Rm war bit between something a bit drier and quieter, it looks like we could see a longer interlude later in the week. Its claimed this was the moment the plane was hit, with 176 people on board many of them were canadian. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an iranian surface to air missile. This may well have been unintentional. Tonight, iran denies the plane was hit by a missile and calls the claims psychological warfare. Also on the programme. The queen summons herfamily to try to find a solution for the duke and duchess of sussex after their shock announcement a way forward is expected within days. Left on a hospital trolley for more than 2a hours a e departments in england record their worst ever performance last month. Here in south east australia, thousands face imminent evacuation orders as bushfires threaten several towns. Isnt it strange. The bbcs sound of 2020 the Music Industry tips 25 year old celeste for the top, predicting shell follow in the footsteps of adele and sam smith. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news tottenham striker harry kane needs surgery on a hamstring injury and has been ruled out until april, two months before euro 2020. Good evening. The united states, britain and canada all now say that evidence from a number of sources indicates
that the ukrainian passenger plane that crashed in iran yesterday was shot down by an iranian surface to air missile and that it may well have been unintentional. 176 people died among them four britons and dozens of canadians when the boeing aircraft came down shortly after taking off from tehran. It happened just hours after iran fired more than 20 missiles at us airbases in iraq in retaliation for the assassination of its military leader. Tonight iran denied the plane was hit by a missile and called the claims psychological warfare. From washington, nick bryant reports. American media say these images appear to show the moment the ukrainian airliner was hit by an Iranian Missile shortly after take off. The plane did not explode immediately and continue flying for several minutes as it tried to return to tehran airport. This video appears to show the boeing 737, which seems to be on fire, as it went down. Just before it crashed, a satellite apparently detected the heat trails of two missiles, followed moments afterwards by an explosion. Us officials said it was highly likely the plane, with 176 people on board, was mistakenly shot down by iranian anti aircraft missiles. 63 canadians were among the dead. The countrys Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, shared with his people news that he said would shock. We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an iranian surface to air missile. This may well have been unintentional. It was just five hours after iran launched the missile strikes on us forces in iraq that the plane crashed shortly after take off. Irans anti Aircraft Systems would probably have been active, anticipating american retaliatory
strikes that never came. Speaking before his canadian counterpart, President Trump revealed his own suspicions. It is a tragic thing when i see that, it is a tragic thing. But somebody could have made a mistake on the other side, could have made a mistake. It was flying. It was flying in. Not our system, its nothing to do with us. It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake. There might be crucial evidence that lies within this wreckage. The iranians have been bulldozing the crash site and are not yet sharing information from the black box recorders. The countrys head of Civil Aviation claimed reports of an Iranian Missile strike were illogical rumours. At this prayer vigil in canada, the faces of the dead, the anguish of the relatives who now mourn them. I think everyone is just heartbroken, everyone is trying
to process it and believe it. Relatives in ukraine want answers, too. Their loved ones, casualties of a conflict of which they were no part. Officials in britain, canada and here in america tonight are all saying this was a mistake. Not a reason, then, for now at least, to further escalate tensions with iran. Nick bryant, bbc news, washington. In a moment we talk to our middle east editorjeremy bowen whos in the iraqi capital baghdad, but first, our north america correspondent nada tawfik is in toronto. Strong words from the canadian Prime Minister tonight . Many of those on board were canadian. Yes, this is the National Tragedy for canada, particularly in the Iranian American Community is here. Justin trudeau said there that
hes really wanting access to the crash site because he knows that canadians want answers, answers that can say for sure what the cause and intent was of that crash. Now, the department, the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he believes iran is open to canadian involvement in the investigation along with allowing visas for consular officials to go and assist with the repatriation of bodies and assist the families, but the key question is what leveraged canada will have if iran tries to tamper at all with their involvement in making sure this is a credible investigation, and of course the community here telling us that despite what the cause might be they are still mourning for their loved ones, who will never return. Jeremy, iran put out a statement tonight denying a missile was involved and saying it was psychological warfare . Yes, missile was involved and saying it was psychologicalwarfare . Yes, so that placing it squarely in the context of the conflict thats going oii context of the conflict thats going on at the moment. Was there a direct
