tornadoes at the weekend. officials say at least 7a people have died. president trump's former chief of staff is facing a charge of criminal contempt of congress, for refusing to testify about the attack on the capitol in january. the new spider—man film is on its way, with tom holland returning to spin those superhero webs. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. borisjohnson could face the biggest conservative backbench revolt since he entered downing street when mps vote on new covid rules for england. as many as 70 tory mps have indicated that they're prepared to vote against the uk government's plan b covid rules for tackling the omicron variant. the british prime minister has defended his plans as a proportionate response to the rising cases. mps are due to vote on a series of measures. new rules on facemasks which came into force last week. face coverings have become compulsory in most indoor settings, except for pubs and restaurants. a measure allowing fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to a positive covid case to avoid self—isolation if they take daily lateral flow tests for seven days and receive a negative result. the introduction of a covid pass which would ensure that someone can only enter a large venue, if they can prove they are fully vaccinated or have a negative lateral flow test result. and there will be a vote on making it compulsory for front line nhs staff in england to be fullyjabbed. it comes as the nhs is put on its highest level of emergency preparedness — a level four national incident has been declared. hospitals have been ordered to free up as many beds as possible, discharging some patients to hotels under plans set out by health leaders. and vaccine clinics will run around the clock to give boosterjabs, and the prime minister has appealed for volunteers. more on that in a minute, but first, here's our political correspondent ben wright. it is, says the government, a race between the virus and the vaccine, and people have been rushing to receive their boosterjab after ministers warned of a tidal wave of infection caused by the omicron variant of covid. that has meant delays for some people trying to access appointments and a fresh government call for vaccine volunteers. no variant of covid—19 has spread this fast. in the commons yesterday, the health secretary, sajid javid, said omicron now represented 20% of cases in england and was accelerating fast. the booster programme has been expanded, with anyone over 18 able to book a jab from wednesday. that means nhs resources are being switched to focus on delivering vaccines and urgent clinical care. the health service in england has been put on its highest level of emergency readiness — level four, national incident — meaning it can be coordinated at a national level. in the commons today, there will be a series of votes, beefing up public health protections in england. there will be one on more mandatory mask wearing. another on replacing self isolation with daily testing for people exposed to a positive case of the omicron variant. but it's the plan to require a negative covid test, or proof of vaccination status, to attend crowded events that has riled many tory mps. i don't think we are in a situation, nor should we be in a country where you have to provide, upon inspection, from the police, and i have started to see photos, i was looking last night at some photographs coming from italy where, in a restaurant, the police went into a restaurant and asked to inspect everybody's vaccination certificates. i don't think we live in a country where that sort of thing is acceptable, nor do we want to see it. it's a question of how effective they actually are, and evidence from other countries suggests that they're not very effective. but also, i have a problem with the government requiring people to do that. up to 70 conservatives may rebel against the government, arguing that these restrictions go too far. these votes will be judged as a test of borisjohnson�*s authority over his party, too. a beleaguered prime minister who may well need labour mps to get his policy through. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. the scottish government is considering limiting household mixing in response to omicron. the measures are likely to be guidance rather than law. social distancing could be brought back and stronger working from home guidance introduced. the cabinet's due to meet in the next hour and first minister nicola sturgeon will update holyrood later. wales�*s first minister has also warned new restrictions could be on the way there, saying ministers may "need to take more steps to keep wales safe". mark drakeford has announced urgent plans to offer the booster vaccine to all eligible adults by the end of the year. there are currently 30 confirmed cases of omicron in the country. as we've been hearing, scores of conservative mps have indicated they'll oppose the government's plan b measures for tackling the omicron variant. one of them is with us now the conservative mp, tobias ellwood. good morning to you, thanks for your time today. a, good morning to you, thanks for your time toda . �* , , ., good morning to you, thanks for your timetoda . �* , ., , good morning to you, thanks for your time today-— time today. a series of votes in parliament _ time today. a series of votes in parliament today, _ time today. a series of votes in parliament today, so _ time today. a series of votes in parliament today, so can - time today. a series of votes in parliament today, so can i - time today. a series of votes in parliament today, so can i be i parliament today, so can i be cleared to begin, which of these measures are you going to support, which are you opposing? weill. measures are you going to support, which are you opposing? well, thank ou for which are you opposing? well, thank you for making _ which are you opposing? well, thank you for making it _ which are you opposing? well, thank you for making it clear _ which are you opposing? well, thank you for making it clear that _ which are you opposing? well, thank you for making it clear that there - you for making it clear that there are a series of votes, because the whole of parliament is wanting to support the prime minister's mission to get this vaccination capacity up to get this vaccination capacity up to i to get this vaccination capacity up toi millionjabs a day. it is a very tall order, posing huge demands, further demands, on our nhs, and i think there are wider questions how we can do this better. 40% of the world is still unvaccinated, we have got to get used to having a fourth, fifth or sixth jab, and we need a clever way of managing this process, and the government machinery to handle this needs to be improved. on the votes themselves, looking right across the board, i support the government except on vaccine passports, where i have an issue. it is poor legislation when somebody can go into a nightclub with a negative lateral flow test, somebody else can turn up with a vaccination certificate showing two jabs that was completed months ago. this doesn't make sense. the whole purpose about leadership is about taking people places they perhaps did not expect or want to go, but then they must understand and agree with that plan, and this approach, which has created an awful lot of noise, taken the spotlight away from the bigger picture, expending a lot of government and political capital, is absolutely unnecessary. so of government and political capital, is absolutely unnecessary.- is absolutely unnecessary. so you su ort is absolutely unnecessary. so you sunport the _ is absolutely unnecessary. so you support the mask _ is absolutely unnecessary. so you support the mask mandate, - is absolutely unnecessary. so you support the mask mandate, the l is absolutely unnecessary. so you l support the mask mandate, the call for nhs front line workers to have a vaccine, but you don't want to support the vaccine passports measure? you havejust said support the vaccine passports measure? you have just said that crisis management is so important, and the health service is crying out and the health service is crying out and saying, we are in a crisis, so for the moment, they want mps to support these measures. what you say to the chief executive of the nhs confederation, who i interviewed a little while ago, who said nobody wants restrictions, nobody wants to be wearing masks et cetera, but this is for the greater good at the moment, while we see where we are with omicron?