the game, what it will say is that they are responsible for the permanent brain damage of players due to negligence. Its widely accepted that the game has become more physical in recent yea rs has become more physical in recent years and rugby has tightened its concussion protocols. But is it enough . Rights,. He is 41, he played
over 350 games of professional by. Over 350 games of professional rugby. Thats including 33 times for wales. In april, he was diagnosed with early onset dementia and could be in with early onset dementia and could beina with early onset dementia and could be in a care home by the time hes 50. Isa 50. Is a 40 year old to hear that commit was upsetting for me, but even more so for my wife. Its watching what i describe as the lights fading gradually in him. And watching those changes. My biggest fear is for my daughter. My biggest fear is for my daughter. My biggest fear is for my daughter. My biggest fear is we are losing her dad. Experts who have studied the brains of these recently retired players say they are most likely suffering from something called chronic traumatic and sub pop at the. Its a condition that can occur when the brain suffers numerous small undetected traumas. It can result in
memory loss, mood swings and ultimately dementia. Legal action is coming across roads for rugby could follow. Can see more of those interviews in that piece on the bbc sport website. But we will stay with the rugby union because the 13 barbarians players that breached Covid Protocols causing the cancellation of their twickenham test against england in october have been hit with a range of bans and fines and also ordered to complete community work. The former england captain Chris Robshaw was one of the party that left the team hotel in london over the course of two evenings and also lied about their whereabouts. Hes been suspended for four weeks, fined two weeks wages and given 50 hours of community work. Could be a nervy night for Manchester United in germany. Its their final group game in the Champions League and they need a point away at rb leipzig to be sure of reaching the last 16. They are level on 9 points with the german side, and also paris st germain. If united fail to progress they would drop down into the europa league
chelsea are also playing this evening, but no pressure on them, they are sure of topping their group whatever happens against krasnodar. Well have more for you in sportsday at half past six. Holly foster, many thanks, see you later on. German prosecutors say they remain convinced that a convicted paedophile, currently in prison for other offences, kidnapped and killed madeleine mccann. Theyre continuing to build a case against the man, known as christian b. From berlin, jenny hill reports. Its six months since german detectives made a dramatic revelation madeline mccann, they believe, was kidnapped and killed by a convicted german paedophile. After this tv appeal, they received hundreds of tip offs about christian b, whos in a germanjailfor drug smuggling and the rape of a tourist in the algarve. But they still dont have enough to charge him. Even so, this prosecutor told us,
theyre sure they have their man. Translation if you knew the evidence we have, you would come to the same conclusion as i do, but i cant give you details because we dont want the accused to know what we have on him. These are tactical considerations. The six month investigation has yielded new evidence of other alleged crimes. Christian b lived here in portugal on and off for years. Prosecutors now believe he committed at least three other sex crimes here, two of them against children. He may be charged early next year but progress on madeline mccanns case is slower. I cant promise, i cant guarantee, that we have enough to bring a charge, but im very confident, because what we have so far doesnt allow any other conclusion at all. There have been so many false leads, so many empty hopes, and still a family waits to find out what happened to their little girl. The gambling industry has welcomed a major review of uk gambling laws, just the latest on the vaccine administered today for the first time. The Pfizer Vaccine, we know that we know that they were given vaccine the Pfizer Biontech vaccine, with the first person receiving their firstjab this morning in coventry. The Health Secretary has been to one of the hospitals thousands of people have been given the vaccine today, and just a bit of detailfrom wales, the vaccine today, and just a bit of detail from wales, that in wales, theyre confirming over 1700 people across wales have received the vaccination today. So large numbers of people being vaccinated today, the first day of vaccinations in the uk outside of trials. The raf has released images, they were recently sent on a Reconnaissance Mission to assess
the state of the iceberg which measures mission to assess the state of the 4,200 sq km behemoth roughly the scale of the english county of somerset. Lets get more on this from our science correspondent, jonathan amos. Jonathan, whats happening to this massive iceberg . Yes, it is a colossus as you say. It is 150 km in the long direction, 100 miles, twice the long direction, 100 miles, twice the distance between glasgow and edinburgh if you are to try and walk down it. So it broke off the antarctic in 2017, and it has been running in fast moving waters, incurrence, away from antarctica into the south atlantic, and it is now heading straight for the british 0verseas territory of south georgia. Thats roughly the same kind of size, 150 km long, and it isjust off the coast there, and the great concern is that it will ground in
shallow waters, and that could have some pretty serious implications for the wildlife that exists on south georgia because it is a haven for penguins, fur seals, all sorts of other sea birds as well. And if you have this big obstaclejust other sea birds as well. And if you have this big obstacle just sitting off the coast, it could block the pathway for adults, for example, that try and forage for food, for fish, for krill to bring back to their young on land. The wider context behind this is Climate Change . Probably not in this instance, and what happens as it snows, snows go into glaciers, the glaciers run down the hill, they push out of the water and eventually, they carve icebergs, and there is a cycle in that, a sort of multi decade of cycle. Every so often, we get one of these big ones, this happens to be the latest, but this happens to be the latest, but this is so far south that, really, it isnt being touched, that region,
