after a photo emerges of him taking part in a quiz. he can't deliver the leadership that this country needs and we have got a very important votes coming up next week and he can't even discharge the basic functions of government. he is the worst possible leader of the worst possible time. they can now make their mind up when they see this picture on a virtual screen, on a zoom call, thanking his team that were in the building because they have to respond to a national emergency. emergency teams search for survivors in 6 us states, after more than 80 people die in the largest outbreaks of tornadoes in us history. and coming up in half an hour, the media show takes a look at the christmas party scoops and asks how did the journalists involved get hold of them? good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. in the last half hour, red bull's max verstappen has won his first formula one world championship after beating rival lewis hamilton in a dramatic abu dhabi grand prix. verstappen took the title after a last—lap overtake. let's cross to the bbc sport centre and hugh ferris. he is still standing despite all of that. my goodness, what an afternoon. take us through it. i’m afternoon. take us through it. i'm sittin: afternoon. take us through it. in sitting because frankly i need to. along with a lot of people who have been enjoying or enduring what was a remarkable last half an hour in abu dhabi. in eight to nine months, there's been more than 4000 miles driven by the formula one. 13 laps -- 1300 driven by the formula one. 13 laps —— 1300 laps too. how it did is a matter of current controversy and could be debated for a long time yet. joe lynskey was watching an extraordinary conclusion to what's being descirbed as the sport's greatest season, one which crowned a new world champion. it's formula one's ultimate finish. two drivers level with one race to go. lewis hamilton has the title, max verstappen has support. titles can come down to a tenth of a second. hamilton reacted quickest and took the lead. through the season, there's been flashpoints, more here was certain. here was hamilton forced widespread improvising. with such a short cut, he'd often give back the lead but here not so. this race would have a remarkable, breathtaking finish, when one of the field crashed, the safety car comes out in bunches the rest. when the all clear was given, there was one lap to go. an incredible drama, fished —— max verstappen made his move. the teams in the drivers could barely believe this. a lifetime dream made in one lap. max verstappen, a new world champion in the most extraordinary way. and to think, jane, that everything that happened in the prior weeks and months, it had been a big lead for max verstappen in the world title rankings. bearing in mind, he has the number 33. lewis hamilton who won the three races before today and 95% of the race today, it looked like he would win that record eight formula one drivers title but five laps to go and joe mentioned it in his piece there, something which would have seemed to most to be completely inconsequential on the battle between those two. the canadian driver crashed and brought out the safety car and without the safety car, the field will bunch. the thing was between lewis hamilton leading the race at that point and max verstappen, there were a number of cars who had been lapped. the stewards decided at that point they wanted to keep those lap cars between. —— in between max verstappen and hamilton. but then, they reversed that decision and this is the element of controversy which is the element of controversy which is being debated by the fans of lewis hamilton and the mercedes team. they reversed the decision allowing max verstappen to be bunched up right behind lewis hamilton as the safety car left the track, which was one lap to go. and with the fresh tyres, that was what we just saw. it was a last lap overtake and max verstappen has won the formula one drivers title for the formula one drivers title for the first time, and indeed, it is the first time, and indeed, it is the first time, and indeed, it is the first dutch driver to win that title as well. it's been an extraordinary day in abu dhabi and i'm glad i'm sitting down. thank you very much. nesta mcgregor has been watching with fans at silverstone. tell us about reaction and also tell us what people are saying about that decision that hugh just described. good afternoon. if this was a hollywood movie, as the credits rolled, i would have rolled my eyes and said, like that could ever happen. the tension on that final act was absolutely incredible. some people couldn't watch it. with ten laps to go, this was lewis hamilton's championship but it wasn't to be. we are now going to relive that last lap with abby and sophie, who are max verstappen fans. tell me about that last lap. we acce ted tell me about that last lap. we accepted it _ tell me about that last lap. we accepted it was lewis hamilton's race and — accepted it was lewis hamilton's race and then they were neck and neck_ race and then they were neck and neck and — race and then they were neck and neck and my whole bodyjust, i tensed — neck and my whole bodyjust, i tensed up— neck and my whole bodyjust, i tensed up and it was everything. it was the _ tensed up and it was everything. it was the only way we could have closed — was the only way we could have closed such a dramatic season. lets talk about the _ closed such a dramatic season. lets talk about the safety car coming on. lewis was well ahead, people would say, is that the way that max verstappen would have wanted to win the championship? what you think at the championship? what you think at the end? murray i think it was fair racing to me. yes, you will have lewis hamilton fans disagreeing and i guess that's because it was dramatic, you could not have predicted that.