— with omicron? yeah, absolutely, we want to sunport _ with omicron? yeah, absolutely, we want to support the _ with omicron? yeah, absolutely, we want to support the majority - with omicron? yeah, absolutely, we want to support the majority of - want to support the majority of proposals that are being put forward here. i haven't seen the evidence from places that have already got vaccine passports that they actually work, and therefore part of getting through this pandemic is taking the nation with you. if they see something that doesn't look right and doesn't look like it will be effective, you wonder, why are we going down that particular road? on the wider issue of the exhaustion of our hospitals, doctors, surgeries and pharmacies, we need a new construct. we created a new brexit department to deal with that, a new climate change department — why not one to deal with covid? this will be around for another two years, we need a dedicated secretary of state, a new bespoke infrastructure with a stand—alone national vaccination workforce. that would free up our hospitals, surgeries and pharmacies so they can get back to the dayjob. further than that, you could... fire evacuation offices do theirjob, why not have them trained up as a vaccinator as well, so in the fourth, fifth or sixth jab may be required, you have the facility backed up by a dedicated wing of the armed forces trained to do this? that takes the nation with us to show that we have a plan in place, rather than the stop start, on the bus come off the bus approach we seem to be going through right now. it is important that politicians take the public with them, as you say, especially on an issue as serious as dealing with this pandemic. many people would say that the reason that people do not want to do what the government are saying because of those questions of our parties at downing street last christmas. but my question to you is, why are you not trusting the prime minister on this? why are you not trusting when he says these will be proportionate measures that presumably will be time—limited when there is more data and hopefully omicron is not proven to be as virulent as earlier forms of this virus? why not take that on trust and back him now? it is virus? why not take that on trust and back him now?— virus? why not take that on trust and back him now? it is not that i take it on — and back him now? it is not that i take it on trust, _ and back him now? it is not that i take it on trust, i _ and back him now? it is not that i take it on trust, i have _ and back him now? it is not that i take it on trust, i have spoken . and back him now? it is not that i take it on trust, i have spoken to| take it on trust, i have spoken to businesses in bournemouth, and i say this does not make sense, this particular aspect, this one proposal of a restriction to do with large venues... of a restriction to do with large venues- - -_ of a restriction to do with large venues... y ., , , venues... sorry to interrupt, but how else — venues... sorry to interrupt, but how else do _ venues... sorry to interrupt, but how else do you _ venues... sorry to interrupt, but how else do you protect - venues... sorry to interrupt, but how else do you protect people. venues... sorry to interrupt, but - how else do you protect people going into large venues, then? what do you do? it into large venues, then? what do you do? ., ., ~ ., , , i. do? it would make more sense if you 'ust said do? it would make more sense if you just said everybody _ do? it would make more sense if you just said everybody must _ do? it would make more sense if you just said everybody must have - do? it would make more sense if you just said everybody must have a - just said everybody must have a lateral flow test. as soon as you say either lateral flow test or something, as i say, which could have been completed six months ago and has already been proven to be inadequate to challenge the omicron virus, that makes no sense at all. parliament is about scrutinising what government does, so this particular piece of legislation, as particular piece of legislation, as part of a wider collection of measures, is the one i have concerns about. at your wider issue to do with trust, absolutely, it has been a difficult couple of months for the government, it has acknowledged that, we need to repair that when the nation has a new wealth of restrictions. but going further, the bandwidth of this is consuming, everything to do with last christmas is plotting out some of the bigger challenges... we have an authoritarian regime about to invade eastern europe, and you have not asked a single question on that. that is also important given all the events taking place. we that is also important given all the events taking place.— that is also important given all the events taking place. we need to go to the science _ events taking place. we need to go to the science and _ events taking place. we need to go to the science and technology - to the science and technology committee, but thank you very much, tobias ellwood mp. let's return to that committee in the house of commons, which is looking at the new omicron variant. let's listen in. the rest of the family was positive, and i_ the rest of the family was positive, and i saw_ the rest of the family was positive, and i saw this mild picture, and predominantly for the past four weeks — predominantly for the past four weeks has stayed exactly the same, the major— weeks has stayed exactly the same, the major complaints will be sore muscles, — the major complaints will be sore muscles, body ache and pain, headache. _ muscles, body ache and pain, headache, as well as a bit of fatigue — headache, as well as a bit of fatigue for a day or two. normally, the patients will come, of course we are running — the patients will come, of course we are running a campaign, please get tested, _ are running a campaign, please get tested, even if you wake up with a slight _ tested, even if you wake up with a slight headache and not feeling well, _ slight headache and not feeling well, please come and lead us double—check. consequently, we have noticed _ double—check. consequently, we have noticed that _ double—check. consequently, we have noticed that if you wake up this morning — noticed that if you wake up this morning and you have this headache and the _ morning and you have this headache and the body ache, it would be prudent— and the body ache, it would be prudentjust to wait and the body ache, it would be prudent just to wait 24 hours for a rapid _ prudent just to wait 24 hours for a rapid test. — prudent just to wait 24 hours for a rapid test, because that can show false _ rapid test, because that can show false negative in that first period, at least _ false negative in that first period, at least 24 — false negative in that first period, at least 24 hours. but after 24 hours. — at least 24 hours. but after 24 hours. up _ at least 24 hours. but after 24 hours, up until five or six days later, — hours, up until five or six days later, the _ hours, up until five or six days later, the rapid test is more than sufficient — later, the rapid test is more than sufficient to be able to detect positive — sufficient to be able to detect positive cases. we do, however, have patients— positive cases. we do, however, have patients who — positive cases. we do, however, have patients who wait until a week, then they come _ patients who wait until a week, then they come in and say theyjust want to double—check, they have this headache. — to double—check, they have this headache, not feeling well, and then we will— headache, not feeling well, and then we will do _ headache, not feeling well, and then we will do a — headache, not feeling well, and then we will do a pcr, and normally that will he _ we will do a pcr, and normally that will be positive. so the symptoms are very— will be positive. so the symptoms are very similarfor will be positive. so the symptoms are very similar for most of the patients — are very similar for most of the patients. however, as well, and patients— patients. however, as well, and patients seem to experience the severity — patients seem to experience the severity of myalgia as well as headache more intense than our vaccinated — headache more intense than our vaccinated patients, and yes we do see in_ vaccinated patients, and yes we do see in a _ vaccinated patients, and yes we do see in a lot — vaccinated patients, and yes we do see in a lot of patients who were vaccinated. _ see in a lot of patients who were vaccinated, although as i have said, it seems_ vaccinated, although as i have said, it seems that the vaccinated people, they recover more quickly than unvaccinated people. thank you very much _ unvaccinated people. thank you very much indeed. unvaccinated people. thank you very much indeed-— unvaccinated people. thank you very much indeed. finally from me, before i turned to much indeed. finally from me, before i turned to my — much indeed. finally from me, before i turned to my colleagues, _ much indeed. finally from me, before i turned to my colleagues, given - much indeed. finally from me, before i turned to my colleagues, given the l i turned to my colleagues, given the experience of the last few weeks in south africa, have any new restrictions, let's say non—pharmaceutical interventions, been taken by the south african government in response to omicron? no. no, we are still at the same level. _ no. no, we are still at the same level, where there are restrictions and curfews at night and early mornings, and any gatherings of people. — mornings, and any gatherings of people, outdoors and indoors, nothing — people, outdoors