quite yet by global warming. Further north, some of the icebergs that have come off from there, absolutely, but this, you should see this as a natural event. Ok, jonathan, good to talk to. Jonathan he must come our science correspondent. Jonathan a most. 0n eighth december 1980, 40 years ago today, john lennon was shot dead outside his Apartment Building in new york. He was 40 years old. His former beatles band mates have taken to social media to mark todays anniversary. Ringo starr also tweeted this warm tribute, in which he urged. We will not be playing john lennon one and at all
lets get the thoughts of Daily Telegraph music critic, neil mccormick. Everybody really are members where they wear when they heard the news aboutjohn lennon. Where were you and what do you remember about that day . Well, im never going to forget it because i was a 19 year old our director on an irish magazine, and i was creating a cover of a magazine and they came in and said, well, look, we are going to lennon on the cover and i said, oh, look, we are going to lennon on the coverand i said, oh, ispent look, we are going to lennon on the cover and i said, oh, i spent all day working on this and i was very relu cta nt to day working on this and i was very reluctant to change my cover, and i was like why . Have we gotten into because mickey said no, hes dead. And i thought they were joking, i spent hours can ijust continue doing what i was doing to make our people were pulling my leg. I was not able to process that information. You know, he was my biggest musical hero, probably still is, and biggest musical hero, probably still is, and i thought the whole thing was a practicaljoke. At 40 years on, just talk us through what we
think now and what you think about john lennons musical legacy. How important was he in the history of popular music, the history of rock and roll . Well, hes as important as anyone ever. Simply by being in the beatles you know, the beatles are the god heads of our popular culture, the sound of the music of all the time since the beatles has been based in what they did, and so between particularly lennon, mccartney, they shape the modern sound. But of course, he brought something really unique to that, and what i think it is was a sense of raw truthfulness. Thats what i think. John lennon brought, in particular, to songwriting into popular music, the sense that he was going to tell his story unvarnished, wa rts going to tell his story unvarnished, warts and all. I dont think there had ever been a kind of raw
storytelling that was so revealing and a singer songwriting before lenin. It starts to emerge in the beatles from help onward, and then in his solo career, it is absolutely everything is about. This is his truth. There have been a lot of document trees aboutjohn lennon to marcus anniversary come i was watching one where it sort of underline that for all of his bravado, he was also quite vulnerable as a person when he was in new york, terrified about being thrown out of the United States by the immigration authorities, for example, he was quite, well, very much a complicated character. Welcome he was a hugely completed character. You know, you have to be that kind of topic eight of character to create art that emotional and that raw. He had a lot of swagger and a lot of humour, but those were the things that mask, you
know, internal insecurities and in his music, he delved right into those insecurities, and he didnt hide them, he put them out forever for everybody to see. That is his greatness. And that is what resounded forever and will resound forever, you know . He is the first songwriter to say, this is me, absolutely as i am. Neal, great to talk to. Thank you for your memories ofjohn lennon. Really a wonderful way of remembering a talent. Thank you for being with us. Thank you. Lets bring you the latest from brussels, weve heard from the European Commission president , and she has tweeted,. So thats going to be tomorrow. The Prime Ministers going to brussels to meet ursula von der leyen. Lets go to our correspondent in westminster and with time running out, this could be a crucial meeting. So the first face to face talks the pair have had in some months, actually because of the coronavirus situation, my understanding is that borisjohnson will go to brussels tomorrow afternoon, the two will have dinner and to try and thrash out some of the remaining issues that are still to be resolved in the trade talks. We know that the two chief negotiators for the two sides, lord frost for the uk, Michel Barnierfor lord frost for the uk, Michel Barnier for the lord frost for the uk, Michel Barnierfor the eu, were meeting today to basically write down a list of things that they cant find agreement on for their political bosses to look at tomorrow evening, and its got to a point in these trade talks now where basically, neither side think they can move
further in line with the mandates theyve been given by the politicians. Its really down to the politicians. Its really down to the politicians know. Trade talks can go so far with officials and negotiators, but ultimately, some of the big calls have to be made by politicians coming to think thats what tomorrow evening will be about. Its about whether there is a political will to find about more compromise, to see if the three remaining issues, fisheries, trade rolls around competition and how any agreement is in forest if they can find some room to budge on them to try and get this deal over the line. Got to say, a lot of people are pessimistic today, but we have been in this situation before and the hope is that tomorrow, borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen can do something that the negotiators couldnt. We will see what happens. Nick, thank you so much. Thats our political correspond with the very latest. At the top of the hour Sophie Raworth with be here with the news at six. But first. The coronavirus pandemic means many of us wont be going to a Carol Concert this year,
but there will be one concert everyone can attend. Next tuesday, chics nile rodgers is hosting a virtual carol service, with appearances from the likes of sir cliff richard, Florence Welch and the whos roger daltrey. He was speaking to simon mccoy. When i was first introduced to them, i went to one of their centers and i was so touched, and itjust so happened that that was the year that my mom was diagnosed with alzheimers, and we had gone through a very powerful experience with her sister with alzheimers. She laid in a coma for five years, but when we went to visit her, we would sing beatles songs, and she would jump right in, she come out of the coma. Even though i know it was really just to make us feel better, i do believe deep down inside, she was enjoying it too. And Nordoff Robbins works on the basis of music touches people
