his attendance at the christmas party was revealed. but boris johnson would not accept it. failures by the metropolitan police were responsible in part for the deaths of three victims of the serial killer stephen ports, an inquestjury has found. the wikileaks _ inquestjury has found. the wikileaks founder - inquest jury has found. the wikileaks founderjuliana sanchez wikilea ks founder juliana sanchez can wikileaks founderjuliana sanchez can be extradited to face charges in the united states, the high court has ruled. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the government is warning of a deeply concerning situation, as new data confirms that the omicron variant in the uk is growing rapidly in all regions, and could be the dominant strain here within the next week. the uk health security agency is suggesting that vaccine protection against mild symptoms has been substantially reduced, but that boosters are effective. tonight the government has announced 300 million pounds of funding to help protect social care in england this winter. but ministers have also announced a limit on the number of visitors care home residents can receive. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. the omicron variant is spreading incredibly fast, despite our highly immunised population. the growth rate is higher than last christmas, when very few had been vaccinated and the alpha variant hit. new data shows that if you have had two doses of vaccine more than three months ago, it is unlikely to prevent you getting infected with omicron or stop you from passing it on. but if you had a booster, it is likely to give 75% protection against a mild infection with omicron. that booster should give even greater immunity against severe disease. but it is the sheer growth rate of omicron which is worrying scientists. it may produce the biggest wave of infections so far in this pandemic. if we continue to double at this rate, i would expect that, without mitigations, we could have 100,000 or 200,000 cases, or even more, by the end of the month in the case numbers that we see everyday. if those cases then translate into hospitalisation s, you can look at a ratio of how many cases could turn into hospitalisations. we don't know if it would be i% or 0.5%, and we have to wait and get the data to raise the concern any further. the key unknown is how serious an illness omicron causes. the evidence from south africa is unclear. they have a much younger population who are much less vaccinated. we won't know for several weeks what proportion of cases here will need hospital treatment. the government is not ruling out further measures beyond plan b to control omicron. but no ones yet is using the l word — lockdown. we absolutely do need to keep everything under review. i think the measures we are taking are proportionate. we recognise the importance of balancing the ability for people to get on with their lives with the need to protect against this virus. action is absolutely required, and as new data comes in, we will consider what action we do require to take in the face of that data. this is the last news people wanted to hear in the run—up to christmas. we face an anxious wait before we knowjust how big and how serious the omicron wave will be. fergus walsh, bbc news. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has warned the country is facing a "potential tsunami" of new covid infections. she said the spread of the omicron variant of the virus scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has warned there could be a "tsunami" of omicron coronavirus cases within days. she announced that from tomorrow, all household contacts of anyone who tests positive will need to isolate for ten days — regardless of their vaccination status or a negative pcr test. ms sturgeon also urged people to cancel work christmas parties. our scotland correspondent alexandra mckenzie reports from glasgow. another christmas overshadowed by uncertainty. with a sharp increase in daily covid cases, the scottish government said the omicron variant is likely to be the dominant strain within days. to be blunt, because of the much greater and faster transmissibility of this new variant, we may be facing, indeed we may be starting to experience a potential tsunami of infections. while out celebrating with friends, the advice came to think carefully about mixing in crowded spaces, and about deferring work christmas parties. kind of worried it's going to get worse as the weeks go on and we are going to go back into lockdown. it's a good step to take, i think. i don't think people will follow the rulesjust as much as they did in previous years. whether they are getting used to it and accepting it. this glasgow restaurant is one of many that have suffered cancellations. we are sitting in a space that would have had a table of ten, but they cancelled this morning off the back of the advice they've been given by the government. we have picked up some smaller tables to fill it, but it is the uncertainty that hurts us the most. this is not the news anyone wanted to hear, and not the message the first minister wanted to deliver, especially again in the run—up to christmas on what should have been one of the busiest party nights of the year. the doubling time for omicron... but the scottish government wants to act now due to the rapid transmission rate of this new variant. if you have a room of 100 people and a single unknown omicron cases in that room, you could in the days after that find 50 or 60 or 70 positives. that is what we are trying to prevent. in a bid to reduce that spread, household contacts of people with any covid case are being asked to isolate for ten days. alexandra mckenzie, bbc news, glasgow. the government's latest coronavirus figures for the uk show there were 58,000 new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period. on