and indoors, nothing has changed there. so we will wait _ nothing has changed there. so we will wait this weekend to see if our president. — will wait this weekend to see if our president, who contracted covid, whether— president, who contracted covid, whether there will be any stricter restrictions. for now, you know, it has spread — restrictions. for now, you know, it has spread to _ restrictions. for now, you know, it has spread to other provinces, so interprovincial travel is not really going _ interprovincial travel is not really going to — interprovincial travel is not really going to do anything, and then i, you know. — going to do anything, and then i, you know, from the south african medical— you know, from the south african medical association side, if there is anything — medical association side, if there is anything that we would advise the president _ is anything that we would advise the president to do, it would be may be to extend _ president to do, it would be may be to extend a — president to do, it would be may be to extend a curfew one hour at night and in _ to extend a curfew one hour at night and in the _ to extend a curfew one hour at night and in the morning, and look at social— and in the morning, and look at social gatherings. i have been asked this question a lot of times, you know, _ this question a lot of times, you know. what— this question a lot of times, you know, what will the government do? what are _ know, what will the government do? what are they going to do with these restrictions? my question is the same _ restrictions? my question is the same the — restrictions? my question is the same the whole time, the government can provide _ same the whole time, the government can provide you with vaccines, they can provide you with vaccines, they can tell— can provide you with vaccines, they can tell you — can provide you with vaccines, they can tell you to get vaccinated, they can, you _ can tell you to get vaccinated, they can, you know, they can bring in certain— can, you know, they can bring in certain regulations, but what i do as a responsible citizen, what are you going — as a responsible citizen, what are you going to do? you need to adhere to these _ you going to do? you need to adhere to these regulations, and non—pharmaceutical interventions. as a responsible citizen, you need to id a responsible citizen, you need to go and _ a responsible citizen, you need to go and get — a responsible citizen, you need to go and get your vaccines, because we have seen— go and get your vaccines, because we have seen that the vaccines, it really — have seen that the vaccines, it really seems at this stage, still protect— really seems at this stage, still protect you against severe disease. and we _ protect you against severe disease. and we see — protect you against severe disease. and we see that in our hospital cases— and we see that in our hospital cases and — and we see that in our hospital cases and in icu.— and we see that in our hospital cases and in icu. you are chair of the south african medical- the south african medical association. that view as to what should be done, is that a view widely shared by the association, or is there a kind of hot debate about this? so is there a kind of hot debate about this? , , i. ~ ., this? so this is, you know, i normally — this? so this is, you know, i normally consult _ this? so this is, you know, i normally consult with - this? so this is, you know, i normally consult with my i this? so this is, you know, i i normally consult with my board regarding this, and also if you look at what _ regarding this, and also if you look at what is — regarding this, and also if you look at what is happening at ground level. — at what is happening at ground level. we — at what is happening at ground level, we don't have a problem in the family— level, we don't have a problem in the family practitioner space as well as— the family practitioner space as well as the hospitals, then we don't see the _ well as the hospitals, then we don't see the need for stricter restrictions that have economic downfall— restrictions that have economic downfall as well, and again, you know. _ downfall as well, and again, you know. as — downfall as well, and again, you know. as i — downfall as well, and again, you know, as i have said, there is no use putting _ know, as i have said, there is no use putting any restrictions around movement— use putting any restrictions around movement because the virus is everywhere and, you know, maybe in a way we need to learn how to live with this, — way we need to learn how to live with this, as this becomes endemic going _ with this, as this becomes endemic going forward, you need to get as much _ going forward, you need to get as much people, you know, if they are infected. _ much people, you know, if they are infected, boosted antibodies, as well as— infected, boosted antibodies, as well as getting the posters themselves... well as getting the posters themselves. . ._ well as getting the posters themselves... . , themselves... that is the south african gp _ themselves... that is the south african gp talking _ themselves... that is the south african gp talking about - themselves... that is the south african gp talking about their i african gp talking about their findings, the data they are gathering on the omicron variant of covid—i9 there. that follows on from some reports earlier today saying that two doses of the pfizer biontech vaccine appear to have given 70% protection against hospitalisation in south africa in recent weeks. the study looked at more than 200,000 positive covid test results in a three—week period — of which almost 80,000 are suspected to be omicron cases. one caveat, there was a not confirmed omicron cases, but they say it does appear to be offering good protection against severe disease and hospitalisation. we can talk about that a little bit more, about those preliminary findings from that large—scale study in south africa. professor peter openshaw is an immunologist at imperial college london, and a member of the uk vaccine network, speaking in personal capacity. thank you forjoining us today. pleasure. thank you for “oining us today. pleasure. ., . ., _, thank you for “oining us today. pleasure. ., . ., pleasure. how much how could you take, ifi pleasure. how much how could you take, if i can _ pleasure. how much how could you take. ifi can put — pleasure. how much how could you take, ifi can put it— pleasure. how much how could you take, if i can put it this _ pleasure. how much how could you take, ifi can put it this way, - pleasure. how much how could you take, if i can put it this way, from | take, if i can put it this way, from this data? i take, if i can put it this way, from this data? ~ , take, if i can put it this way, from this data?— this data? i think this is a really interesting _ this data? i think this is a really interesting report. _ this data? i think this is a really interesting report. we - this data? i think this is a really interesting report. we have - this data? i think this is a really interesting report. we have to i interesting report. we have to regard it as preliminary, we have not actually seen any draft manuscript, this isjust a news report, but i think it fits with what we have been assuming, which is that the rather disappointing results from the laboratory testing of antibody levels have not been completely reflected by the real—world protection that is being seen against hospitalisation. you know, a couple of doses of the pfizer biontech are giving pretty good protection against hospitalisation, 70% versus 90%, if we were looking at delta, so not complete protection, but i think it really fits that pattern, and they are also reporting a 33% protection against infection, that is presumably symptoms and positive pcr results. so that is more than you might expect, really. so i think this is encouraging, and i think it does emphasise the really vital importance of people getting vaccinated, as well as the current drive for posters. so vaccinated, as well as the current drive for posters.