The wikileaks founderJulian Assange wins his court battle against being extradited to the united states. And donald trump is accused of a bald faced abuse of power after he was recorded trying to persuade an election official to find him more votes. Coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news within hours of arriving in sri lanka, moeen ali tests positive for covid 19 and will have to isolate from the rest of the squad. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. With coronavirus running out of control across much of the uk, new restrictions to our daily lives are coming in. The Prime Minister will make an announcement at eight oclock tonight, setting out further steps in england. Schools will close again for most pupils, and its expected people will be told again to work from home unless theyre key workers, or if its not possible for them to do so. The threat from coronavirus is to be raised to the highest level five across the uk, meaning Health Services are at risk of being overwhelmed and a new lockdown will be imposed. Scotland has already announced its own lockdown, which includes shutting schools for all of january. Therell be more on that in a moment. Our deputy Political Editor vicki young is at westminster. The situation is changing fast. It is, and for months and months, coronavirus has dominated our lives, telling us where we can go, what we can do, and who we can see. In the summer, i think many of us hoped the worst might be behind us, but tonight we are on the brink yet again of tighter restrictions in scotla nd again of tighter restrictions in scotland and wales, and a situation so scotland and wales, and a situation so bad in some hospitals in england that Boris Johnson so bad in some hospitals in england that borisjohnson is expected to ditch his regional approach and put the whole country under tighter measures. That is likely to mean that schools will be closed for most pupils, and there will be a return toa pupils, and there will be a return to a very familiar message stay at home. The restrictions on our lives continue. The bad news is, existing rules are no longer enough to control coronavirus. There is a new variant spreading more quickly, cases are up, more people needing hospital treatment, and across the uk, things are about to change. Vaccines offer light at the end of the tunnel, but the Prime Minister knows he cant wait that long. Weve got tough, tough weeks to come now, but i think, you know, if you look at the numbers, there is no question that we are going to have to take tougher measures, and well be announcing those in due course. Nicola sturgeon wasted no time today, the Scottish Parliament recalled so she could announce that, across mainland scotland, people will be told to stay at home and schools will close until at least february. We can already see by looking at infection rate elsewhere some of what could happen here in scotland if we dont act. To prevent that, we must act immediately and firmly. I know that the next few weeks will be incredibly difficult, and im sorry to ask for further sacrifices after nine long months of them, but the sacrifices are necessary. They are acting to protect the nhs. Doctors and nurses in the worst hit areas of england are describing the huge pressure they are under, with beds filling up and Staff Shortages due to sickness. The labour leader says Boris Johnson has been delaying the inevitable. The messaging is the important bit at the moment. This is where the government needs to get to, which is the stay at home message. That was the spirit of march, thats what got us through march. Is messaging really going to be enough, given the fatigue that people are feeling about these restrictions . I think that messaging is critical. We havent had that strong stay at home message. We did have it in march, and the vast majority of people complied with that. Government insiders acknowledge people are fed up and patience is wearing thin when it comes to following rules for months on end. Ministers promised to do everything they could to keep pupils in the classroom, but in plymouth today, parents were anticipating closures. I constantly feel in a state of flux. However, i need to work, and i work from home, so thats a big, a big consideration. Whats more safe . The health of our children or their learning . Itsjust weighing it up, really. One former cabinet minister says urgent action is needed. I hope he will say that schools are going to be shot, that we are going to have enforced quarantine for anyone to be shut, that we are going to have enforced quarantine for anyone coming from overseas. We also need to look at whats allowed in terms of the mixing of households. Tonight, as we wait for the Prime Ministers announcement, a return to normal life feels a long way off. Vicki young, bbc news, westminster. From midnight tonight, scotland is introducing a new lockdown, similar to the one imposed back in march at the start of the pandemic. On the mainland, it will be a legal requirement to stay at home for all of january for anything other than essential purposes and people must work from home if possible. Youll be able to meet only one other person outdoors from another household, but that doesnt include children aged 11 and under. Across the whole of the country, schools will be closed and provide only Online Learning until at least the ist of february. Nicola sturgeon says she is more concerned about the situation now than at any other time since