average, 19,000 cases were reported per day in the last week. close to 7,500 people were in hospital with covid as of yesterday. there were 120 deaths, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which means the average number of deaths over the past seven days was 119. the total number of people who've died with covid now stands at 146,255. on vaccinations, 89% of people aged 12 and over have now received a first dose, and 81% have been double jabbed. and more than 22 million people have received their boosterjab. on vaccinations, 89% of people aged 12 and over have now received a first dose, and 81% have been double jabbed. and more than 22 million people have received their boosterjab. they repeat the request for people who are eligible for boosters to go and get one. as we've been saying, care home residents in england will be allowed only three visitors and one essential care worker under updated government guidance. mike padgham is chair of the independent care group, and managing director of the saint cecilia's care group in and around scarborough. it's always good to speak to you but it's usually bad news when i do. apologies for that. what effect is this going to have? we apologies for that. what effect is this going to have?— this going to have? i've only had the information _ this going to have? i've only had the information myself - this going to have? i've only had the information myself in - this going to have? i've only had the information myself in less i this going to have? i've only had i the information myself in less than an hour so it's very worrying. i feel sympathy for those residents in care homes and visitors and their families and i think as he has seen this virus takes the prisoners and we are in for a bumpy ride. i can see why we have to do it, at least it's not perfect. so we have to get on with it. but we don't know is when this comes into effect in the immediate or in a few days' time. we will aet immediate or in a few days' time. we will get more clarity from the department of health and social care as you say in the next few hours because people need to know this and a meeting to know it as quickly as possible. £300 million to help recruit a worldwide social care workers in england. it's not entirely clear how that is, sorry, i am reading the press release as we speak. £300 million extension in addition to the 160 to the 162 and a half million pounds to support recruitment and retention and it can be used to pay for bonuses and bring forward pay rises which were scheduled to come into effect in april. is that money that would be of use? you have talked on this programme before about your concern about the ability to recruit and retain staff anyway? we about the ability to recruit and retain staff anyway? about the ability to recruit and retain staff an a ? ~ _, , retain staff anyway? we welcome this is 'ust a retain staff anyway? we welcome this isiust a dmp — retain staff anyway? we welcome this isiust a dmp in _ retain staff anyway? we welcome this isjust a drop in the _ retain staff anyway? we welcome this isjust a drop in the ocean _ retain staff anyway? we welcome this isjust a drop in the ocean and - retain staff anyway? we welcome this isjust a drop in the ocean and a - isjust a drop in the ocean and a few days ago it only seems to be asking because it's woefully underfunded. the issue is around £280 in the uk, sorry in england. it does not go very far people need a decent rise in living wage. it takes billions from the sector we need help months of the because he can't recruit people overnight and christmas is not far away. what we want them to do is allow us to recruit some from overseas to help in aping a volunteer workforce might be needed quickly to help us through this but we have to address the staff and this will not go far enough i'm afraid. in staff and this will not go far enough i'm afraid.- staff and this will not go far enough i'm afraid. in terms of residence _ enough i'm afraid. in terms of residence obviously _ enough i'm afraid. in terms of residence obviously they - enough i'm afraid. in terms of residence obviously they will i enough i'm afraid. in terms of i residence obviously they will be concerned and there's been quite advanced programme of ensuring president in care homes those who are unable to go out to get a booster vaccine have been able to get bruce to vaccines within the care home environment. how is that, you can only speak for your members and for your own you can only speak for your members and foryour own group, you can only speak for your members and for your own group, how has that been progressing? the and for your own group, how has that been progressing?— been progressing? the booster programme _ been progressing? the booster programme has _ been progressing? the booster programme has gone _ been progressing? the booster programme has gone well - been progressing? the booster programme has gone well so . been progressing? the booster l programme has gone well so far. been progressing? the booster - programme has gone well so far. not everyone is protected. what the issueis everyone is protected. what the issue is i fear is that they're coming up to the christmas period again and loved ones want to see their relatives and care homes and as we start tomorrow it's not going to be possible to get to that number as quickly as everyone would like because public have been patient and we ask for a bit more patience because business now has to be done by appointment and they have to be supervised and thinking everyone is a small care home over a period of days we will delete but it's difficult between a rock and a hard place and relatives want to see their loved ones. we will do our best to make sure it happens but i can only give sympathy to those people out there because i have thought this christmas might be better than last and it seems we are heading for another difficult one and a hope in 2022 we can get back to some nonmedically but sadly it seems to be a long way off. more than 70% of _ seems to be a long way off. more than 70% of adult _ seems to be a long way off. more than 70% of adult care _ seems to be a long way off. more than 70% of adult care have - seems to be a long way off. more than 70% of adult care have received a booster and 97% of adult care homes have been visited by vaccination teams that's clearly encouraging and we still have this requirement of vaccine mandates for staff but he does not come into effect until next year. and staff but he does not come into effect until next year.