— drive for posters. so let's talk about that — drive for posters. so let's talk about that a _ drive for posters. so let's talk about that a little _ drive for posters. so let's talk about that a little bit - drive for posters. so let's talk about that a little bit more, i about that a little bit more, because there is data from south africa is talking about two preliminary doses of the covid—i9 vaccine, it is not talking of the booster. here in the uk, we have been told that two doses will not really cut it, that you need the booster as well to really deal with this variant, so that you think that will lead to that being reviewed? possibly. i mean, the study is that we have seen in the uk so far have been very preliminary, based on very few cases. this is a much bigger study, and they have been able to pick up the signal of protection against infection, a very strong signal of protection against hospitalisation. so, you know, i think this fits with what we are seeing. you know, it is quite compatible with what seeing in the uk. but i would say that omicron is so transmissible, remarkably transmissible, and a very large number of cases that we are anticipating that we will see over the next few weeks will lead to a surge in hospital admissions, even though there is some protection by vaccination and possibly a slight change in the pattern of disease thatis change in the pattern of disease that is being caused by this new variant. so that is being caused by this new variant. ,., that is being caused by this new variant. ~ , ., ., ., variant. so some mps who are voting auainst variant. so some mps who are voting against some — variant. so some mps who are voting against some of— variant. so some mps who are voting against some of the _ variant. so some mps who are voting against some of the measures - variant. so some mps who are voting against some of the measures that l against some of the measures that are due to be voted on in the house of commons later on today are saying that the data from south africa leads them to think that, for example, vaccine passports are a step too far. but you are under no illusions, from what you are saying, that the pressure on the nhs at the moment, whatever emerges with this variant, is huge. moment, whatever emerges with this variant. is huge-— variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean, variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean. you— variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean, you know, _ variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean, you know, it— variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean, you know, it is- variant, is huge. absolutely. i mean, you know, it is very . variant, is huge. absolutely. i. mean, you know, it is very much variant, is huge. absolutely. i- mean, you know, it is very much a political decision whether they want to vote for vaccine passports, and i wouldn't like to comment on that. but, you know, what we know about this variant is that it is extremely highly transmissible, the nhs is under extraordinary pressure already, and it is very hard to see just how we are going to be able to cope with scaling up the booster campaign at the same time as all the other things that have to be done by the nhs. let other things that have to be done by the nhs. , , ., the nhs. let me 'ust bring in one more piece — the nhs. let me 'ust bring in one more piece of — the nhs. let mejust bring in one more piece of copy _ the nhs. let mejust bring in one more piece of copy which - the nhs. let mejust bring in one more piece of copy which i - the nhs. let mejust bring in one more piece of copy which i have l the nhs. let mejust bring in one i more piece of copy which i have just more piece of copy which i havejust received, and that is about a johnson &johnson study of the vaccine in south africa. they are saying no—one has died from the omicron coronavirus variant in a study ofjohnson & johnson's covid—i9 study ofjohnson &johnson's covid—i9 vaccine in south study ofjohnson & johnson's covid—i9 vaccine in south africa, one of the co—lead investigators of the study has said. although we have a lot of breakthrough infections, there has been very little hospital admission in comparison to the delta period, and as of today we have had no—one who has died from omicron from thejohnson &johnson study. so your reaction to that, i appreciate your reaction to that, i appreciate you are literallyjust hearing it as i read it to you. you are literally 'ust hearing it as i read it to you._ i read it to you. absolutely, yes, well, that _ i read it to you. absolutely, yes, well, that sounds _ i read it to you. absolutely, yes, well, that sounds quite - i read it to you. absolutely, yes, | well, that sounds quite reassuring again, but i think we must caution that it takes time for people to become ill, and it takes time for them to progress, and those who do, sadly, die, it is often in may be the third orfourth sadly, die, it is often in may be the third or fourth week, and then it takes time for the deaths to be registered. so the signal in terms of reduction of mortality will take a lot longer to come through, and we just have to wait and see what happens with that. the, just have to wait and see what happens with that.— just have to wait and see what happens with that. a note of caution there. happens with that. a note of caution there- thank — happens with that. a note of caution there. thank you _ happens with that. a note of caution there. thank you so _ happens with that. a note of caution there. thank you so much _ happens with that. a note of caution there. thank you so much for- happens with that. a note of caution there. thank you so much for your l there. thank you so much for your time, as ever. so let's talk about the situation on the ground. let's talk to dr anjan ghosh, director of public health, london borough of bexley. good to have you with us as well, interesting to take a snapshot of your area, what is happening with omicron cases versus delta cases. what is it like in bexley? it is still dominated _ what is it like in bexley? it is still dominated by _ what is it like in bexley? it 3 still dominated by delta at this point in time, so even before omicron came into the picture, basically, the case writes were escalating quite significantly. so that has been driving the local picture in bexley, we are seeing about 200 cases of the delta variant every day at this point in time. for omicron, we had a report yesterday that we had 50 cases, a combination of confirmed and probable, and with the doubling rates that are being estimated, so 2—3 days, by the end of this week or early next week, it will become the dominant strain in bexley too. will become the dominant strain in bexle too. will become the dominant strain in bexley too-— will become the dominant strain in bexley too. so in a matter of days, ou think bexley too. so in a matter of days, you think based _ bexley too. so in a matter of days, you think based on _ bexley too. so in a matter of days, you think based on the _ bexley too. so in a matter of days, you think based on the data - bexley too. so in a matter of days, you think based on the data you i you think based on the data you have, omicron will become the dominant strain?— have, omicron will become the dominant strain? that is what i have been told as — dominant strain? that is what i have been told as well— dominant strain? that is what i have been told as well by _ dominant strain? that is what i have been told as well by the _ dominant strain? that is what i have been told as well by the uk - dominant strain? that is what i have been told as well by the uk health i been told as well by the uk health security agency, that's probably in a week or ten days' time. do security agency, that's probably in a week or ten days' time.- a week or ten days' time. do you have any sense _ a week or ten days' time. do you have any sense from _ a week or ten days' time. do you have any sense from the - a week or ten days' time. do you have any sense from the data - a week or ten days' time. do you | have any sense from the data yet a week or ten days' time. do you i have any sense from the data yet of the symptoms people are experiencing with the omicron variant, how they might differ from people who have the delta variant, and the severity of the symptoms? i the delta variant, and the severity of the symptoms?— of the symptoms? i haven't heard an hint of the symptoms? i haven't heard anything yet- _ of the symptoms? i haven't heard anything yet- so _ of the symptoms? i haven't heard anything yet. so to _ of the symptoms? i haven't heard anything yet. so to suggest - of the symptoms? i haven't heard anything yet. so to suggest that l of the symptoms? i haven't heard| anything yet. so to suggest that it is any different from the symptoms from the delta variant. like the previous speaker said, it is very early days, so we don't have enough data. the disease hasn't been present for long enough in our communities to be really able to observe what happens in terms of the course of the infection, in terms of severity and all those other factors. so it is still very early days, we can't really see it locally certainly. days, we can't really see it locally certainl . �* ., . ., ., certainly. and how much demand are ou certainly. and how much demand are you saying. — certainly. and how much demand are you saying. then. _ certainly. and how much demand are you saying, then, for— certainly. and how much demand are you saying, then, for the _ certainly. and how much demand are you saying, then, for the boosters, i you saying, then, for the boosters, either by chewing for drop—in boosters or booking on the website, are using a big temperature in that? we are, which is a really good thing, so the poster campaign was going on even before omicron came in, but omicron has made it more urgent, and people are obviously seeing programmes such as yours and getting the message about getting the booster, and i would encourage people to go out and get it. haifa people to go out and get