people that have covid or flu. what have the government people that have covid or flu. what have the government been saying, the downing street spokesman said today that, we have been upfront with the public long in advance of this winter that because of the pandemic and the pressures that it has paced on the backlog of cases, they have always sent it would be an extremely challenging winter in other words the government seem to be saying it is largely due to the pandemic. i don t buy that for a hot minute. to be honest the winter pressures have been becoming year round pressures for a number of years. they could have foreseen how the under resourcing and running into the ground of nhs would result in the issues. yes of course because of the pandemic there have been added pressures but we need to be really clear that there are 130,000 nhs vacancies due to workforce morale. we have a patient that waited in an ambulance for 99 hours. for a bed in a&e in as many as 500 people are
their gp or in their local hospital and how they can access treatment. i think for the conservatives over the years they have struggled to gain trust on the issue. i think for them it is particularly difficult and he says it is a priority for him the question is how quickly can he show that the idea that he has are starting to work. i think that is the key thing, his own mps even want to know what his plan is to try and deal with all of this. at the same time there are some, lots of issues outside of the government s control. i think the problem is the conservative party having been in power for 12 years it is difficult for them to avoid some of the blame for what is going on in the danger of course is that this winter crisis goes on to become a spring crisis and that actually there will be longer term problems that need to be dealt with. i longer-term problems that need to be dealt with. ~ ., ., , ., dealt with. i know there was a briefin: dealt with. i know there was a briefing with
to court to block publication. ministers say the court order was aimed at protecting national security and avoiding a real and immediate risk to life, safety and privacy. the government s independent adviser on tackling violence against women and girls has suggested her calls for street harassment to be made a crime are being blocked. nimco ali is pushing for actions such as wolf whistling, catcalling, persistent staring or telling a stranger to smile, to be made a crime, with on the spot fines. but ms ali claims her plan has encountered pushback . asked whether an offence of street harassment is still being considered, a downing street spokesman said we will continue to look at where there may be gaps and how a specific offence could address those. nurseries in england say plans to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents. the government says it is considering changing the rules to try to help reduce the expense of childcare, amid the growing cost of
welcome back. a new party scandal for british prime minister boris johnson. a downing street spokesman said johnson celebrated his birthday with a gathering at his residence in june of 2020 at the same time tight covid restrictions were in place. cnn s scott mcclain is in london. reporter: that s right, laura. previously the local police, metropolitan police said it was their policy in general not to go back and investigate retrospectively incidents that happened over potential covid breaches that happened a long time ago. new this morning the chief of the london metropolitan police says that based on new information and a determination this is public interest, police will now investigate several incidents, several accusations of breaches in relation to covid
let s return to our top story and the diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict between russia and ukraine. tonight, borisjohnson has spoken on the telephone to the us president, joe biden, with the two leaders agreeing there is still a crucial window for diplomacy for russia to step back. but a downing street spokesman said the leaders emphasised that any further incursion into ukraine would result incursion into ukraine would result in a protracted crisis for russia, with far reaching damage for both russia and the world. sources have said that at the end of the call, the prime minister said the uk wanted to do everything it could to help. and the us president is said to have replied, we are not going anywhere without you. let s speak to anywhere without you. let s speak to a lecture at the university of glasgow and a research fellow in european studies. good evening to