— staff but he does not come into effect until next year. and we have not effect until next year. and we have got obviously _ effect until next year. and we have got obviously lynn _ effect until next year. and we have got obviously lynn came _ effect until next year. and we have got obviously lynn came in - effect until next year. and we have got obviously lynn came in mid - got obviously lynn came in mid november there has been some recent announcements where there has been a caveat on that to allow a bit of room and asked nhs that have got the issue about their staff having been vaccinated and that's the difference. we've lost a lot of stop after social care because that place and we are having difficulty recruiting because of it. we can have a big debate about whether it's the right thing. the trouble is we need my staff and it's between a rock and a hard place. we cannot do right or wrong what is needed is my staff overnight but they are not there. we would have to manage the best he can but social care staff will put their audience and make sure they keep the residents safe and their colleagues safe and they are now visiting in the government still does not have at the top of their list. ~ �* , ., ., ., their list. we've been told one of their list. we've been told one of the explanations _ their list. we've been told one of the explanations for _ their list. we've been told one of the explanations for the - their list. we've been told one of the explanations for the backlog | their list. we've been told one of i the explanations for the backlog in hospitals is the issue of discharge from hospital care homes presumably in light of the additional restrictions and additional concerns about omicron and there is again going to be a slightly slower process of discharge from hospital but nobody wants to make mistakes that were clearly made in the spring of last year. it’s that were clearly made in the spring of last year-— of last year. it's very difficult. i had said and _ of last year. it's very difficult. i had said and my _ of last year. it's very difficult. i had said and my colleagues - of last year. it's very difficult. i i had said and my colleagues have of last year. it's very difficult. i - had said and my colleagues have said these on the bbc many times in the pastis these on the bbc many times in the past is he wanting the government to be back in the set going to be changes and when the papers were introduced most were coming to social care and into the nhs so they are not able to help the nhs is much as we like to and they will be delayed discharges on the whole system has to break together, strong health, strong social care. it's not too late but i call on the government to rethink their policy about stuff coming from overseas and it could be recruited quickly to help plug the gap while we get to the next few weeks. this year's downing street christmas party has been cancelled, as borisjohnson continues to face questions over a gathering held last december when covid restrictions were in place. it has emerged the prime minister's director of communications jack doyle spoke at the event, which is now under official investigation. two sources have told the bbc mr doyle offered his resignation, but that mrjohnson would not accept it. however this morning, number ten denied that he offered to quit. earlier, the labour leader sir keir starmer said the prime minister is "unfit for office". here's our political correspondent ben wright. besieged on three fronts, his authority, competence and integrity under scrutiny. after a torrid week for borisjohnson, there is no sign the pressure on the prime minister is easing. for a start, continuing questions about a party held in downing street last december. one of three gatherings now being investigated by the country's top civil servant. cabinet secretary is i'm sure investigating all these questions, so we will see the results of that in due course, but last christmas, i was spending my time getting trade deals over the line. we now know this man, number ten press chiefjack doyle, was at the event on december 18th. sources have told the bbc mr doyle offered borisjohnson his resignation, but the prime minister would not accept it, something downing street denies. but the murkiness around last year's party is putting conservative mps taking to the airwaves on the spot. everyone has to respond equally to the restrictions and then pay the penalty equally if those restrictions are broken. should the prime minister pay a price if he knew about it? i am here to speak about the uyghur tribunal. the second political headache facing the prime minister concerns his costly flat refurbishment. downing street has said officials are now liaising with borisjohnson's advisor on standards, lord geidt, following the publication of a report yesterday into how the work was paid for. sir keir starmer today meeting people in the aftermath of storm arwen stopped short of calling for mrjohnson to quit, but... he is not fit for office, because he's not fit i for office he won't resign, - and the question is really tory members of the