I mean, to my mind, its the only way of getting back to a bit of normal life. You know, this virus is terrible, isnt it . Parents and teachers face a confusing picture of Primary School closures in england as unions call for a delay to children returning to classrooms. Wikileaks founderjulian assange wins his battle against extradition to the United States after a judge at the old bailey rules hes a suicide risk. Ijust want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Find me more votes President Trump is recorded on the phone ordering officials in georgia to change the election result. And coming up on bbc news, the new world darts champion, gerwyn price, says hes thankful he won after securing the title at the 12th time of asking. Good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. The Prime Minister is warning of tough, tough weeks to come as the Government Faces pressure to announce another National Lockdown amid concerns the new variant coronavirus is spreading out of control. Borisjohnson said there was no question about the need for tougher measures which would be announced in due course. It comes as infection levels are nearly four times higher now than they were at the start of december and that has put more pressure on hospitals. There was some brighter news. In whats being described as a Pivotal Moment in the uks fight against coronavirus, the first doses of the Oxford University and Astrazeneca Covid 19 vaccine have been administered. The first recipent was 82 year old dialysis patient brian pinker who said, to my mind, its the only way to getting back to a normal life. Heres our Health Correspondent anna collinson. Her report does contain some flash photography. At 7 30am this morning, all eyes were on an 82 year old man, dialysis patient brian pinker became the first person to receive the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine. He is now looking forward to celebrating his 48th wedding anniversary. The vaccine means everything to me. To my mind, its the only way of getting back to a bit of normal life. You know, this virus is terrible, isnt it . Sam foster administered the jab, which is seen as a crucial moment in the uks fight against the coronavirus. It was a huge privilege. Every single patient that we have vaccinated over the last couple of weeks have got their own personal stories to the difference its going to make for them, so no different this morning with our first two patients. More than 500,000 doses are now being rolled out, starting with a small group of hospitals, including in oxford. A thumbs up from one of the scientists who helped develop the vaccine. It is a hugely proud moment. It is a testament to the efforts of the teams both here and around the world who have been working on the vaccine. But also, i think, especially important for all of those volunteers who came forward without really knowing whether this vaccine was going to work to actually see their involvement has brought us to this moment today. The astrazeneca jab is cheaper and easier to store than the pfizer one so fewer resources are needed to reach the most vulnerable. The phase one priority list is headed by those who live and work care homes, followed by the over 80s and front line health workers, and then younger groups and the clinically vulnerable. The first phase includes all adults aged 50 and over. Doctors say a fast roll out is essential so patients will now wait 12 weeks for their second dose. Leading Scientists Say this delay will allow more people to be protected faster. 2 million vaccinations a week are said to be needed but the government hasnt yet said when that will happen. Well, i would hope within the next, certainly this month we will be able to get up to that sort of number, but as i said this is dependent upon supply. This is a new vaccine, supplies are coming in as we speak, but they come in batch by batch but we will be delivering it as soon as we get it. But amid the celebrations, the government and Scientists Say they are concerned about a new variant of the virus in south africa. Though more data is needed. The worry about the south african, variant which has spread very rapidly to become the dominant strain of the virus in south africa, is that it contains more changes, more mutations in the spike gene, some of which are likely to affect the bodys immune response, and therefore, there is a bit more of a question mark over that particular variant. With rising covid cases putting extreme pressure on the nhs, the uk faces a tough time ahead. Vaccines bring hope, but the roll out must happen quickly if they are to compete with the virus. Anna collinson, bbc news. Our medical editor, fergus walsh, is with me now. Some good news with the astrazeneca vaccine but all the figures are going in completely the wrong way . Absolutely. Looking really serious. More serious than at any time of this pandemic in the uk. Absolutely vital that we have the positive news of the roll out of this vaccine. It will start small in a small number of hospitals but by the end of the week the nhs has said that over 1000 Vaccination Centres across the uk will be involved and between the pfizer and the astrazeneca jabs, they hope soon to be able to get up to2 they hope soon to be able to get up to 2 million immunisations a week. That is absolutely vital because there are still 30 Million People above the age of 50 who are in the priority groups who need immunisation. Even