march. Our scotland correspondent james cook is in glasgow for us tonight. James . Yes, fiona, ms sturgeon says she accepts these new restrictions are devastating but she says she is deeply concerned about the acceleration of the virus here in scotland. One health board area, ayrshire and arran, is apparently running at 96 of its covid capacity, which means that your too we are back to the familiar mantra stay home, save lives, protect the nhs. New year, new lockdown to tackle a new variant of the virus. Its a Public Holiday here, the streets should be packed with shoppers. Instead, mainland scotland is heading for even tighter restrictions. It is no exaggeration to say that i am more concerned about the situation we face now than i have been at any time since march last year. Ourfundamental advice for everyone is to stay at home. That is the single best way of staying safe. We consider that this stay at home message and advice is now so important that from tomorrow, it will become lawjust as it was in the lockdown last year. Without action, said the first minister, the nhs could be overwhelmed in weeks, a concern echoed by her rivals. The increase in infection rate and the tra nsmissibility of the new variant gives grave cause for concern. We have come too far to throw all the efforts away, and the roll out of the vaccine means that we can see a time soon when all this will begin to be over. And all this means that for most pupils in scottish schools and nurseries the holidays will go on and on. The schools are going to be closed until ist february at least in scotland. What is your reaction to that . Devastated. Im due to go back to work on thursday, and ivejust had about 20 months off, so im just going back to work and ive got a one year old and four year old. Im sad because i dont get to see my friends sometimes, and because i like to going to school, to do, like, work and stuff, and see my friends and play with them. So this has been a difficult day for parents, a difficult day for a lot of people in scotland, and in some ways feels like we are going backwards all the way to the lockdown of last spring, but this time there is a difference, there is some cause for hope. That hope comes in a bottle. But who should get the vaccine first . One former scottish labour leader and teacher says school staff should be prioritised. We need the four governments of the United Kingdom to get together and decide once and for all, for this pandemic and for any future emergencies, that schools are critical infrastructure, that children need to learn, they need to be in organised learning environments and we need solutions that keep that happening, and not the sort of panic measures we see today. The Scottish Government denies panicking, but ministers do want people to heed their warning. That right now, the whole nation is on thin ice. James cook, bbc news, glasgow. In a moment, well speak to our ireland correspondent emma vardy, but first our wales correspondent Hywel Griffiths joins us from the senedd, hywel, an announcement is due imminently from the Welsh Government. The Welsh Government has confirmed that there will be a phased return to learning by january vat. We were told last week that to close schools would be a last resort, but it seems thatis would be a last resort, but it seems that is the point we have reached. Wales is in a National Lockdown and has been for the last two weeks, since the 20th of december. People have been told to stay at home. You remember back then wales had the worst coronavirus case rate within the uk. Moving into the new year, the uk. Moving into the new year, the situation has improved, but the pressure is now being felt on the front line and welsh hospitals are treating more Covid Patients than at any other time. Emma, ministers are meeting tonight to discuss further restrictions there. They are. Northern ireland has seen cases rising dramatically since christmas, but we are already in the second week of a six week lockdown at the main question is whether there will be more restrictions on schools. Most pupils here have already had their return to the classroom delayed by at least a week, and now the Stormont Executive are due to be discussing any more restrictions. Earlier, we heard the first minister, arlene foster, say she was particularly disappointed there was evidence that people hadnt been following the rules over the christmas period. She said she would be disappointed if we had to see School Closures back in march, but that is a decision they arejust going to march, but that is a decision they are just going to have to look at. One piece of positive news the percentage of people over 80 with the virus and that is a possible sign the vaccine is starting to work. Thank you, both. There has been some good news today. The Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine is now being administered just a single dose will provide 70 protection from getting ill from coronavirus. More from our medical editor, fergus walsh. Another key moment in the fight back against coronavirus. 