cabinet, - tory mps, to ask themselves, are they prepared l to put up with this? for now, the answer is yes. many tory mps are miserable but they are not yet mutinous. one former cabinet minister told me he thought borisjohnson was being let down by a number ten with no common sense and little political nous. and tory mps are likely to stick with mrjohnson, so long as he still looks like an electoral winner, and a by—election in shropshire next thursday will put that to the test. before that, parliament will vote on new covid measures, the third problem facing boris johnson. his party is in open revolt on social media. more than 50 conservative mps have said they will vote against the government's latest package of protections that would require covid vaccine certificates for entry to crowded events. the plan may rely on labour support to go through. so, there is little respite for number ten, which today cancelled this year's christmas party. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are aubrey allegretti, political correspondent at the guardian, and giles kenningham, who's the former head of press for the conservative party. the families of four men who were murdered by a serial killer have accused the metropolitan police of homophobia, after an inquest jury found that police failures probably contributed to the deaths of three of the victims. anthony walgate, gabriel kovari, daniel whitworth, and jack taylor were killed in barking, in east london by stephen port over a 16—month period starting in 2014. the inquestjury found a string of failures in the police investigations. port was eventually jailed for life in 2016. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. four lives cruelly cut short by a serial killer. fashion student anthony walgate from hull, gabriel kovari from slovakia, young chef daniel whitworth from kent, and forklift driver jack taylorfrom dagenham. an inquest found today that police errors contributed to three of the deaths. the jury said there were fundamental failings in these investigations from the beginning, which allowed the male to continue his acts towards subsequent victims. it is a devastating finding. our thoughts are with everybody who loved these young men. we are so sorry for their loss. i give my own — and the met�*s — heartfelt apologies. the bereaved families remain shocked that the officers involved are still in theirjobs. what faith in the police can the british public have when their failings not only go unpunished, but are instead rewarded? how can the much—touted platitude of "lessons being learned" be true when there is a culture of rewarding failure? it all began injune 2014, when 23—year—old anthony walgate was found dead outside stephen port�*s flat in barking. it was port who had called the ambulance, and almost immediately, the police errors started mounting up. the mistakes are too many to list, but they went on for 15 months, before port was finally arrested for murder. and by that time, three other young men were also dead. after anthony died and port reported the body, detectives missed this record in the police national database of port with a man who could barely walk after taking the date—rape drug ghb. they didn't examine port�*s computer, which would have shown him constantly searching for videos of young men being raped, while unconscious on drugs. anthony's mother is convinced a competent police investigation would have stopped port there and then. all the other victims would have been safe if they could have just actually been bothered to investigate anthony's murder. stephen port was arrested for lying about moving anthony's body, but he remained on bail, free to kill again. and within weeks, in a nearby church graveyard, two more bodies were found. first, gabriel kovari, and then daniel whitworth. he had what appeared to be a suicide note, in which he also said he'd taken gabriel's life. detectives just accepted that, when simple checks would have shown that the two had never met. in march 2015, port was jailed for lying to police about moving the first victim's body. for now, the killings stopped. but so did any further investigations. and in september 2015, three months after stephen port was released from prison, the body of jack taylor was found. cctv showed him walking with a stranger, but his sisters had to beg officers to use the pictures in a public appeal. we asked and we were told no. we asked again, we were told no. and then eventually, they listened to us and they did put it out. the sisters' handwritten notes from the time show they had spotted many of the key suspicious factors linking the deaths that the police had missed. they told me they want the incompetent officers involved to be sacked. i don't think they should be in the position any more, i don't think they should theirjob. our whole world tipped upside down, but they get promoted. they get to carry on their lives. the families think the four men's deaths were investigated so badly partly because they were gay. they say officers either made prejudiced assumptions orjust didn't care enough about the men. but the metropolitan police does not accept that. let's speak to nancy kelley, ceo of stonewall, the lgbtq+ rights charity. thank you for being with us to talk about this. it's a terrible story. whatever angle you look at it. is that deal with the attitude of police officers. do you believe hostility or ignorance explains any of the mistakes that were made? figs of the mistakes that were made? is we have just heard, there was a catalog of many fundamental failures by the police. and we know probably enabled stephen to go on and continue to rape and murder innocent young gay man and we can hear that theirfamilies young gay man and we can hear that their families who young gay man and we can hear that theirfamilies who are young gay man and we can hear that their families who are closest to that investigation feeling really clear that homophobia contributed so from our perspective we should not let them mark their own homework. we meet at the independent inquiry into institutional homophobia within the force. titre institutional homophobia within the force. �* , ., institutional homophobia within the force. , , , , institutional homophobia within the force. , ,, , force. are you surprised this has not been referred _ force. are you surprised this has not been referred for— force. are you surprised this has not been referred for an - force. are you surprised this has| not been referred for an external investigation? the police complaints procedure was in place. we investigation? the police complaints procedure was in place.