if 2 million of those were done every week, they will not get their first dose by easter. In terms of protection, it looks like both will give at least 70 protection against covid but more importantly, they should protect against severe disease and that will be important for the individuals but also vital for the nhs which is really struggling, especially in london. We say really struggling quite a lot but when you say that, what does actually mean . The doctors i have been speaking to over the weekend are very worried about the situation. Much more so than they were even back in and april. There is talk about potentially bringing on maw of the nightingale hospitals into service in march and april. And it really a plea to people that this is as serious if not more so than when we went into lockdown in late march and people really need to take this virus and the handsome face space message seriously. Thank you. As we reported earlier, the Prime Minister is expected to announce stricter coronavirus restrictions across england. On a visit to a hospital which today began administering the oxford vaccine, borisjohnson said there were tough weeks ahead. The labour leader, sir keir starmer, has called for a National Lockdown from today. Nick eardley reports. Good morning, everybody. Boris johnson has some Big Decisions to make. With coronavirus spreading rapidly, the Prime Minister has warned of tough weeks ahead. Youre about to have yourjab . The vaccine is the way the government thinks we could eventually get back to normal but in the short term restrictions are here to stay and many of us are facing the prospect of even stricter rules. We already have a lot of the country in tier 4 some in tier 3, what we have been waiting for it to see the impact of the tier 4 measures on the virus and its a bit unclear still at the moment but i think if you look at the numbers, there is no question that we will have to take tougher measures and we will be announcing those in due course. This is why there are calls for immediate action. Look at the rise in the number of positive cases since october. The average is now more than 52,000 every day and there are warnings of significant pressure on the health service. It does feel all but inevitable there will be more restrictions in england soon. In the first instance, that could mean areas currently in tier 3 being moved to tier 4 and people told to stay at home and nonessential shops closed. It could mean that a school to stay closed in some areas if local authorities can agree with central government. But with cases rising as they are, some are saying ministers need to go further and faster. The former Health Secretary jeremy hunt among them, tweeting it was time to act, saying we need to close schools, borders and ban all household mixing right away. Labour also wants immediate action. There isa also wants immediate action. There is a real need for more stringent measures, we have called for a National Lockdown, and immediate lockdown so we can try to get this virus under control while we are waiting for this really much awaited vaccine. Parliament is not sitting this week but the political pressure for more restrictions is growing. And nickjoins me now from westminster. I will add to that pressure and ask you directly what we can expect and when. That is the Million Dollar question because the warnings coming from government today are pretty bleak. Boris johnson from government today are pretty bleak. Borisjohnson talked about the new variant of the virus surging, saying there are tough weeks ahead. The Health Secretary said the nhs is under significant pressure with more people in hospital than there were in april during the first wave. It does beg the question of when the government is going to announce its next steps. I think the pressure is only going to increase over that the rest of today, and it is likely that scotla nd today, and it is likely that scotland will announce some significant new restrictions in the next couple of hours. You have senior conservatives telling the Prime Minister he needs to act immediately and add in to the mix the fact the labour party are saying there needs to be a lockdown now and it does feel like the pressure is growing on Boris Johnson it does feel like the pressure is growing on borisjohnson to announce something very soon. Thank you very much. Many parents have been dealing with last minute childcare issues as confusion surrounded the first day of the new term in Primary Schools. In large parts of england, they have reopened after the christmas break, despite teaching unions and some councils asking the government to keep them closed to protect staff from the new variant of the virus. Theyve called for a pause in reopening schools, accusing the government of creating chaos. Ministers say switching to online teaching should be a last resort. Heres our education correspondent elaine dunkley. The first day of the new term. But for many parents and teachers across the country it has been chaotic and confusing. Kings road Primary School in manchester has opened its gates. This is a tier 4 area. Despite the government insisting schools are safe, many children and teachers have not returned. There are 21 members of staff who opted not to come into school because they would consider it to be an unsafe. In my school that has led to nursery, year three and a year for not coming into school so they will be learning