82 year old brian became the ist person in the world to receive the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine since it was approved. He has dialysis three times a week and so is clinically vulnerable. The vaccine means everything to me. Its the only way of getting back to a bit of normal life. The virus is terrible, isnt it . It was here in oxford that this vaccine was created and where trails began in april last year. Created and where trials began in april last year. So fitting that it should be one of six hospital trusts in england to begin administering the injection. It was a huge privilege. Every single patient that was vaccinated over the last couple of weeks have got their own personal stories to the difference it will make for them. The line to receive the vaccine is already forming here. There is huge Public Interest in the rollout out of this vaccine. The government has ordered 100 million doses. The key question is how quickly can the priority groups be immunized . There are 31 Million People in those priority groups. Top of the list are care home residents and workers. The aim is to have immunized all of them by the end of the month. The over 80s and Frontline Health workers are also in the first wave. Then in descending age groups from 75 plus down to the over 50s. Other key groups are clinically extremely Vulnerable People and those with Underlying Health conditions. Weve already delivered over a million vaccines of the pfizer injection and now weve got the astrazeneca one, so we aim to get it into peoples arms as quickly as it is supplied to us. If we get 2 million doses a week our aim is to get 2 million doses into the arms of those priority groups. Also among the ist to be immunized was the doctor who led global trials of the oxford injection. He emphasized the importance of masked vaccination. Of mass vaccination. Anyone who is eligible to vaccine which Everyone Needs to come forward and be vaccinated because he has to have a massive rollout over the next few months. The Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine can be stored in the fridge. A key advantage over the Pfizer Vaccine which has to be transported at 70. It will also play a key role in the global immunization. 3 billion doses are set to be distributed worldwide this year. Fergus walshjoins me now. We all have so many questions about the virus. How effective is the Oxford Astrazeneca vexing, particularly after just one astrazeneca vexing, particularly afterjust one dose . A rough estimate, about 70 protection against covid disease. The highest perhaps most important, all those in trials we got one dose were protected against severe covid three weeks after they received that first dose. None of them required hospital treatment, so that would be a huge impact for them and for the nhs, and well begin to see that protective effect quite soon. How quickly are people going to be vaccinated . That is the big question. The sooner we can get to 2 million doses a week or more, the better. Astrazeneca says it has 4 million doses waiting to 90, it has 4 million doses waiting to go, but they each have to be batch checked in batches of around 500,000 doses. There are 31 Million People in the priority groups, and they represent 99 of the people at risk of dying from covid, so the sooner they get protected, the better. And both vaccines, in terms of the ostrava delete my Oxford Astrazeneca and the pfizer, in terms of eliminating the virus, is that possible . We havent yet got a firm plan on how to immunise the under 50s, and then the under 16s, around 30 million children under 16, they arent going to be immunised at all, so theres always going to be a reservoir of the virus. We are going to have to live with it, but protecting those who are most vulnerable, thats the key thing. Fergus thank you. The latest government figures show there were 58,781; new Coronavirus Infections recorded in the latest 24 hour period. The average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 511,833. 407 deaths were reported thats of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test, but todays figures dont include scotland, and are usually lower after the weekend. That means on average in the past week 611 deaths were announced every day. It takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 75,431. As weve just seen, coronavirus cases are continuing to rise rapidly. One hospital says patients of all ages are now being admitted, increasing pressure on already beleaguered nhs workforce. Heres our health editor, hugh pym. The front line of a major London Hospital today, here at st georges staff say it is very busy after a big increase in admission of covid patient, over the weekend they have been struck by the number required oxygen support and that has meant doubling capacity for oxygen supplies which is no easy matter. L lot of those people havent been older people, they have been young and fit people who have been themselves shocked at how unwell they have got. Annabels whole family was struck by the virus. She and her mother maria were struggling to breathe and were admitted to leicester royal, they were brought together in intensive care but less than 2a hours later maria died. Literally just told my tore than 2a hours later maria died. Literallyjust told my tore my family into tiny pieces, i understand every one situation is different and we are at different points in our lives, butjust to ta ke points in our lives, butjust to take a moment, to put yourself in my shoes, and if that would make you perhaps rethink what youre going to do that day. London hospitals are under extreme pressure, and it is the same in other areas of southern england. In the south east, total covid patient numbers in hospitals are now well above where they were at the peak last april. And it is a similar story in the east of england, with patient numbers rising rapidly in recent weeks. The chief