— procedure was in place. we are surprised- _ procedure was in place. we are surprised. it's _ procedure was in place. we are surprised. it's a _ procedure was in place. we are surprised. it's a case _ procedure was in place. we are surprised. it's a case that - procedure was in place. we are surprised. it's a case that has i procedure was in place. we are - surprised. it's a case that has been to damage the lgbt community trust and confidence in their math and from the very beginning alongside the families, many people waiting the families, many people waiting the lbgtq community had been speaking out and concern about this case. it's absolutely the most serious kind of case that you are i can possibly imagine and it should be treated with that level of seriousness. it requires an independent inquiry and it also requires the neck to look at investing in better training for officers at all levels so that lgbt people can be confident when the reports hate crime and we report the crime to the police and we will be treated well and taken seriously. it looks in the case of parts that three of the four victims at least could have been saved if science had not been met and that's a terrible thing for the family staff to deal with and for the families and loved ones of the four men who were murdered this case and not least because it's dragged on for so long has clearly been incredibly traumatizing. i wonder what your view is. there is quite an organized community of the officers within the metropolitan police. they have been quite active and vocal. presumably for some of them this must be very difficult to feel like they're part of an organization which as a result of an organization which as a result of this they might not be as comfortable as be painted before the port murders. i comfortable as be painted before the port murders-— port murders. i think it probably is a really hard _ port murders. i think it probably is a really hard day _ port murders. i think it probably is a really hard day to _ port murders. i think it probably is a really hard day to be _ port murders. i think it probably is a really hard day to be a _ port murders. i think it probably is a really hard day to be a gay, - a really hard day to be a gay, lesbian, ortrans a really hard day to be a gay, lesbian, or trans officer in the match and i think one of the important things to point to is that this case is sadly not completely isolated. it is unusual in severity and seriousness. hate crime against lgbt community has been rising for years now and actuallyjust lgbt community has been rising for years now and actually just this years now and actually just this year the mets recorded its highest ever monthly rate of hate crime against lbgtq plus people so there is a really serious need to address issues of institutionalized homophobia and buy for the the forest both so that by furby and transphobia within the forest both so that daniel, jack, and their families can have some amount of peace and can have some amount of sense that justice peace and can have some amount of sense thatjustice has been done and so the wider lbgtq plus community can begin to rebuild trust and confidence in the police force in london. ., ., , ., london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes — london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes has _ london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes has reached _ london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes has reached as _ london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes has reached as high - london. you mentioned the number of hate crimes has reached as high as - hate crimes has reached as high as any level and there is a positive interpretation which is about the willingness to report the police and the confidence in where the prosecution of the perceived by the crown prosecution service. give us your impression on where that is. i think it's very likely that there is greater confidence in reporting so it's likely that some part of that rise is attributable to more of us coming forward but we know only one in eight of us actually even report hate crime to the police and we need to on of us are satisfied with how are treated. and we also know we have seen a wave of really serious physical attacks on lgbt people in our cities including animal homophobic murderer here in london in london and tyringham. so, we should not sit back and say this is all that the reporting and this is all that the reporting and this is all greater confidence in the police. it definitely is not that. we still have a really serious problem with lbgtq plus people feeling safe in communities and feeling safe in communities and feeling confident in the police to protect us. feeling confident in the police to protect us— feeling confident in the police to protect us. feeling confident in the police to rotect us. ., ,, ., ., ,, ., protect us. thank you for talking to us. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. it's been a cold day and we have got a cold night on the way. with widespread frost expected in the early hours of saturday morning and across eastern and central areas of the uk. many times will be around freezing or below. in the last it will not be so cold by the state on saturday it will be milder as an advancing warm fronts brings cloud and also some outbreaks of rain. when icy a warm front relatively warm for this time of year. it's not going to be all that warm at all. in fact probably with outbreaks of rain asking all afternoon. it is 12 degrees in the last but not particularly appealing. six to eight degrees in the east of the countries is fairly nippy on saturday anywhere from aberdeen towards norwich. it will turn mild as he had to watch sunday and into next week temperatures in some parts of the country could be 13 or 14 degrees. hello, this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... the figures suggest omicron could be the dominate variant in the uk by mid—december. a senior cabinet minister says the situation is seriously worrying. scotland first minister nicola sturgeon warns of a "tsunami" of omicron cases and cautions against having christmas parties. two separate sources have told the bbc that the prime minister's director of comms, jack doyle, offered his resignation after his attendance at the christmas party was revealed. but borisjohnson would not accept it. failures by the metropolitan police were responsible in part for the deaths of three victims of the serial killer stephen port, an inquestjury has found. the wikileaks founder, julian assange, can be extradited to the us to stand trial, the high court has ruled. assange faces charges in the states of publishing classified documents. his extradition was blocked injanuary because of concerns about his mental health, but nowjudges have said that assurances given about mr assange's treatment allow the move to go ahead. dominic casciani has this report. free, freejulian assange! a day ofjudgment, but is it the end of the road in washington for a man who has been wanted for a decade? today, the high court ruled julian assange should go on trial in the us for disclosing state secrets. his supporters say he'll kill himself injail, the americans say they'll treat him humanely. mr assange's partner says those assurances are worthless. the high court decided againstjulian on this occasion on the basis of political assurances. amnesty international has analysed these assurances and has said that they are inherently unreliable. it's taken 11 years to get here. in 2010, julian assange's wikileaks posted video of iraqi civilians killed by us forces. just one of thousands of us secrets. two years later, he flees into the ecuadorian embassy in london. in 2018, the us begins preparing a prosecution. the next year, assange is removed from the embassy, and he's been in a britishjail cell ever since. for his supporters, julian assange is a warrior for truth and justice, but our extradition law says he must stand trial for his alleged crimes. his lawyers will try to get the case into the supreme court to overturn this judgment, but that's not guaranteed. if he can't launch a final appeal, one of the most controversial figures of the internet age will be on his way to trial in america. dominic casciani, bbc news, at the high court. jameeljaffer is director of the knight first amendment institute at columbia university in new york. thank you very much for talking to us here on bbc news. you submitted exert us here on bbc news. you submitted expert testimony _ us here on bbc news. you submitted expert testimony to _ us here on bbc news. you submitted expert testimony to uk _ us here on bbc news. you submitted expert testimony to uk courts - us here on bbc news. you submitted expert testimony to uk courts about | expert testimony to uk courts about the press freedom implications earlier this year — what in summary were you arguing? earlier this year - what in summary were you arguing?— were you arguing? well, the real concern here _ were you arguing? well, the real concern here is _ were you arguing? well, the real concern here is that _ were you arguing? well, the real concern here is that the - were you arguing? well, the real. concern here is that the prosecution ofjulian assange will have implications for journalists who report on national security issues more generally. and there's this side issue about whetherjulian assange himself was properly characterised as a journalist. whether he is or isn't, the fact is the indictment the us government has filed focus is in large part on activities that journalists filed focus is in large part on activities thatjournalists engage in routinely, cultivating government sources, for example, communicating with sources confidentially, preserving confidentiality of sources�*s identities, and then publishing government secrets. those are the kinds of things that investigative journalists do every day, and need to do every day in order to do the work that all of us need to do. and the problem is the government's prosecution ofjulian assange is based largely, maybe principally on those kinds of activities. principally on those kinds of activities-— principally on those kinds of activities. ., ,, ., , , activities. now the us has the first amendment because, _ activities. now the us has the first amendment because, indeed, - activities. now the us has the first amendment because, indeed, it . activities. now the us has the first i amendment because, indeed, it has activities. now the us has the first. amendment because, indeed, it has a constitution fall stock. the british don't, it does not have anything that constitutionally overrides what the law says, the statute law says by parliament, beyond some certain common—law principles like the right to trial byjury, the right to be freed if you were locked up forever and ever without ever facing justice. given we don't have the things you are referring to, it's things you are referring to, its reasonable is in it for the high court to accept assurances from the us that if he is extradited, he will be given a fair trial within the context of what the law is in the united states?