from home and again, logistically that is really complicated to organise. In london and across parts of the southeast, Primary Schools are closed. But for parents here in manchester, the end of the Christmas Holiday has led to tough decisions. Down south that have closed the Primary Schools so i dont see what the difference is between us closing out the difference is between us closing our secondary schools but not primary. I absolutely think they should be open and its a great opportunity for the children to interact with other children socially. I completely appreciate the argument about the spread of the virus being around schools. But i think its quite important to have that as well because home schooling is difficult for parents but also for children not to have that introduction with other children. Bought secondary schools in england, the return to classrooms has been delayed for two weeks that interaction. Those doing exams will start earlier. Today, boxes of testing kit was delivered to schools ready for mass testing. Teaching unions say there is not enough reassurance. The Sage Committee on the 22nd of december was saying that if you want to reduce the r rate it will be very difficult with something akin to a greater sense of lockdown. If youre not going to do that, government, what you know better than the scientist . The government disagrees and says the decision is based on science and safety. The risk to kids is very, very small and the risk to teachers and obviously we are doing everything we can to protect teachers, but the risk to teachers is no greater than it is to anybody else in any other line of work. In wales, some schools have begun preparations to reopen as early as wednesday. In northern ireland, primary and secondary schools will not return for another week. In scotland, schools will not reopen for face to face learning until mid january. Balancing concerns about safety with increasing pressures of Remote Learning and home schooling once again is a reality for millions of families. Its not safe to go and get a haircut from someone in full ppe but we are expecting my sister, who teaches at a sixth form college in leicester, to go and mix with a group of 4000 students. At times i ended the day sobbing because it was too much trying to handle a child with learning difficulties. Elaine dunkley, bbc news. The coronavirus variant is spreading quickly throughout wales, according to the countrys health minister. Vaughan gething said that cases of coronavirus in wales, which is under National Lockdown restrictions, remain very high, though rates have fallen back from incredibly high levels seen before christmas. Scotlands first minister, nicola sturgeon, is expected to announce new restrictions later today, following a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases. Parliament has been recalled on a bank holiday to allow her to make an urgent statement on the new measures. Alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. The first minister is under significant pressure for a quick and decisive decision. Nicola sturgeon has been meeting with her cabinet this morning. She is due to address Parliament Within the next hour. Parliament has been recalled on a bank holiday. That shows you just how serious this situation is. Nicola sturgeon has said that we are at the most dangerous point in this pandemic because of their new variant. She said the number of places has gone up significantly and thatis places has gone up significantly and that is being driven by the new variant. That is despite most of scotla nd variant. That is despite most of scotland being under the toughest level for restrictions, which means already hospitality is closed, nonessential shops are closed, gyms and hairdressers are closed and yet the numbers keep coming up. We are likely to see a tightening of restrictions in order to suppress the virus, to give time for more vaccines to be rolled out. Part of that may be moving towards that very restricting stay at home message whistle at the beginning of the pandemic. The Prime Minister warns of tough, tough weeks to come, as the government came under pressure to announce another National Lockdown. And coming up, the queen congratulates womans hour on its 75 years of broadcasting. Coming up on bbc news tense times for Frank Lampard as another loss drops chelsea to eighth in the premier league table. A 3 1 defeat to Manchester City heaps more pressure on the manager. The founder of wikilea ks, julian assange, cannot be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. A judge at the old bailey ruled that while us prosecutors met the tests for mr assange to be extradited for trial, concerns over mr assanges mental health, and the risk he may attempt to take his own life, meant that the extradition could not go ahead. Our Diplomatic CorrespondentJames Landale reports. Julian assange has long attracted loyal supporters. This was their reaction outside the old bailey as they heard the news. The judge reaction outside the old bailey as they heard the news. Thejudge had ruled that he could not be extradited to the United States. For more than a decade, the wikileaks founder has resisted extradition, bubble by spending seven years holed up bubble by spending seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in london before he was removed almost two years ago and was detained in belmarsh prison. Us authorities want him to face 18 charges, mostly