executive of the countess of Chester Hospital said 40 of beds were occupied by Covid Patients and stressed there was a problem affect morgue areas than just london. Community leaders in cumbria warned that the situation was getting worse. It is very serious, the risk to the hospitals in the north is quite severe at the moment, they have more coronavirus patients in the hospitals than they have ever had. In some parts of london, virus cases have gone up had. In some parts of london, virus cases have gone up by 25 in a week. That is why hospitals like this are under mounting pressure and at a time when there are higher levels of staff sickness and those needing to self isolate. Things could get tougher in the weeks ahead. Hugh pym. Hugh pym. And for viewers in london, theres more from inside St Georges Hospital on the bbc london news at 6. 30. Its been a confusing picture for parents in england while most primary schools reopened this morning, some have stayed shut because of Staff Shortages and after warnings from unions and some local authorities about safety. The Prime Minister argued strongly only yesterday that schools should stay open. Now they will close again, for most pupils. Our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. Masks on, waiting to drop off this morning. Some parents relieved their school in warrington open, others confused and worried. Theyve shut the schools in london, so why are they more important than our kids . Im quite happy that the kids are going back. I think they need a bit of normality. Personally i think its going to be shut at some point any way, so well see how long it lasts. Warrington, like london and some parts of the south east, is also in tier 4, but thats not the only thing thats used to decide whether primary schools stay open or closed. The government says its also looking at how the infection is spreading in each areas, and the pressures on the local nhs. At this school all the staff arrived. They could stream lessons live online, but say Remote Learning is a last resort. Some of ourfamilies we have families that are four or five children. They may have a device but that could just be a mobile phone. So it is really critical that our children are in school, educated, learning, getting a quality of education that all children should be receiving. Around england some primaries remains shut. 49 opting to close classrooms in county durham. The country waiting for the tougher action promised tonight. A primary teacher, owen is at home recovering from covid. A pupil tested positive at the end of term. By the new year, owen was in hospital. He says the Prime Minister has to act. I was pretty scared at some point, and especially when i looked round the ward i was in, i was in an acute ward for. He coughs violently i think weve got to get a lid on it, and as quickly and as securely as we can, before start really opening schools and things back up again properly and fully. The delight of being back in school, but education unions say Remote Learning would be safer for now. Its absolutely essential that we have in place an effective system, immediately, of remote education, for children and young people. Its also absolutely essential that the government gets a grip of testing issues and the roll out of the vaccine to ensure that children and young Peoples Education isnt disrupted any longer than it needs to be. This is a year theyll never forget. Covid dictating every aspect of their schooling. Branwen jeffreys, bbc news, warrington. A judge at the old bailey has ruled that the wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, cannot be extradited to the united states, to face trial for the release of tens of thousands of confidential military and diplomatic documents ten years ago. She said his Mental Health problems meant he would be at risk of suicide. Our Diplomatic CorrespondentJames Landale reports. Free Julian AssangeJulian Assange has long attracted loyal supporters, and this was their reaction outside the old bailey as they heard the news. No extradition. Yeah for more than a decade, the wikileaks founder has resisted extradition, spending seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in london before being removed almost two years ago and detained in belmarsh prison. The us authorities want him to face 18 charges, mostly of espionage, relating to his allengthed role in the leaking of thousands of secret military documents. Many focussed on the wars in afghanistan and iraq, including this video appearing to show a Us Helicopter firing on civilians in baghdad. To some, mr assange is a champion of free speech who revealed war crimes. To others, a law breaker who endangered the lives of us agents. And today, after years of legal battles, he was driven into court to hear his fate. From the dock he listened as districtjudge Vanessa Baraitser dismissed his defence that the us charged were political and a threat to media freedom. But, when it came to his Mental Health and depression, she ruled that in a us high security prison the risk that mr assange will commit suicide is a substantial one and as such it would be oppressive to extradite him to the united states. On hearing the ruling mr assange simply wiped his brow. His partner and mother of his two sons Stella Morris burst into tears. We are pleased that the court has recognised the seriousness and inhumanity of what he has endured and what he faces. But lets not forget the indictment in the us has not been dropped. The Us