— dramatic, you could not have predicted that. dramatic, you could not have redicted that. . ._ ., predicted that. halfway through, we were like, predicted that. halfway through, we were like. we _ predicted that. halfway through, we were like, we need _ predicted that. halfway through, we were like, we need a _ predicted that. halfway through, we were like, we need a miracle - predicted that. halfway through, we were like, we need a miracle right l were like, we need a miracle right now and _ were like, we need a miracle right now and that safety car was it. i could _ now and that safety car was it. i could not— now and that safety car was it. i could not have asked for anything better— could not have asked for anything better honestly.— could not have asked for anything better honestly. ruby, we have been seedin: better honestly. ruby, we have been speeding all — better honestly. ruby, we have been speeding all throughout _ better honestly. ruby, we have been speeding all throughout the - speeding all throughout the afternoon and you have been more than happy. we spoke to you with ten laps ago and i'm sure you're too young to drink champagne but lewis hamilton would have had it at the ready. what did you about the race? i'm shocked. the championship... i think— i'm shocked. the championship... i think it's _ i'm shocked. the championship... i think it's wrong _ i'm shocked. the championship... i think it's wrong and _ i'm shocked. the championship... i think it's wrong and i _ i'm shocked. the championship... i think it's wrong and i think- think it's wrong and i think hamilton— think it's wrong and i think hamilton should _ think it's wrong and i think hamilton should have - think it's wrong and i think hamilton should have wonj think it's wrong and i think. hamilton should have won no think it's wrong and i think— hamilton should have won no matter what _ hamilton should have won no matter what. ., ~ hamilton should have won no matter what. . ~ , ., , hamilton should have won no matter what. ., ~' ,, , , hamilton should have won no matter what. . ~ i. , , . what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like — what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like i _ what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like i might _ what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like i might have _ what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like i might have to - what. thank you girls very much. it sounds like i might have to keep i sounds like i might have to keep your part as this debate goes on. max verstappen, his first grand prix title. i tell you what, a lot of people said that if lewis hamilton had won, this could have been his last. i definitely don't think it's the case. somewhere, the competitor in lewis hamilton isjust like, see you next year, and we can't wait. thank you. regularsports you next year, and we can't wait. thank you. regular sports bulletin with all the rest of the sport coming up a little bit later on in the hour. right now, we will turn our attention to our other main story here, of course, the one that is really dominating at the moment. health officials say the first people in the uk have been hospitalised with the 0micron variant of coronavirus, with the country facing an predicted large wave of infections. ministers say as many people as can need to get their covid booster with bookings opening tomorrows to everyone aged between 30 and 39. it comes as health leaders warn that nhs staff are currently working at full stretch. here's our health correspondentjim reed. in southampton this morning, plenty of people were out queueing for covid vaccine number three. ministers and scientists say these boosterjabs are the most important defence against the 0micron variant of this winter. i think it's important just to make sure that you are protected as best as you can. my wife is having her one today as well, so just make sure that we are as best protected as we can. from monday, people in their 30s in england will be able to book their booster appointments, three months after that second dose, as the roll—out continues down the age groups with the other nations of the uk likely to follow soon. it's really important given what we know now about the 0micron variant and how effective the vaccine is, particularly after the booster dose, so it's a really important measure for protecting themselves, their families and the public at large. government scientists say it's now inevitable. we will see a large wave of infections across the country. the new variant already makes up a third of cases in london. it was confirmed today that hospitals are now seeing their first patients with 0micron, although it's not yet clear how serious those cases are. we have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best and i think ourjob is to highlight that this is a big wave, it's coming straight at us. if we see even half the severity that we saw with delta, then we are facing a very large number of hospitalisations and potential deaths. the future of this pandemic, though, is more uncertain than it has been for 18 months. in south africa, there are early tentative signs that infections in some parts of the country may be slowing down without a big surge in hospitalisations. in the uk, more rules are changing. from tuesday, those who are fully vaccinated and in contact with someone