connection . Well, we dont know. There is this scenario is that they may have locked onto the target thinking it was an american plane and then blown it out of the sky. You know, there are a lot more questions than answers. Its still very early days in all of this, but perhaps one of the greatest tragedies as a result of all of this will come from the state of the conflict and the isolation of iran, because if it stops families of the victims of really knowing the answer is, if this isolation means that there wont be a proper investigation, then that will redouble, i think, investigation, then that will redouble, ithink, the heartache, the sadness, the morning of those people who have had this terrible iiews people who have had this terrible news about what happened on that plane. Jeremy bowen in iraq and nada tawfik in canada, thank you both. The queen has summoned an urgent family conference to find a way to accommodate prince harry
and meghans wish to go it alone. The couples surprise announcement left the royal family scrambling to cope with the implications of their unprecedented move. Tonight, the queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have instructed their staff to find a solution within a matter of days, as our royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports. And so, what now for the couple who want to do being royal their way . Last night, the sussexes stunned britains royal family by issuing their own statement saying they wanted to step back and find what they called a progressive new role which would involve them becoming financially independent and dividing their time between britain and north america. Senior royals from the queen down were said to be disappointed and hurt. For that, read shocked and exasperated. Yet today, those feelings have moved on to a willingness to see whether a new arrangement can be worked out. The queen, the prince of wales and Prince William and their senior staff have conferred during the day and directed their staff to work with the sussex household to find
a solution acceptable to all sides. The issues are complex. It wont be easy. I think its going to be very hard, if not impossible, to find a future modus operandi which involves being royal and not royal at the same time. I can understand why they want to do it, but history has shown us that royal duty is not really open to compromise. Either you are part of the working royal machine or youre not. There is no halfway house. These are the questions about the sussexes which must be decided. First of all, their title. A hard line approach by the palace would be to remove their his and her Royal Highness styling on the basis that you cannot be half in and half out of the royal family. There is no appetite to do this. Harry remains sixth in line to the british throne. Second, their accommodation. There is no suggestion they would need to leave their home close to windsor castle. It is owned by the crown estate, it underwent a costly renovation for their use. Third, security. At the moment, the british taxpayer pays the considerable costs of royal security. The men around the couple here in Southern Africa are all metropolitan police officers. Would the taxpayer be expected to pay for the security of a semidetached royal couple . Thats another issue to be worked out. Finally, by far most complex issue, finance. At the moment, the sussexes are financed largely by harrys father, the prince of wales, from his duchy of cornwall estate. To become financially independent, the sussexes would surely need to engage in commercial activities of some kind. That is a path fraught with difficulties for the royal family. 0thers the earl and countess of wessex, for example tried it and it eventually posed serious reputational issues for the royal family. The palace will resist any repetition. Yet there is support for a couple
who have clearly been struggling in recent months. Julie montague is an american who married into the british aristocracy. She feels sympathy for meghan. You know, meghan even said she tried to adapt to this, you know, british stiff upper lip and she tried and it didnt work. Of course its not going to work. Were american, we have grown up in a world that we were told you can be anything you want to be, you can do anything you want to do, from day one. In nottingham, where harry and meghan did their First Official visit as a couple two years ago, there was a mixed response to their withdrawal. Meghan is mixed race, which is something you dont really see a lot within the royal family, and i think for that alone, it reaches out to the general public because there is a lot of multicultural relationships. He is a prince, innit, at the end of the day. Obviously hes got to do his duty with the queen. So, i dont know. Ijust dont know. How he can do that. The sussexes have made their wishes known, albeit