Department ofjustice said it was extremely disappointed and would appeal against the ruling. Mr assange was remanded in custody ahead of a bail application later this week. James landale, bbc news. Five teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, after a 13 year old boy. Olly stephens was stabbed to death in reading in berkshire. Police were called to fields in the emmer green area yesterday afternoon, following reports of the attack. The four boys and one girl arrested are all aged 13 or 1a. The family of a london schoolgirl found dead during a holiday in a malaysian jungle resort say they are utterly disappointed in a coroners verdict of death through misadventure. Nora quoirin, who was 15, was discovered dead nine days after she went missing from the resort in august 2019. Her parents say their daughter had a mental age of five or six, needed help to walk and they dont believe she would have wandered off alone. The us Vice President elect, kamala harris, has accused donald trump of a bald faced abuse of power after he tried to persuade a senior official in georgia to overturn his election loss in the state. The Washington Post has released a recording of the hour long conversation in which the president told georgias secretary of state to find him enough votes to change the result. Heres our north america editor, jon sopel. Are you ready to show america that georgias a red state . In georgia, there is intense campaigning ahead of Senate Elections tomorrow, which will determine whether its the republicans or democrats who control the opera house in washington. Say vote vote but over the weekend, there was a very different type of lobbying going on, donald trump trying to persuade a republican state official over the phone to rewrite the certified results of last novembers election and give victory in the state to him, notjoe biden. The people of georgia are angry. The people of the country are angry. And theres nothing wrong with saying that, you know, that youve recalculated. Well, mr president , the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong. So, look, all i want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes. This has brought charges from republicans as well as democrats that this is a flagrant and illegal attempt by donald trump to thwart the will of the people. Kamala harris is the next Vice President. It was, yes, certainly the voice of desperation. Most certainly that. And it was a bald, bald faced, bold abuse of power by the president of the united states. And georgias secretary of state was asked, had the president acted illegally . You are an election official did you consider it a lawful request when the president asked you to find the votes . Im not a lawyer. All i know is that we are going to follow the law, follow the process. Truth matters, and weve been fighting these movements for the last two months. And in a quite extraordinary development, every living former us defence secretary, including two that donald trump appointed, have signed a letter warning against the military being used in any power grab. That they felt it necessary to say this out loud speaks volumes about the rumours swirling around washington about what might happen next. This presidency isnt ending quietly. Jon sopel, bbc news, washington. Lets return to our main story and that announcement by Boris Johnson tonight. Our Political Editor, laura kuenssberg, is in westminsterfor us. A third lockdown, but will it feel different to like back in march . Yes and no, fiona, tonight is a moment that politicians the right across the uk had desperately wanted to avoid. But it is a situation that the virus has actually dragged us to to. Remember yesterday Boris Johnson was telling parents to send their kids to school this morning, in less than two hours we expect him to tell the country again, that schools are going to close, to most pupil, he will urge again most of us, if you possibly can to stay at home. There there will be laws brought in in the next couple of days to make that illegal a legal requirement. Its the opposite of where politicians wa nted the opposite of where politicians wanted us to be, remember how things in the summer felt they had turned round. There is a big difference, there are vaccines now, the government is scrambling to get them into as many arms as fast as they possible can, but there is one thing thatis possible can, but there is one thing that is the same. It is that a virus we had barely heard of 12 months ago is once again forcing the Prime Minister to act in a way that would be alien to us in anything like normal times, the idea that our politicians would be telling people to stay indoors, the idea that politicians would be changing the law, to make it illegal do the things that are formally com pletely do the things that are formally completely standard for many of us. But that is the situation that coronavirus has forced on us and it seems that the new speed of this variant is what has changed things so much. And just to leave you with one statistic on boxing day there we re one statistic on boxing day there were 18,000 people in hospital with coronavirus, in england. As things stand now, in that short time, it has grown to 26,000. And the pace of the spread of this virus has left politicians across the uk feeling they have no choice but to take so much of our choice away from us. We will hear what the Prime Minister has to say here on bbc one, at eight a clock. Laura, at westminster, thank you