in a way that not nothing else can. Yes, true, because science tells us that the parts of the brain that remembers music and is more robust, it works better than anything else. It remembers music more than it remembers language. Looking ahead to this concert, its virtual, i will talk to about how that works in a moment, but its quite a line up. Yeah its an incredible line up which is probably due to the fact that its virtual, because we can now call on all these artists and they could perform for us where they are, you know, in the comfort of their home or their islands or wherever they live, and ive seen some of the performances in advance and youll see exotic locales, youll see very clever little devices that people use. I think people because its such a sombre type of year its not the normal type of christmas celebration, they really use their imaginations to make these performances fantastic. And are there practical difficulties in performing like this . I mean, everybody is having to do Something Different this year, so what difficulty does being virtual present to you . Well, for me, it was really tricky because im hosting the thing. So i have to do what we call, as you well know in the business, i have to do wraparound, i had to host, and im performing. So i do at least three numbers if i remember correctly. Yeah, they want me to perform three numbers. So, um, and i dont geta chance to do them until im doing the show, so. Laughing. So, for me, its going to be
really, really difficult. But for others, you know, it runs the gamut of difficulty factors, because some people are in very remote places, other people are just right in the middle of london, or los angeles or what have you, so its tricky. I think people rose to the challenge because they decorated their little the nooks where they perform, they did a really good job. You know, i know at my house, my crew has already started bringing in all sorts of christmassy type of things. So well see. And how difficult will it be without the audience . Ive seen you in concerts, and you thrive off of that. So this is going to be very different, isnt it . Thats the part thats very very difficult for me, because many, many years ago, i hosted a television show,
and at that time, i was coached, and my television coach, she was wonderful, and i tried to recall some of the techniques that she taught me, but they didnt seem to come to me as quickly. You know, they say its just like riding a bicycle, well, this wasnt like riding a bicycle, i even made a joke with some of the people. Isaid, you know, because of the way my house is built, and because of the way want to stage it, i know im going to wind up being the lighting director and the gaffer for the whole bit. Because its just a little bit, its tricky, my house is not set up for filming christmas specials. You know, its a recording studio, so its like a rock and roll pad, you know . I have no idea, i will take your word for it. But i do know you that spend an awful lot of time in this
country, and i regard you as an anglophile anyway because you are involved very much with abbey road studios, and i think they are involved too with this concert, and there is an irony that you and i are talking on this day, because of course, its 40 years ago that we lostjohn lennon. That must be going through your mind. So, you know, its really amazing because, yeah, i woke up this morning and they were talking about that. Whenjohn lennon was shot, i was literally one block away and i still live there. I have a Radio Programme and i was interviewing sir Paul Mccartney about a week ago and we were just talking about all manner of things and then i happen to bring up one interesting situation, and it wasnt aboutjohn being shot, it was aboutjohn doing some primal scream therapy. And i said, you know, paul, the place is right outside my window, and paulwent, i remember when he did that so its interesting that john lennon lived a block away from where i live now, yoko still lives there, and when i was at a restaurant on the corner, i saw all these people running to his building, and i asked them what was going on, and they said john lennon was just shot. So we ran over to the building and it was just one of the saddest things you can imagine. Hello there. Most of the fog has lifted today, but through this evening and the first part of the night, it will thicken up again across parts of east anglia down into kent ahead of all this showery rain thats moving its way down from the north, through the midlands and eventually, towards the southeast and east anglia, lifting the fog eventually. Some showers following on behind, some clearer skies developing in Northern Ireland, wales and the southwest, where the winds are falling lighter. There may be a few pockets of frost, the risk of some ice, but generally,
temperatures will be above freezing by the morning. Weve got some rain early on across east anglia, perhaps the southeast. Thatll move away and then things will brighten up in many areas, some sunshine, a few showers coming into eastern areas out towards the west. It will cloud over and later in the day, well get some rain into Northern Ireland, west wales and the southwest of england. Ahead of that, though, our temperatures will be around six or seven celsius, and for many eastern areas, thats the sort of numbers well keep over the days ahead. It looks pretty cloudy for thursday and friday, maybe some patchy, mostly light rain around on friday. This programme contains flashing images. Tonight at six a world first as the pfize mass coronavirus Vaccination Programme gets under way in in the uk. Margaret keenan, whos 91 next week, is the first person to get the jab she calls it the best early birthday present she could have. I say go for it. Go for it, because its history, and its the best thing thats ever happened. Shes one of thousands to be given the first jabs across the uk today, with over 80s, care home workers and nhs staff among the first in the line. Its amazing to see the vaccine coming out, amazing to see this tremendous shot in the arm for the entire nation, but we cant afford to relax now. Well be answering some of your questions about the vaccine and the path ahead. Also tonight