in a most imprecise fashion. The British Royal family will try to find a way to satisfy those wishes. These are complex matters. More detailed proposals are expected within a matter of days. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. Its the question of their finance which undoubtedly is going to be the most difficult issue to resolve, to frame a set of protocols for the suffixes to follow which will ensure they are not accused of trading on their royal status. What the palace wa nts to their royal status. What the palace wants to avoid it seeing that sussexes heading off across the atla ntic sussexes heading off across the atlantic into the world of the celebrities, the super rich and the unscrupulous. Tonight, the daily mail is reporting that meghan has already returned to canada. Nick witchell at buckingham palace, thank you. New figures show that accident and Emergency Departments in england experienced their worst month in december since the target for treating people within four hours
was introduced 16 years ago. Just under 80 of patients were seen within the time limit last month. The target is 95 . Its the third month in a row that performance has sunk to a new record low. The figure for england is lower than in scotland, but still ahead of wales and northern ireland. 0ur Health Editor hugh pym reports. We actually walked past george originally because we didnt see him there. There was in the region of got to be at least 20 people on trolleys around the corridors. Marks 83 year old father in law george waited 25 hours in hospital corridors, much of it on a trolley, before he was finally given a bed on a ward, even though hed had major surgery recently and another potentially serious condition. It was mayhem. There were trolleys everywhere, there were people trying to move trolleys in between the corridors to take people into x ray and other departments to get them seen. We were quite distressed by it all. Mark doesnt blame staff at shrewsbury hospital, who he says were working flat out. A trust spokesperson said there was very high demand on services and apologised that some patients were waiting longer than they should. With pressure across the system, the numbers going through the doors of a e have gone up from just over 1. 5 million a month a decade ago to more than 2 million last month, but the proportion treated who are assessed within four hours in england has been falling steadily from the 95 target to just below 80 in december. What do you say to some patients who have waited many hours, over four hours, to be assessed, then maybe more hours on top of that to get treated . I would say our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure they treat patients as quickly as possible. Of course they always prioritise the sickest patients first and ensure that treatment is delivered. More patients are ending up in hospitals partly
because of shortcomings elsewhere. Difficulties getting gp appointments, for example, and delays getting the social care they need to be looked after at home. This winter it feels as though that really positive impact of social care hasnt been there as much, so we are seeing delays in the system for our patients and we are seeing real pressure across the health and care system. If more beds are needed for emergency care, that means delays for patients like paul needing nonurgent operations. He has been waiting months for a hip replacement. I have seen doctors and specialists, physiotherapy teams, and, you know, now its got to the point where, oh, the operation will be done on easter 2020, now theyre telling me it could well be christmas 2020. Whatever the promises made about more hospitals and nurses and higherfunding, this is the state of the nhs in england right now. Hugh pym, bbc news. A prison officer has been stabbed and seriously injured and four others hospitalised after an attack by two prisoners in cambridgeshire. Counter Terrorism Police are investigating the assault at whitemoor top security jail. Our home affairs correspondent, june kelly is here with details of what happened. The attack is said to have been carried out by two inmates wearing a fa ke carried out by two inmates wearing a fake suicide vests and armed with improvised bladed weapons point of the bbc understands one of the suspects was jailed in 2015 whilst still a teenager, for planning to behead a british soldier. He is a convert to islam and a follower of radical preacher anjem choudary. The other suspect is not in prison for a terrorism offence but for a crime of violence and is said to have converted to islam but this time while in prison put it one prison officer was stabbed in the face and very badly hurt and seriously
injured. Four colleagues who went to his assistance, three men and a woman, were also hurt. Whitemoor is a top security prison which houses a number of prisoners convicted of terrorist offences are so obviously this episode raises questions about the security. In these category a present and Scotland Yard are now investigating. Thank you. The high street may have been dreaming of a bumper christmas, but sales figures today confirm thats not the way it turned out. 0verall sales were down nearly one per cent in the run up to christmas compared to last year, with food sales flat. Its capped whats become the worst year for retail sales since records began, as emma simpson reports. Christmas feels like a long time ago now. The spectacles over. But its all been a bit subdued for retail. Take tesco, our biggest grocer. Christmas delivered sales growth ofjust 0. 1 . That counts as a success