it. how challenging _ people to go out and get it. how challenging is — people to go out and get it. how challenging is it _ people to go out and get it. how challenging is it going to be to meet the timetable is that the government has set out? well, the nhs as a two _ government has set out? well, the nhs as a two years _ government has set out? well, the nhs as a two years of _ government has set out? well, the nhs as a two years of managing . government has set out? well, the | nhs as a two years of managing this pandemic locally, it is outstanding, notjust pandemic locally, it is outstanding, not just the pandemic locally, it is outstanding, notjust the nhs, but the local system, including the local authority, and every time there has been a challenge, we have found a way to meet that challenge, so i am confident we will be able to do it. it is going to be difficult, we are on a warfooting, it is going to be difficult, we are on a war footing, this it is going to be difficult, we are on a warfooting, this is like it is going to be difficult, we are on a war footing, this is like the number one warfooting on a war footing, this is like the number one war footing priority, both for the nhs and the local system, so we're hoping get there. well, we wish you the very best of luck with all your efforts, the director of public health in the london borough of bexley. let's return to the uk parliament's science and technology committee of mps which is looking at the new omicron variant, giving evidence is angelique coetzee, the south african doctor who first raised concern about the omicron variant. they can still get infections, but the breakthrough infections that we are seeing are mild, and again the symptoms— are seeing are mild, and again the symptoms experienced by these people. — symptoms experienced by these people, patients, are less severe and intense than in the unvaccinated. as i said before, between — unvaccinated. as i said before, between 80—90% of those in hospital are unvaccinated, so that is why it is so _ are unvaccinated, so that is why it is so important for us to understand, with the vaccinated and the hospitals, whether they have had omicron _ the hospitals, whether they have had omicron delta before, so we can determine — omicron delta before, so we can determine how well the vaccines are protecting _ determine how well the vaccines are protecting you against these two variants. — protecting you against these two variants, and we don't have that data _ variants, and we don't have that data. ., ., variants, and we don't have that data. . ,, i. variants, and we don't have that data. ., ~' ,, , variants, and we don't have that data. . ,, i. , . variants, and we don't have that data. . , i. , . . data. thank you very much indeed. we willt data. thank you very much indeed. we will try dawn — data. thank you very much indeed. we will try dawn butler, _ data. thank you very much indeed. we will try dawn butler, we _ data. thank you very much indeed. we will try dawn butler, we are _ will try dawn butler, we are reaching the limits of the bandwidth here, but perhaps some short questions that might get through! thank you. how many weeks has it been since you discovered omicron? on thursday it will be four weeks. and can _ on thursday it will be four weeks. and can you — on thursday it will be four weeks. and can you tell us please, what is the population in south africa that has been vaccinated? tram the population in south africa that has been vaccinated?— the population in south africa that has been vaccinated? two weeks from now it will be — has been vaccinated? two weeks from now it will be four _ has been vaccinated? two weeks from now it will be four weeks. _ has been vaccinated? two weeks from now it will be four weeks. -- - has been vaccinated? two weeks from now it will be four weeks. -- two - now it will be four weeks. —— two days _ now it will be four weeks. —— two days from — now it will be four weeks. —— two days from now. now it will be four weeks. -- two days from now.— days from now. and what is the percentage _ days from now. and what is the percentage of _ days from now. and what is the percentage of the _ days from now. and what is the percentage of the population i days from now. and what is the i percentage of the population that has been vaccinated and the percentage that have had a booster jab in south africa? the percentage in south africa _ jab in south africa? the percentage in south africa that _ jab in south africa? the percentage in south africa that has _ jab in south africa? the percentage in south africa that has been - in south africa that has been vaccinated is about 23%, the boosters. _ vaccinated is about 23%, the boosters, we haven't started with the boosters for pfizer yet, and with johnson & the boosters for pfizer yet, and withjohnson &johnson we the boosters for pfizer yet, and with johnson & johnson we started last month with the boosters and quite _ last month with the boosters and quite a _ last month with the boosters and quite a few of those doctors and health _ quite a few of those doctors and health care workers have been vaccinated, so the fully vaccinated other— vaccinated, so the fully vaccinated other health care workers, that is round _ other health care workers, that is round about 200,000 already vaccinated with the booster with johnson — vaccinated with the booster with johnson &johnson. and fully vaccinated in south africa, on the a-e vaccinated in south africa, on the age groups— vaccinated in south africa, on the age groups we have been allocated, it is 38% _ age groups we have been allocated, it is 38% that have been vaccinated. so there _ it is 38% that have been vaccinated. so there is— it is 38% that have been vaccinated. so there is still a lot of people, as i so there is still a lot of people, as i have — so there is still a lot of people, as i have said, in total 23% of our population— as i have said, in total 23% of our population has been vaccinated. thank— population has been vaccinated. thank you — population has been vaccinated. thank you very much. i know south africa is quite advanced in genome sequencing, it has been said that the variant was in europe before you discovered it in south africa. i5 discovered it in south africa. is that correct? i can't comment on that. — that correct? i can't comment on that. i— that correct? i can't comment on that. ididn't— that correct? i can't comment on that. i didn't see these stats. it could _ that. i didn't see these stats. it could have _ that. i didn't see these stats. it could have been anywhere. if you take the — could have been anywhere. if you take the uk as an example, you can easily— take the uk as an example, you can easily miss— take the uk as an example, you can easily miss the larger picture at a primary— easily miss the larger picture at a primary health care level and i don't — primary health care level and i don't think anyone can claim it was first started — don't think anyone can claim it was first started in the country, i don't — first started in the country, i don't think so.— first started in the country, i don't think so. ., ,, , ., ., ., , don't think so. thank you, that was auoin to don't think so. thank you, that was going to be — don't think so. thank you, that was going to be my— don't think so. thank you, that was going to be my next _ don't think so. thank you, that was going to be my next country, - don't think so. thank you, that was going to be my next country, if- don't think so. thank you, that was going to be my next country, if it i going to be my next country, if it was correct to say it started in south africa. my next question, please, and thank you very much for your time today, do you do any antibody or t—cell in south africa? —— or t furlough testing? plat -- or t furlough testing? not routinely. — -- or t furlough testing? not routinely, and _ -- or t furlough testing? not routinely, and the _ -- or t furlough testing? not routinely, and the t - —— or t furlough testing? not routinely, and the t furlough antibodies —— t—cell antibodies are quite _ antibodies —— t—cell antibodies are quite an— antibodies —— t—cell antibodies are quite an expensive field, so we need to make _ quite an expensive field, so we need to make sure there is more investment in science going forward to improve — investment in science going forward to improve the health care and especially in studies around t—cell immunity. — especially in studies around t—cell immunity, as well as your normal antibodies — immunity, as well as your normal antibodies. unfortunately with what we had _ antibodies. unfortunately with what we had seen with some of covid, instead _ we had seen with some of covid, instead of— we had seen with some of covid, instead of taking six months to get it positive, — instead of taking six months to get it positive, it can be positive within — it positive, it can be positive within two to three weeks and that the antibody test is not really going — the antibody test is not really going to _ the antibody test is not really going to tell you how good your t-cell_ going to tell you how good your t—cell immunity is, so there is a need _ t—cell immunity is, so there is a need for— t—cell immunity is, so there is a need for this _ t—cell immunity is, so there is a need for this field and a need for science _ need for this field and a need for science to — need for this field and a need for science to be reimbursed and for trials _ science to be reimbursed and for trials to— science to be reimbursed and for trials to he — science to be reimbursed and for trials to be contacted.