— context of what the law is in the united states? ., ~ ., �* ., ., united states? you know, i'm not an exert on united states? you know, i'm not an expert on uk — united states? you know, i'm not an expert on uk law. — united states? you know, i'm not an expert on uk law, i can't _ united states? you know, i'm not an expert on uk law, i can't say - united states? you know, i'm not an expert on uk law, i can't say what's. expert on uk law, i can't say what's reasonable or not in that context. what i can say is, from the perspective of press freedom, this is an unfortunate decision because what it means is that a sans —— julian assange is now likely to face trial in the united states under the espionage act, and that is something that multiple demonstrations have used very aggressively against journalists's sources. since 9/11, the bush of ministration and obama administrations, the trumpet ministrations have all used for the espionage act very aggressively to go after whistle—blowers and other government insiders who share information with the press. in this case, the julian information with the press. in this case, thejulian assange case is the first time the government has tried to use the espionage act against a publisher. and there is real uncertainty in the us how this case will go out. we do have the first amendment here, thankfully, which limits government power to prosecute people for what they say or publish. but how the first amendment applies in this particular context isn't at all clear because again, this is the first time the government has tried to use the espionage act in this way. to use the espionage act in this wa _ , ., to use the espionage act in this wa . , ., , to use the espionage act in this wa. , ., , , way. sorry to interrupt, can i 'ust clarify something? i way. sorry to interrupt, can i 'ust clarify something? allowing h way. sorry to interrupt, can ijust clarify something? allowing for l way. sorry to interrupt, can ijust . clarify something? allowing for what you've said that you don't know the british system, in some ways because there is a first amendment, doesn't julian assange have a better chance of making his case in a court in the united states than he ever would have in a country like britain, which doesn't recognise objectively rights of that kind? which doesn't recognise ob'ectively rights of that unfit rights of that kind? again, it's hard for me — rights of that kind? again, it's hard for me to _ rights of that kind? again, it's hard for me to make - rights of that kind? again, it's - hard for me to make comparisonsjust hard for me to make comparisons just because my expertise is in american law, and not an british law. but i would say there's a real question to what extentjulian assange can rely on the first amendment in this particular context — only because american courts have not been sympathetic to whistle—blowers who have invoked the first amendment in their defence when they've been prosecuted under the espionage act. again, this is a unique case because it's the first time the act has been used against a publisher rather than whistle—blower. but still, the fact that the first amendment hasn't been of value to whistle—blowers when prosecutors of the espionage act is certainly not a good sign forjulian assange. i'm not here to defend julian assange, you can think what you want to about him — but ultimately, ifjulian assange is prosecuted and convicted for having engaged in the kinds of activities that the government describes in the indictment, i think that'll cast a real shadow over investigative journalism generally, including investigative journalism that i think the united states really needs right now. think the united states really needs riaht now. ., ~ think the united states really needs riaht now. ., ,, i. . ., right now. thank you so much for bein: right now. thank you so much for being with _ right now. thank you so much for being with us _ right now. thank you so much for being with us on _ right now. thank you so much for being with us on bbc _ right now. thank you so much for being with us on bbc news. - right now. thank you so much for| being with us on bbc news. thank ou. a former conservative minister has been found to have raped and physically abused his wife. a family courtjudge concluded 51—year—old andrew griffiths pressurised kate griffiths, mp for burton—upon—trent, into engaging in sexual activity. the former mp has denied allegations made by ms griffiths and "adamantly denied" rape. an online paedophile blackmailer, who targetted thousands of victims while orchestrating "graphic, upsetting and sickening" sexual abuse has been sentenced to 32 years injail, plus eight years' extended licence. abdul elahi told investigators the offences were "a job" to make as much money as possible. his crimes spread across 30 or more different countries, with over 2,000 offences identified across the world. more than 67,000 indecent images of children have been recovered from hard drives. our correspondent, andrew plant reports. from his bedroom keyboard in birmingham, abdul elahi trawled the internet, offering money to women for explicit photos, then blackmailing them into increasingly extreme sexual acts, threatening to expose them if they did not comply. as soon as he's got one picture of you, that's it. asking if i've got younger siblings, if i knew any close people that were younger than me. itjust got more and more graphic, asking me to hit myself, just really degrading stuff. he put them in a position, where theyjust couldn't escape, because