between the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, and the uk s energy industry, to try to resolve the ongoing crisis caused by rising wholesale gas prices. energy companies have warned that bills could go up by 50 per cent next year without government action. theo leggett reports. a midwinter meeting, at a time when the energy industry is battling a deep economic chill. the cost of gas on european wholesale markets has been hitting record levels, and suppliers say consumers will end up paying a heavy price. energy companies themselves have already been badly hit. more than two dozen have gone out of business since the summer, and more casualties are expected. that s because, so far, they have had to absorb most of the extra costs themselves. it s a situation that won t last. household gas and electricity bills are capped by the energy regulator, ofcom, but with wholesale prices at their current levels, it seems inevitable the cap will be raised in the spring and raised signific
there ve been emergency talks between the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, and the uk s energy industry, to try to resolve the ongoing crisis caused by rising wholesale gas prices. energy companies have warned that bills could go up by 50 per cent next year without government action. theo leggett reports. a midwinter meeting, at a time when the energy industry is battling a deep economic chill. the cost of gas on european wholesale markets has been hitting record levels, and suppliers say consumers will end up paying a heavy price. energy companies themselves have already been badly hit. more than two dozen have gone out of business since the summer, and more casualties are expected. that s because, so far, they have had to absorb most of the extra costs themselves. it s a situation that won t last. household gas and electricity bills are capped by the energy regulator, ofcom, but with wholesale prices at their current levels, it seems inevitable the cap will be raised in
good afternoon. the environment secretary, george eustice, has said the government will keep under very close review its decision not to bring in further coronavirus restrictions in england. he says the early indications are that the omicron variant is not leading to the same level of hospitalisations as previous waves but ministers will act if there s a large increase in the coming weeks. the hospitality sector say the decision not to add further measures in england is a lifeline for pubs, bars and clubs. but there s concern about the impact on hospitals of staff having to self isolate. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. if exhibition centre in lambeth among the bro s worst affected by omicron in the uk. a vaccination centre. staff here say there is no shortage ofjabs. centre. staff here say there is no shortage of jabs. shortage of “abs. serious mitigations shortage ofjabs. serious mitigations in shortage ofjabs. serious mitigations in class.
you a special report from kabul. it s all over australia thrash england to win the ashes, after the tourists collapsed in melbourne. and coming up in the next 15 minutes, we ll be speaking to former england cricketer monty panesar. hello and welcome. people in england are being urged to take care in the run up to new year s eve after the government decided not to bring in further covid rules. ministers are keeping the decision under close review but say the early indications are that the omicron variant is not leading to the same level of serious disease as previous waves. the government is to wait untiljanuary before re evaluating the situation. but scotland, wales and northern ireland have all introduced further restrictions this week. people in wales and scotland are living with curbs on hospitality, including the closure of nightclubs and all three nations have imposed restrictions on social mixing indoors. in the united states, health officials have halved the recomm
big lie, the former acting attorney general. the big question today, will any witnesses show up? the former president urged aides to ignore subpoenas. one said overnight he won t show, effectively daring lawmakers to hold him in contempt. cnn s ryan nobles has more from capitol hill. reporter: laura, christine, thursday is a crucial day for the january 6 select committee. today is the day where they are expected to have those first round of closed door depositions from two key trump associates. steve bannon and kash patel. patel the former d.o.d. official, bannon a former white house counselor, someone working outside the administration in the lead up to january 6. the big question is whether either of these men will comply with the subpoena request, and the committee has made it clear that if they don t show up, that they re ready to take serious action to force them to comply, including up to criminal contempt referral which could happen before the end of this week if t