— trials to be contacted. brilliant, thank ou trials to be contacted. brilliant, thank you so — trials to be contacted. brilliant, thank you so much _ trials to be contacted. brilliant, thank you so much for- trials to be contacted. brilliant, thank you so much for your - trials to be contacted. brilliant, i thank you so much for your time, doctor f. ., ., thank you so much for your time, doctor f. ., ~' , ., thank you so much for your time, doctor f. ., ,, i. ~ ., doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final ruestion doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final question from _ doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final question from me. _ doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final question from me. if _ doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final question from me. if i _ doctor f. thank you, dawn. a final question from me. if i could - question from me. if i could follow—up an answer you gave to one of my colleagues, he was asking you about lockdown restrictions, non—pharmaceutical interventions, as they are called, recording what you said correctly, you would be against restrictions that might be a lockdown but that people should avoid crowded places? have i captured that correctly? you captured that correctly? you captured it correctly. thank you. one of the proposals before the house of commons today is that in larger venues, house of commons today is that in largervenues, people house of commons today is that in larger venues, people should have to demonstrate a negative lateral flow (inaudible) assessment of those proposed measures? it assessment of those proposed measures?— assessment of those proposed measures? , ., ., , measures? it can help, unfortunately i am measures? it can help, unfortunately i am coming — measures? it can help, unfortunately i am coming from _ measures? it can help, unfortunately i am coming from south _ measures? it can help, unfortunately i am coming from south africa - i am coming from south africa where we know _ i am coming from south africa where we know how easy it is to cultivate anything. — we know how easy it is to cultivate anything, as long as we have checks and balances in place to make sure that it _ and balances in place to make sure that it is _ and balances in place to make sure that it is original being shown at wherever— that it is original being shown at wherever it is required that might work _ wherever it is required that might work but— wherever it is required that might work. but always of course there will he _ work. but always of course there will be people looking at how they can for— will be people looking at how they can for the system, so you need to have _ can for the system, so you need to have a _ can for the system, so you need to have a full— can for the system, so you need to have a full proof system.— can for the system, so you need to have a full proof system. thank you, we are very — have a full proof system. thank you, we are very grateful _ have a full proof system. thank you, we are very grateful to _ have a full proof system. thank you, we are very grateful to you - have a full proof system. thank you, we are very grateful to you for - we are very grateful to you for joining us from south africa this morning. studio: greg clark, the charitable house of commons science and technology committee, talking to and technology committee, talking to a south african doctor about the situation with the omicron variant in south africa, very interestingly asking about the issue of lockdown and also whether people should avoid crowded venues. she said that was something she had mentioned in the south african context and he was asking in the context of a vote happening later in the house of commons, one of a number of votes, one of which is about vaccine passports. there is a significant rebellion within the conservative party about that, but that doctor saying she thinks either vaccine passports or the requirement for a negative lateral flow test when entering a crowded venue can help, can assist a lot as long as you have checks in place, because she said it needs to be a foolproof system and i will always be people who try to the system. that doctor talking to the science and technology committee. let's move on. the government is launching what it says will be "common sense" reforms to the human rights act that will "restore confidence" in the legal system. others say the changes are an attack on our fundamental rights. so, what is the human rights act, and what's changing? the act includes basic rights to life, a fair trial, and freedom from ill treatment. its wording comes from the european convention of human rights — a treaty agreed by almost every nation in europe after world war two. the convention is enforced by a court in strasbourg, france, which includesjudges from the uk and all other nations. it's nothing to do with the european union. the proposed changes will mean the supreme court in the uk will have the final say on our rights. other changes will make it easier for the government to deport foreign national offenders, by introducing circumstances in which they can not claim a right to family life in the uk. the plans will see a new legal test which would allowjudges to block what the government calls "spurious" cases. earlier we heard from thejustice secretary dominic raab about the changes. we have got a proud tradition of liberty in this country, i am hugely proud about it, it goes to our dna. i think we have an opportunity to look as we always do periodic deal but the centuries at how we strengthen our tradition of freedom, particularly freedom of speech. in various ways we have seen that eroded, i think it should be strengthened and reinforced, it is a quintessential british liberty. other areas like trial byjury apply in different ways across parts of the uk, but i think some recognition of that, that is part of the british story. then there are other areas where we had seen the elastic interpretation of human rights which damage the credibility, particularly the example i would the frustration of deportation orders by foreign national offenders claiming the right to family life, i think there is a good example in elastic interpretations of rights which has resulted in what i would argue is abuse of the system, and i think there is a much broader democratic point, we have seen the goalposts on human rights shift and if that is to happen it should be decided by elected lawmakers, not because of a debate between lawyers in a courtroom. this is a criticism of the human rights act. we can strengthen liberty but adds common sense, that is what the plan will achieve. let's talk more about this to martha spurrier, director of the human rights advocacy group, liberty. thank you very much forjoining us. talk of common—sense, what is quintessentially british, what do you make of these government proposals?— you make of these government --roosals? , ,, ., ,. proposals? these proposals to scrap the human rights— proposals? these proposals to scrap the human rights act _ proposals? these proposals to scrap the human rights act are _ proposals? these proposals to scrapl the human rights act are unattended by this government to put itself above the law and make it impossible for ordinary people and their families and communities to challenge unfairness, injustice and abuse of power —— are an attempt by this government. we are hearing niceties from dominic raab about common—sense and the great british tradition, but i'm afraid this is not what these proposals are about, they will drastically weaken rights protection across—the—board, rewrite the rules so only the government can win and make it impossible for ordinary people to stand up to power. ordinary people to stand up to ower. ~ , ., ordinary people to stand up to ower. ~ ,, _ ordinary people to stand up to ower. ~ i. _ ., ., ~ power. when you say it would make it im ossible power. when you say it would make it impossible for — power. when you say it would make it impossible for ordinary _ power. when you say it would make it impossible for ordinary people - power. when you say it would make it impossible for ordinary people to - impossible for ordinary people to challenge abuses of power, how so? for example, there is talk about whittling away the right to family and private life, article eight of the european convention on human rights. that's right enabled people to realise lgbt equality, for example, enable people to get pensions when they were not married to their