with covid—19 should take a lateral flow test at home for seven days rather than having to self—isolate. ministers say extra testing and more boosterjabs like these are the best way to protect the whole country this christmas. chris hopson, who is the ceo of nhs providers — that's the organisation representing hospitals and ambulance services — said we're still waiting to see how serious the impact of the 0micron varient is on the health service. i think what we do know is that it looks like the 0micron variant is significantly more transmissible than the previous alpha and delta variants and if you look at the speed with which the infections appear to be picking up and the fact that we have got a doubling time of two to three days, that does suggest that it is significantly more infectious. the bit that we are still really waiting for and i think we will need to wait probably at least a week or ten days for is really working out how serious and potentially the consequences of catching 0micron are and the severity of the symptoms that then follow. 0bviously, working on the basis that the vaccinations have changed things considerably in terms that if we weren't vaccinated and people were not having their booster, then potentially the risk would be much higher. there is quite a lot that we don't know. obviously, there is concern inside the nhs about the level of hospitalisations that we might see but we just want to wait for a bit longer to really see exactly how severe the symptoms of people who catch this new variant are. yes, absolutely, so it's a tricky interim period both of the people you represent and for the politicians having to make the decisions. are the people you represent saying — we are preparing for the worst because we have to prepare for the worst. we would be mad not to. well, i think the quote of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best is absolutely spot on. but what we need to remember is that the nhs is under real pressure at the moment in terms of much wider health and care issues. if you look at the emergency care pathway, that's very busy. we had our second busiest ever november. we answered more 999 called that we have ever answered in november. we also know at the same time that we are trying to get through that backlog as quickly as possible and we know that our colleagues in primary care are incredibly busy — gps rolling out those vital boosters as quickly as possible. we also know that our colleagues in social care are also busy. we know that for example 1.5 million hours of domiciliary care could not be delivered between august and october because there simply weren't the social care staff there to deliver them. so, wherever you look, jane, at our healthcare system, you have a system that is under pressure to a greater degree than what we have ever seen at this period of time in terms of at this time of the year and that's really before two things — one is the traditional nhs winter peak that tends to happen in sort of early to mid january, and then, secondly in terms of what might happen in terms of this extra 0micron caseload. yes, the nhs is already, we are saying it's beyond full stretch already, and that's before we've hit winter and before we got to deal with the consequences of 0micron. so, yes, it is concerning but as you'd expect, everybody at the nhs front line is doing absolutely the best they can to provide the best possible care to everybody who needs it because that's what we're here for. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has said borisjohnson appears to have broken the law when he took part in a christmas quiz at downing street last year, at a time when social mixing between households was banned. the sunday mirror has obtained a photo of the quiz, showing the prime minister with two people sat next to him. downing street has described the quiz as a "virtual" event. 0ur political correspondent, helen catt, reports. it's the christmas quiz that downing street said was virtual but is now posing very real questions for the prime minister. pictured here with two aids hosting a round on the 15th of december last year. 0n the video call, number 10 staff — some dialling in from home, others apparently gathered in groups elsewhere in the building. at the time, indoor socialising with others was banned in london. so, question one... was he breaking the law? well, it looks as though he was and he must have known those other groups were in other rooms in his own building and, you know, this is very important because he has damaged his authority. he is now so weak, his party is so divided, he can't deliver the leadership that this country needs. he is the worst possible leader at the worst possible time. that's not the answer given by the government. what do we see? we see a prime minister in his office with two of his staff next to him. there are no drinks. my e—mail is full of people thinking that there were parties with guests and all sorts of things happening. actually, they can now make their mind up, when they see this picture on a virtual screen, on a zoom call, thanking his team, who are in the building because they have to respond to a national emergency. then, they can make their mind up. he said it was right that the cabinet secretary was investigating three gatherings, including an alleged party at number 10 on december the 18th. downing street said staff already in the building may have attended the quiz virtually from their desks. the photo is the latest in a series of damaging leaks to the frustration of tory mps including the party's leader in scotland. we need clarity. we need to