of espionage, relating to his alleged role ten years ago in obtaining and leaking thousands of American Military secret documents. These focused on the wars in afghanistan and iraq, including this video appearing to show a Us Helicopter firing ona appearing to show a Us Helicopter firing on a crowd in baghdad, killing at least 18 people. Today finally, after yea rs of killing at least 18 people. Today finally, after years of legal battles, mr assange was driven into court to hear his fate. Inside, the districtjudge dismissed court to hear his fate. Inside, the district judge dismissed many court to hear his fate. Inside, the districtjudge dismissed many of the arguments made by mr assanges defence. The charges were political oi defence. The charges were political or that his free speech would be infringed. Then she said the isolation and lack of protection mr assange would face a us prison meant there was a risk he would take his own life and extradition would be oppressive by reason of mental harm. To the joy of supporters outside, including his fiancee. Today is a victory forjulian. Todays victory is the First Step Towards justice in this case. We are pleased that the court has recognised the seriousness and inhumanity of what he has endured and what he faces will stop but let us not forget the indictment in the us has not been dropped. Despite thejudges in the us has not been dropped. Despite the judges ruling, in the us has not been dropped. Despite thejudges ruling, mr assange will not walk free today. Us authorities have said they will try to appeal the decision. Mr assange has been remanded in custody ahead ofa bail has been remanded in custody ahead of a bail application later this week. It is not over yet. What happens next . As ever with this case, it is difficult to say it is either when it is over. The americans will try to appeal, they had given notice already. They have 14 days to decide whether or not to appeal and take it to a higher court. Secondly the question of mr assanges liberty or not. He has been taken back to belmarsh prison at the moment. There will be a bail hearing on wednesday to decide whether or not he should be set free, given bail or not, that should bea free, given bail or not, that should be a decision for the court. Even then there will be a question about then there will be a question about the continuing debate. For many of his supporters, this has been about media freedom. Thejudge has not made a ruling about that and has dismissed a lot of his defences claims. What was decided on the simple legal ruling about extraditing someone to the United States, you had to be satisfied that health will be protected. She has concluded it will not be in there is a real risk of him committing suicide. There had been no rulings of any of the other charges against mr assange and that debate, i think will continue. President trump is facing a hail of criticism after putting pressure on an election official in georgia to overturnjoe bidens victory in the state. In a recorded telephone conversation released by the washington post, the president urged the secretary of state for georgia to find him 11,780 votes enough to give him just one more than mr biden. Vice president elect, Kamala Harris, described his actions as a bold abuse of power. Nomia iqbal is in atlanta. How much trouble is the president in . Well, simon, georgia is almost the last battle for a losing president. This traditionally republican state picked joe biden in november stopped since then, donald trump has demanded a recount, he has gone after the Republican Leadership here, including the governor and also a top election official in this extraordinary phone call. Democrats have of course seized on this. Vice president elect Kamala Harris called it a bold abuse of power. Joe bidens team is quick off the mark, releasing a statement saying this captures the disgraceful story of Donald Trumps assault on democracy. Some democrats are calling for a criminal investigation. Donald trump is not done with georgia yet, he is here to drum up support for the two republican candidates trying to win seats in the senate. He is also calling the races here are illegal and invalid without any evidence and they are worried about the impact because, logic goes, if Republican Voters do not believe their votes will be counted accurately, why would they turn out and vote . An advantage for the democrats. If there two candidates win, that means joe biden because my presidency is after a powerful start. Meansjoe bidens presidency is off to a powerful start. Expected delays at ports do not appear to have happened. In a moment, well speak to simonjones, whos in dover, but first to our global trade correspondent dharshini david. These other markets across europe. These other markets across europe. The ftse 100 index of leading shares up the ftse 100 index of leading shares up by the ftse 100 index of leading shares up by almost 3 , outpacing all of the others. Good news notjust for those in the city who might be able to line their pockets a bit more but for all the Pension Funds which tend to invest in stocks like that. Also the pound is up, its highest level against the dollarfor a the pound is up, its highest level against the dollar for a couple of yea rs. Against the dollar for a couple of years. A against the dollar for a couple of yea rs. A lot against the dollar for a couple of years. A lot of that is relief that