partners, sakhir adoption rights, hold families together, resist unlawful evictions and unlawful surveillance by the state. these rights are broad and elastic for a reason, as society moves on we need to move with social laws and ensure everybody is protected. if under the guise of making it harder... making it easier to deport people be attack family and private life rights, we all had something to lose. another example is the idea of a permission threshold which would mean if you had suffered abuse by the state, that might be by the police or the prison service but it might also be your local housing authority etc, if you suffered something unfair or unjust you would need permission from a church before being allowed your day in court. i have been a human rights barrister for over a decade and i can tell you that very often the facts of these cases, the true abuses of power, do not become clear until you receive evidence, untilyou not become clear until you receive evidence, until you have cross—examined witnesses. if you cannot even get to that stage there is no way you can help government to account. this is part the project attack on accountability, the government is bringing in an attack on protest, on whistle—blowers, they have plans to make it possible to overrulejudicial have plans to make it possible to overrule judicial rulings they do not like, so this is an attack on rights which must be resisted but also seen as part of a wider agenda at the government house to put itself above the law. you at the government house to put itself above the law.— at the government house to put itself above the law. you give the exam - le itself above the law. you give the example of— itself above the law. you give the example of deportation _ itself above the law. you give the example of deportation of - itself above the law. you give the j example of deportation of foreign criminals and the government says its proposals would make it harder for someone in that situation to argue they had a right to family life in the uk and therefore stay in the uk. you argue that human rights are universal, you take them from one group, you take them from every group, but in that scenario is it possible to box that off and somehow change the law specifically for those sorts of cases? it is change the law specifically for those sorts of cases?- those sorts of cases? it is not ossible those sorts of cases? it is not possible to — those sorts of cases? it is not possible to take _ those sorts of cases? it is not possible to take human - those sorts of cases? it is not possible to take human rights those sorts of cases? it is not - possible to take human rights away from one group. you judge a society by having treats even the worst off, whether that be a migrant family, a prisoner or criminal suspect. the great british tradition is making sure everybody has equal human rights, and if you try to carve off one group or isolate another, you don't have human rights protection at all and she watches that whatever is the political flavour of the day, whatever is not going to be politically popular or expedient, they can be shut out of human rights protections. the very people who need protection against eight abuses of power, and anybody who likes that happen to one group is putting their own lives, families and communities at risk. ., , ., own lives, families and communities at risk-— we i at risk. how will you fight this? we know the human _ at risk. how will you fight this? we know the human rights _ at risk. how will you fight this? we know the human rights act - at risk. how will you fight this? we know the human rights act is - at risk. how will you fight this? we | know the human rights act is really popular, people up and down the country have watched as the hillsborough families, soldiers and many groups have stepped forward to indicate their rights using this legislation, and we know from our polling that people do not want this government to become less accountable, they do not want politicians to be about —— to be above the law, whether this conservative government or a future government of another colour. the public will be assessed and we trust mps across both aisles and the lords to resist these draconian measures which will weaken all of our rights and make liar in terms of human rights protection —— the public will protest this. rights protection -- the public will protest this-— protest this. martha spurrier, director of — protest this. martha spurrier, director of liberty, _ protest this. martha spurrier, director of liberty, thank - protest this. martha spurrier, director of liberty, thank you | protest this. martha spurrier, - director of liberty, thank you very much. a us congressional committee has voted unanimously to recommend that mark meadows, the last white house chief of staff under donald trump, be charged with criminal contempt of congress. mr meadows has refused to testify in the house investigation into the deadly attack on the capitol building last january. our north america correspondent david willis reports. the violence was the worst of its kind in more than 200 years. an insurrection which delayed the certification ofjoe biden's victory left several dead and dozens more injured and sent lawmakers running for their lives. congressional investigators believe donald trump's fist—bumping former right hand man, one—time white house chief of staff mark meadows, played a vital role in that and other attempts to undermine the results of the 2010 election. but having supplied the january 6th committee with documents relating to the day in question, mr meadows has since said he is no longer willing to cooperate, citing executive privilege on behalf of his former boss. his decision to ignore the committee's subpoena left members indignant. mr meadows was a central participant in the events that culminated in this assault on our capitol, our country and our core democratic values. to create the most accurate account of what occurred, why it occurred and what specific steps we can take to prevent it from occurring again, our committee needs to hearfrom mr meadows. evidence already provided by mark meadows includes transcripts of text messages received from lawmakers frantically urging him to get the president to call off the rioters. among those horrified by the violence was the president's son, donjr. donald trumer texted again and again, urging action by the president. quote, "we need an oval office address, he has to lead now." "it has gone too far and gotten out of hand." end quote. but hours passed without necessary action by the president. the committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending criminal contempt charges against mark meadows. another former trump aide, steve bannon, has been indicted on the same charges and is due in court next year. mr chairman, i move that the committee favourably report to the house the committee's report on a resolution recommending that the house of representatives find mark randall meadows in contempt of congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the select committee to investigate the january 6th attack on the united states capitol. the committee's recommendation will now go to a full vote by the house of representatives. should they decide in favour of criminal contempt proceedings, it would then be up to the us justice department to decide whether to prosecute mark meadows. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. a group of mps says a proposed new law isn't going to do enough to protect people online, and big tech companies should be forced to take tougher action to prevent crime and abuse. social media owners say they take the issue seriously, but the committee scrutinising the draft online safety bill says the industry has failed in its plan to self—regulate. andy burrows is the head of child safety online policy at the nspcc. thank you very much. last time i spoke to you about this issue, if i remember correctly, you said there are still some significant gaps and issues with the bill from your perspective. remind us what those were, and have they been addressed in the interim?— in the interim? good morning. the reort in the interim? good morning. the report today _ in the interim? good morning. the report today recommends - in the interim? good morning. the report today recommends some i report today recommends some significant improvements that will really strengthen the balance cover off many of the gaps the nspcc has identified, in particular we are really pleased to see the group of mps recommend today that social media company should have to take account of how abuse jumps from platform to platform, so we know grooming does not take place in a particular site, grooming does not take place in a particularsite, groomers grooming does not take place in a particular site, groomers will book to contact children on an open site like instagram before moving them to light streaming or encrypted messaging sites, and that gap will be covered in the registration —— live streaming. and there are recommendations for stronger personal accountability for directors of tech firms and under mps' proposals, each social media company will need to nominate a name director who will have personal accountability for children safety the potential of criminal sanctions for severe breaches.