in this market. We usually splash out on festive food, but not this year, it seems. This is the slowest christmas we have seen for the last ten or 15 years, and it really started three to six months ago. People are simply not buying any more food and they have changed the way they are shopping. People are not treating themselves, whether it is not buying the nicest turkey, whether its buying less christmas crackers to have fun with the children, they simply are not treating themselves this christmas like they used to. Food kept the tills ringing at marks spencer, but its clothing and home sales failed to sparkle. John lewis has long been a festive winner. Not this year. Edgar the dragon failed to ignite sales. They were down 2 compared with the previous year. Profits are also going to sink and staff may not get a bonus for the First Time Since the 1950s. Did you spend a bit more or a bit
less this christmas . Probably a bit less. Why is that . Financially i cant do it any more. Slightly more, because there were a lot of offers on before christmas. Why did you spend less . Because after the year of all the uncertainty im wanting to be careful. Christmas has been weak for retail. The Industry Trade body says its contributed to whats been the worst year on record for sales. It was a tough christmas but it was a tough whole of 2019. A backdrop of uncertainty, particularly political uncertainty, of brexit, and of us all as consumers being very cautious and more conscientious in terms of our spending. There were some winners. We spent more on takeaways and cinema trips, and some retailers have also bucked the trend. The industry hopes this year will be brighter, but its off to a grim start. Debenhams will close 19 stores by the end of this month and motherca re will disappear from the high street altogether. Emma simpson, bbc news. Boris johnsons Withdrawal Agreement bill that will take the uk out of the European Union at the end of this month has comfortably passed through the house of commons. Mps voted 330 to 231 in favour of the governments brexit deal. The bill covers the rights of eu citizens, the planned 11 month transition period, and customs arrangements for northern ireland. It now goes to the house of lords for scrutiny. Authorities in australia are warning residents in areas threatened by bushfires to leave home or risk being trapped, as they prepare for hotter weather tomorrow. Hundreds of firefighters are being deployed in the worst affected areas of victoria and new south wales. The seaside town of eden was evacuated just days ago and is once again under threat, and clive myrie is there now. Hello, sophie put the smoke billowing in the distance is the result of a fire front that was moving at around six kilometres an hour, an incredible speed, before it eventually slammed into a woodchip mill, 110th eventually slammed into a woodchip mill, 110th 100 eventually slammed into a woodchip mill, 110th 100 20,000 eventually slammed into a woodchip mill, 110th 100 20,000 tonnes of it and that is the smoke i was a result. 0ver there is anotherfire front heading towards us. Both effectively and circling the town of eden and that is why the 2 3000 population are possibly going to be evacuated later on. 0ver population are possibly going to be evacuated later on. Over here is the hmas adelaide, a navy ship ready to help people, fully stocked, medical facilities on board by the constant state of worry, am i going to be evacuated . Will state of worry, am i going to be evacuated . Will my state of worry, am i going to be evacuated . Will my house survive . Will i survive . So many people in that state of flux across the south east area of australia. It has
to be said that we have been talking to be said that we have been talking to Forestry Commission officials as well here and they have been working round the clock, digging containment trenches, trying to burn off some of the fuel that could help fuel the fires. They are hoping that those measures will work effectively but ultimately it is the winds that could decide, depending on which way they blow and their strength, ultimately decide what burns and what does not. Back to you. Clive myrie in australia, thank you. The fugitive businessman carlos ghosn has been banned from leaving lebanon after he fled there from japan last month to avoid trial for financial misconduct. The former nissan boss, who dramatically skipped bail, said he was prepared to face justice in lebanon if neccessary but that he would not return to japan. He has been talking to to our World Affairs editor, john simpson. Hello. Very nice to see you. Thank you. Even though the lebanese courts have said he cant leave the country, carlos ghosn has lost none of his bounce. Im free to receive my family,