as yet there is no sign of disruption at the border. Traffic is very light, so it could be awhile before we see the impact of the brexit deal coming through. Banking stocks still taking a little bit of pain because it may be some time before we know exactly what the deal will look like full financial services. Above all of this, there isa services. Above all of this, there is a sense of new year, new hope. Were also seeing pictures of the roll out of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine, which is giving investors hope that we could see restrictions being lifted sooner than otherwise. Having said that, despite the sense of euphoria looking at the numbers, let me take you through the background. If we go back and see if we can get back to what has happened over the last year, here we go. You can see that the ftse 100 is down by over 1000 points, 15 lower. That is because our economy is still a lot smaller than it was this time last year. With new restrictions, things could get worse before they get better. Lets go to simon in day there. So far so good. We have seen a steady stream of lorries arriving. It has been a steady flow, not overwhelming at all. Lorry drivers arriving had to have the right paperwork and Customs Declarations to get across the channel and they also need to have a negative covid test. So far traffic is very, very low. On a typical day when it is busy, you can see 10,000 lorries passing through the port a day, at the moment it is only around 1000. Around 50 down on the figures we we re around 50 down on the figures we were seeing this time last year. The transport secretary grant shapps reckons around 98 of lorries arriving at the port are ready for the border, they had carried out the correct checks. That still means key percent are not ready and that could bea percent are not ready and that could be a problem as we go forward. 296. In be a problem as we go forward. 2 . In terms of levels going down, it could be because people have been stockpiling on the run up to christmas and they could be waiting to see how it all pans out the full sending lorries across the channel. Before sending. Five teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, after a 13 year old boy was stabbed to death in reading. Police were called to fields in emmer green yesterday afternoon, following reports of the attack, but the boy died at the scene. The four boys and one girl arrested are all aged 13 or 14. Officers are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. The family of a london schoolgirl found dead during a holiday in a malaysian jungle said they were utterly disappointed in a coroners verdict of death through misadventure. Nora quoirin, 15, was discovered dead nine days after she went missing from the resort in august 2019. Howard johnson reports. It was from this jungle resort in central malaysia that nora went missing on the morning of august the 4th, 2019. Shed arrived at the dusun resort with her familyjust the day before. Around 8am the following morning, father sebastian discovered nora was missing. This side, where nora was staying, was empty. I looked around, tried to keep my composure for a few seconds. Immediately after that, ran downstairs and started searching around. Mother meabh said a window in the downstairs kitchen area, that she said shed closed the night before, was found open. The family insisted there was a criminal element to the case, as their daughter had difficulty walking unassisted and had never wandered off alone. But the Police Always maintained it was a missing persons case. Noras naked body was eventually found ten days after she disappeared, close to a stream on a palm oil plantation. There was no sign she had been physically assaulted. Autopsies carried out both in malaysia and london both concluded that nora had died because of a heavily ulcerated upper intestine, caused by extreme stress and lack of food. A senior british pathologist said scratches on noras torso, legs and feet were consistent with her moving through the densejungle. Todays verdict of death by misadventure means that coroner maimoonah aid believes that on the balance of probabilities, nora wandered off alone. Noras parents called for this inquest but its delivered a verdict that will undoubtedly disappoint them. Howard johnson, bbc news. The queen has written to congratulate the radio 4 womans Hour Programme on its 75th anniversary. In the letter, the queen said the programme had witnessed and played a significant part in the evolving role of women across society. Emma barnett read out the tribute on her first day presenting the show. As you celebrate your 75th year, it is with great pleasure that i send my best wishes to the listeners and all those associated with womans hour. During this time, you have witnessed and played a significant part in the evolving role of women across society, both here and around the world. In this notable anniversary year, i wish you continued success in your important work as a friend, guide and advocate to women everywhere. Time for a look at the weather. Heres matt taylor. Still a wintry look for some of you. We have seen the weather changing to start this week. High pressure is to the north instead of the west. We have an easterly flow bringing slightly less chilly air. It stays cold. Frost and ice continue to be a feature by night. Quite a breeze blowing over the next few days in southern areas. Rain will feature