be honest with the public about what happened, _ why it happened and what has been said since because the public- are rightly angry, i'm angry. my family didn't have the christmas we expected last year. _ l it looks like there's a possibility. that we will not have the christmas we expected this year and the public rightly expect those _ at the top of government l and their advisers to follow the rules that theyj themselves wrote. for number 10, the timing could hardly be worse. more than 60 tories have already said they won't back the government's covid plan b measures in a vote on tuesday. after the emergence of this picture, backbench goodwill could be an even shorter supply. the foreign secretary, liz truss, has warned russia will face �*massive consequences' and a �*severe cost�* if it were to invade ukraine. speaking at the g7 ministerial meeting in liverpool, ms truss said the uk, the united states and other allies are considering �*all options' if russia were to launch an incursion across the border, amid rising tensions in the region. emergency teams in six us states are continuing to search for survivors following one of the largest outbreaks of tornadoes in us history. at least 80 people died in kentucky, including dozens in a candle factory, and the death toll is expected to rise above 100. the state's governor said it would be a miracle if anyone else was found alive. there've been reports of deaths too in arkansas, missouri, tennessee and illinois, where six amazon workers have been confirmed dead, after the roof of their warehouse collapsed. jack sillin is a meteorological analyst at cornell university. he explained why the tormados occured and why they were so strong. the reason that we saw tornadoes on this particular day anyway has to do with the storm that moved up to the great lakes and brought all of this warm, moist air from the gulf of mexico up into the midwest and midsouth and that air was forced to rise. we had winds changing speed and direction and that's why you get the spinning in the atmosphere, so the cause for these particular tornadoes was very natural. these types of storms happen all the time. that said, the background environment is sort of shifting in favour of these types of events. you're getting warmer gulf of mexico due to climate change and that enables more moisture. as we talked about earlier, the fact that we had an unusually large amount of moisture is one reason these storms were able to be so intense. so much like your favourite soccer player would score a goal because they kick the ball in the right direction this time, that's a specific event but it's their training and the background that makes those events more likely. mother nature unfortunately the tornadoes have been hitting the gym a little bit in terms of climate change making them a bit more likely. voters in the pacific territory of new caledonia, have voted �*no' to independence from france. the french high commission estimated that about 40 percent of voters had cast a ballot shortly before the polls closed. pro—independence groups had called for a boycott of the vote, to allow the territory to properly mourn those who've died from covid—19. it was the third and final referendum. the two previous polls, in 2018 and last year, narrowly rejected independence. our correspondent phil mercer has more. loyalist groups in new caledonia say that the verdict by voters was indisputable, however pro—independence groups have urged their supporters not to take part in the ballots, saying that covid—19 had robbed them of their opportunity to campaign effectively. they also said that they wanted to postpone the referendum to give indigenous people, who make up about 40% of the population, time to mourn those who have died during the pandemic. they were saying it was unfair to expect them to campaign effectively during what they have described as a national emergency. the vote has gone ahead and it is overwhelmingly against independence. now, this vote is part of the noumea accord of 1998. it follows a decade of unrest in new caledonia in the 1980s. that accord set out a path for potential independence, including three votes. we have had those three votes now — 2018, 2020, and today, in december 2021. they have all rejected independence but because of a boycott of today's referendum by a large number of voters, new caledonia's political future remains unclear. let's get the rest of the sport — back to hugh ferris. hello. so we've just been hearing all about how max verstappen pipped lewis hamilton to the formular1 championship in the final lap at the abu dhabi grand prix. but away from the f1, there are just three games in the premier league today. two matches are well underway — burnley and newcastle both started in the bottom three and need a win to get out of it... in the scottish premiership, leaders rangers have moved seven points clear at the top — at least for a couple of hours. that's after they beat hearts 2—0 at tynecastle — alfredo morelos giving rangers an early lead. and they doubled it moments later — joe aribo with a superb finish. hearts did have a man sent off late on — but it didn't affect the result. six straight league wins for rangers. rangers' nearest rivals celtic are in action right now — as they aim to cut the gap back down to 4 points. celtic up against 4th place motherwell. it is 0-0 it is 0—0 there. they played about 20 minutes. if manchester united returned to winning ways in the women's super league by beating brighton 2—0 at crawley. wales international hayley ladd opened the scoring just before half time. then norway midfielder vilde boe