im free to see my wife, to live with my wife. These are all things which were forbidden when i was injapan. Hes consistently refused to talk about his escape from japan by private jet, hiding in a box for musical equipment. Even so, i gave it my best shot. It must have been a pretty unpleasant experience, mustnt it . I dont know, you should ask somebody else. Have you ever been in a box . Well, you have, tell me about it. Thats what you think. Come on, come on, if you had been caught, head down in the box. This is your interpretation but im saying i was willing to take the risk. But hes still predictably bitter about nissan, the company he rescued and which he says conspired to have him arrested. I asked him about nissans british operation in sunderland. Its suggested that there was a sweetener offered to nissan by the British Government in order to persuade you to stay there and not move out, because of brexit. Is that true . I dont think there was a specific amount of money which was on the table. But the British Government said to you, well make it ok for you to stay . Sure. So, thats a sweetener, isnt it . Yeah, but this is a promise. How precarious is the future of the sunderland plant as britain gets closer to brexit . So, if nissan loses competitiveness in europe, well, then the future of sunderland is bleak. Carlos ghosn wont retire. He doesnt yet know what hell do, but whatever it is, he wont be able to leave lebanon. Are you a happy man now . Not sure im a happy man, but im a happier man than what i was one year ago. John simpson, bbc news, beirut. A young singerfrom brighton has topped the bbcs sound of 2020, which aims to predict the biggest and brightest new stars in music. Celeste, whos 25, follows in the footsteps of previous winners like adele, sam smith and ellie goulding. She was chosen by a panel of 170 figures from the Music Industry. Heres our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. It wouldnt move what could i . Do. The soulful sound of celeste. I touch your . Head. The young singer raised in brighton, whos been named the bbcs sound of 2020. Well, i cant wait now to see what the rest of the year looks like. I think you can never predict, even though sometimes you really want to, like look into a glass ball and see whats going to happen. But, no, im just like so thrilled and excited and, yeah, i cant wait. I dont want to put on pressure when im talking to you. Shes already made appearances on shows like later Withjools Holland and now shes following in the footsteps of previous sound of winners, the likes of whom include ellie goulding, sam smith and adele. One of the most important things for me is that it will hopefully mean that more people hear my music and are aware that im making music. A confident live performer who played glastonburys introducing stage in 2019, 2020 will bring different pressures. Theres an element that like now theres a heightened expectation, potentially, that you really want to make sure you live up to it. But ultimately, like i said, it is encouraging, so, yeah, its cool. The new year will bring new music, which she hopes willjustify the industrys faith in her. Lizo mzimba, bbc news. From strangers to friends, friends and lovers. Thats it. Now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. Have a very good night. Hello and welcome to sportsday im chetan pathak. 0ut until April Harry Kane needs surgery on his hamstring and will miss most of the season. A climbdown from betting Companies Amidst criticism for the fa well bring you the latest on the gambling industrys deal to show fa cup matches. And no doubles delight in sydney for Great Britain as theyre beaten in a thrilling tie break against australia in the quarter finals of the atp cup in sydney. Welcome to the programme, thanks forjoining us. Its the news tottenham fans were dreading harry kanes been ruled out until april after the club confirmed he needs surgery on a hamstring injury. It means hell return to training just two months before england begin their euro 2020 campaign. Kane suffered the injury during spurs defeat at southampton on new years day when bossjose mourinho was left fearing the worst. Everybody knows again the importance of harry in the squad. I think irreplaceable, if you think about one player by one player, i think hes irreplaceable. But we have to try solutions in relation to the players that we have. Kanes irreplacable because hes scored 27 goals in 31 appearances for club and country this season. Ive been speaking to nick worth whos a physiotherapist whos previously worked with premier league teams and he started by telling me that surgery would have been the last resort he would always like these types of
injuries to heal themselves, because given the fact that theyve got so much support, you can take it stage by stage so that you allow the body to heal naturally. Any kind of surgery to heal naturally. Any kind of surgery and then have an anaesthetic risk, but also at risk of being no damage or potentially scarring within the muscle later on. I think probably i would imagine the decision taking time is because they wa nt decision taking time is because they want to make sure they get it right, but theres also pressure on them from spurs themselves that tottenhams medical team was doing whats right for their team. Theres that view of whether thats the consideration of the england team for the euros and 2020 this year anyway. Its difficult to know of course, but what you say the realistic target would making it for the summer for england rather than the summer for england rather than
the spurs in
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