he had so much control over them. officers from the national crime agency described the material are some of the most depraved they'd ever seen. the more material he got, the more control he had in what threats he could make. that's what he did. he got them to do worse and worse acts as the scale of his offending increase. abdul elahi repeatedly blackmailed dozens of victims, systematically storing the material and selling them online, including acts of incest and thousands of sexual images of children. elahi made a business out of his blackmail, selling the pictures and videos online for tens of thousands of pounds — but he also sold his victim's contact details which meant that some of them were approached by people who bought that material and tried to blackmail them all over again. it meant the videos and images were spread to the very darkest corners of the internet. experts had spent months trying to delete that material. some of the women are sobbing, as they are doing what they are told to do, because they're so frightened that some of the other images will be shared to devastate their lives. and of course, that's ultimately what happened. because knowing that your content is out there, particularly the nature of this contents, which is some the most extreme we have ever of seen, has had a devastating impact on the lives, the mental health, the well—being, whole life prospects for every single person affected. elahi was described in court as one of the most prolific online sexual predators the uk had ever seen. one victim telling police, all he wanted was to people — and he did. he destroyed their lives. the us supreme court has allowed abortion providers to challenge a near—total ban in texas. the restrictive law remains in place for the moment. but a majority of the justices on the conservative—leaning court agreed that lawsuits filed by abortion providers in texas should proceed in a federal court. our washington correspondent barbara plett usher explains the significance of this ruling. well, it's a minor victory for abortion rights providers, because it removes a hurdle for them. so the texas law was specifically designed to prevent legal challenge. what normally happens when state legislators passed restrictions on abortion laws that are seen as unconstitutional, the federal courts step in and block those laws. but the state of texas is not responsible for enforcing this law — it has passed that task to any ordinary civilian, any ordinary citizen. and ordinary citizens can't be taken federal court. so, this was the problem for abortion providers — the supreme court agreed this was unacceptable, they did provide a narrow pathway for the abortion clinics to actually take this to federal court and pursue their case there. however, they were very disappointed that the court did not block the law in the meantime. the conservative justices refused to grant their request that the law be put on hold while this legal action was taking place, and they said that was a big disappointment because it's a very extreme law — it bans abortions at roughly six weeks and has created great difficulties for women seeking abortions. face coverings are now compulsory in most indoor venues in england, under measures to tackle the omicron variant. masks must be worn in theatres and cinemas, museums and places of worship. they had already been mandatory in shops, on public transport and in hairdresses, barbers and beauty salons. but they are not compulsory in hospitality venues like pubs and restaurants. our business correspondent caroline davies reports. the excitement of a christmas theatre trip. buying a balloon is optional — masks are not. this matinee performance of peppa pig and in london was one of the first since the rules have changed. although there were plenty of masks here, there was a mixed reception to wearing them. obviously kids can't wear masks, so it makes no difference, really, cos kids are coughing and stuff in there, so... it's all a bit hit—and—miss, really. i think it's necessary, you know, for their health and everything. and i think it's not a problem, because i have this all the time. it was frustrating, but i can see it's got to be done, so... - oh, we quite liked it, we were quite happy! very happy to be wearing a mask. it was all so close, and it was good to wear them. many theatres, including this one, have been continuing to ask people to wear masks while watching performances. but today, that becomes a legal requirement. theatres are also delighted that they are able to keep operating during the important festive period. i think it was absolutely essential, just for people's peace of mind and to get us through the pandemic. our bookings are very, very healthy, and i think with what has just been put in with the mask mandate, i think we will be fine. masks are already mandatory in venues like theatres and cinemas in scotland, wales, and northern ireland. the westminster government introduced the rule in england to try to slow the spread of the omicron variant. but how difficult will it be for staff to enforce? we need to let the customers know what the rules are. it's not down to the staff to police, you know, there's no way — we can't keep coming in, disturbing the film. we have to get the message of the customers and hope they can follow the guidance themselves, really _ the government has acknowledged it will be difficult to enforce the rules, and it doesn't expectjunior members of staff to put themselves at risk, but that they should work with local authorities and the police if needed. after a difficult christmas period last year, many venues have welcomed masks if it builds confidence and means the show can go on. caroline davies, bbc news. the musician and actor mike nesmith has died at the age of 78.

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