risa completed the victory as united ended a four—match winless run in the wsl. elsewhere, toni duggan secured a point for everton as they drew 1—all with west ham. manchester city have come from behind twice at birmingham — it's 2—2 there. later tottenham travel to aston villa and league leaders arsenal host lceister. —— leicester city. sale sharks got their heineken champions cup campaign off to a winning start by beating 0spreys by 21 points to 13. jean—luc du preez scored sale's third try of the first half which was enough to secure the victory in swansea. jakob ingebrigtsen has claimed his first senior european cross country title in dublin. the 21 year old norwegian secured gold by 14 seconds over defending champion aras kaya of turkey. that's the biggest winning margin since 2015. ingebrigsten's success comes just four months after winning the 0lympic1500m title in tokyo. there were no medals for great britain's senior athletes in the individual races, but they did win the mixed relay. there was also success for the juniors. charles hicks won the under 23s men's race. megan keith won the under 20 women's race and great britain won team gold in the under 20 men's. that's all the sport for now. clearly, there will be plenty more reaction to max verstappen's formula one title but given that there is other stuff as well, that's it. thank you very much, hugh. see you later on. residents of a seaside village in norfolk have been told to avoid the beach, after a substantial landslide earlier this week. it's the third cliff—fall of its kind on the same stretch of coastline, in just two years. 0ur reporter ian barmer has the story. if you needed reminding just how vulnerable parts of our coast are becoming, this is the latest example. people at mundesley in north norfolk woke to find this — the sea defences and much of the beach to the sea covered. in 2019, a huge cliff fall at sidestrand was filmed as it happened. last year, it happened again at trimingham. very tired, you know, thinking about it all. going to have to move, i reckon, now. trimingham slope went, further back, just under two years ago, i think. and that could happen here. it's already started, it's the start of the season for this weather and i'm now very nervous and agitated about any further. cliffs along much of the east anglian coast are vulnerable for one important reason — they're made up largely of sand and soil which soaks up rainfall and can then sheer away. you've just got tobe careful with our cliffs. you know, other parts of the country you get rock where the cliffs are very stable, but because of the nature of how ours are made up of sand and soil, they're always vulnerable. but this time of year, lots of rain, it makes it worse. the coastguards want people to stay away from mundesley beach. they say the landslide is so big it could leave people cut off at high tide, and the top of the cliff is still potentially very unstable. ian barmer, bbc news. just to bring you an update that we are looking at in the last few seconds in terms of the new variant of coronavirus, a few figures coming out of scotland in the last few moments. we are hearing there have been 38 confirmed cases of the 0micron variant in the last 24 hours. that is the largest daily increase. it brings the total to 159. 69 of those are in the nhs greater glasgow and clyde health board area, so those are the latest figures just through from the scottish government. those figures were just being sent to us on the day, when we are talking about the first people appearing in hospital, across the uk with cases of that new variant and the booster programme being extended as well in england from tomorrow. more on all of that to come but we willjust pause. now, it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. the cell is now sliding down in the sky bet our temperatures still remain unusually high for this time of year. it has been a really mild afternoon thanks to southerly winds, many areas have got up to 14 even 15 degrees, particularly parts of the midlands and as we look through the evening, it will stay mild for many of us. however, overnight, this cold front will sink south across the uk. fresh air getting into northern ireland, northern england and scotland and more importantly, the low pressure will produce stormy weather for northern ireland and the western isles. a fresh feel to the north but frost free, with lows of seven or 8 degrees. a north—south split if you like the monday. to the south of the uk, there will be some rain along our weather fronts for northern england, east anglia and for wales. 13 degrees to the south. further north, best of the sunshine but here a fresh appeal. top producer 78 degrees. —— top temperatures. hello this is bbc news with jane hill. the headlines: health officials say the first people in the uk have been hospitalised with the 0micron variant of coronavirus as the nhs in england extends the boosterjab programme. days before an expected backbench rebellion, prime minister borisjohnson faces fresh questions about christmas gatherings at downing street a year ago after a photo emerges of him taking part in a quiz. g7 foreign ministers warn russia it will face "massive consequences" if it were to invade ukraine. emergency teams search for survivors in six us states, after more than 80 people die in the largest outbreak of tornadoes in us history. and there has been a dramatic finish in the battle for the chequered flag - i in the battle for the chequered flag — i max verstappen has taken the formula 1 title. it was a nail—biting race that came down to the final lap. more on all the stories