— for severe breaches. potentially criminal sanctions _ for severe breaches. potentially criminal sanctions for _ for severe breaches. potentially criminal sanctions for a - for severe breaches. potentially criminal sanctions for a named l criminal sanctions for a named individual, perhaps others within a social media company. do you think that sense of a book stopping with a named individual will make a real difference? it named individual will make a real difference?— difference? it is absolutely fundamental, _ difference? it is absolutely fundamental, this - difference? it is absolutely fundamental, this is - difference? it is absolutely fundamental, this is about| difference? it is absolutely - fundamental, this is about what works. we know from other sectors of the economy that are regulated such as financial services that personal accountability is central to focusing the mind of big companies, tech companies, as they are making product decisions and commercial decisions. unfortunately when we are talking about some of the largest companies in the world, even the very significant fines proposed could potentially be water off hr because pack, which is why personal accountability is absolutely essential. —— water off a duck�*s back. they will know there are personal consequences if they persist at putting children at risk. are you satisfied that self—regulation is simply not working when it comes to protecting children from online abuse? the committee _ children from online abuse? the committee is — children from online abuse? tue: committee is absolutely children from online abuse? tt;e: committee is absolutely right children from online abuse? "tt;e: committee is absolutely right that self—regulation has demonstrably failed, it is almost four years since the nspcc called time on self—regulation and secure the initial commitment to legislate that is now about to see this bill to parliament. it is abundantly clear that tech firms will not do this for themselves, in the absence of legal and commercial drivers, in the absence of effective reputational drivers, child safety is a secondary issue for far too many tech companies, which is why we need a strong, comprehensive duty of care on platforms so this is now illegal set of obligations with stringent enforcement penalties if they do not take it seriously. self—regulation has happened today and it has failed. �* , has happened today and it has failed. , �* ., , has happened today and it has failed. �* , �* ., , ., ,, failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank ou failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank you very — failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank you very much _ failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank you very much for _ failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank you very much for your - failed. andy burrows from the nspcc, thank you very much for your time. i more than a hundred people are still missing in the us state of kentucky, after the series of devastating tornadoes at the weekend. officials say at least 74 people have died. in the city of mayfield, one of the worst—hit areas, a candle factory was destroyed while more than a hundred people were working inside it. president biden will head to kentucky on wednesday to see the impact of the disaster. laura podesta from cbs news is in mayfield. and gave us the latest on the search for survivors. it is ongoing. in fact, look at this home right here behind me. you can see the orange spray paint that search—and—rescue crews have noted the date and the fact that they have gone through this home and found no inside, that's what the zero with a mark through it stands for. and they are going structure to structure, particularly in the daylight hours. it's pitch black right now, and they do stand down in the middle of the night. but we saw them going structure to structure yesterday, and they'll continue today, as they continue to look for more people who could potentially still be alive underneath the rubble that is apparent in this community and in the surrounding neighbourhood. just some numbers to give you, the latest we've heard is that 88 people are dead due to these tornadoes, and that stretches over five states. 74 people have been killed here in kentucky, and the death toll is expected to climb as they continue to identify people. the number ofjob vacancies in the uk has reached another record high — with almost 1.2 million roles being advertised between august to october — that's one vacancy for every 25 people working. delivery drivers, warehouse workers, hospitality staff, cleaners, health and social care workers are in greatest demand. our business correspondent nina warhurst has been speaking to some bosses to find out how they're affected. who could have predicted this? from a pandemic that punished the economy, lots ofjobs now available, not enough people to fill them. this hotel in manchester has bounced back to a high number of bookings, but despite recruitment drives and training new faces, they are still 30 members of staff down. adrian, where's everyone gone, then? good question. so, some went back to europe. and some people just chose, in the last year—and—a—half, to go off and do other things. some went to work at libraries, some went to start their own business, some are doing things from their own home, of course. so what are you now doing to entice people into the industry, to come to the hotel? well, firstly, we've increased all our entry level pay to the national living wage. and we've also addressed some of the key positions where we just felt market forces required us to improve the salary levels. and increased salaries in onejob market can put pressure on others. 10% of uk roles are in hospitality, and there is some evidence that that's pulling workers away from jobs like cleaning. ryan employs around 25 people cleaning office spaces, but it's not enough to fulfil his contract. he needs more. a lot of the applicants and a lot of candidates have left the industry, particularly to go to the supermarket industry, for example, where they've seen huge growth during covid, and they know that they're not going to be furloughed, the premises isn't going to close down, the work is going to carry on regardless in a supermarket environment, whereas in the cleaning industry, if they're in an office or they have been cleaning a pub, there's obviously a higher chance that they might be furloughed or potentially even lose theirjob when that premises closes. vacancies here and across the board are down to a variety of reasons. yeah, it's partly european workers going home because of covid and because of brexit. but also, lockdown led to people reassessing what they wanted out of life, thinking about the priorities. and in fact the number of people switching jobs is also at a record high. some people are calling this period �*the great resignation'. helen has lost staff at her workshop and it's starting to affect business. we're having to push out our lead times to our customers. and some of our customers are being patient, but somejust really can't wait as long as we are quoting them in terms of time frames, and they've taken their business elsewhere. obviously working in a foundry is dirty work. but we do pay more than we pay the staff that we have in our warehouse as a little bit of compensation for the working environment. keeping fewer rooms open, delaying deadlines, failing to expand, all consequences of not having enough people. and increasing wages can impact prices more generally, putting more pressure on family budgets. nina warhurst, bbc news. that report from nina warhurst on the jobs that report from nina warhurst on thejobs picture. you're watching bbc news. joanna gosling will be here next to take you through to one o'clock. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. we're heading towards the start of a very quiet and calm spell of weather across the uk later this week. out there today, still a bit blustery in places, particularly further north, closer to this area of low pressure that's heading towards iceland at the moment, weather fronts here as well. the strongest of the winds just south of that, but they're dragging in some pretty mild air, could get around 13 degrees in northern scotland. and across the board, temperatures high that we expect for mid december. —— higher than we normally expect. but as i said, closer to those weather fronts, you've got rain across the north of scotland, shetland having a particularly wet day. not as bad for a time this afternoon, across north and west of scotland, rain turning lighter and patchier. there could be some drizzle from the cloud across the south. elsewhere, the morning murk lifts up, a little bit of sunshine here and there. but overall, a fair bit of cloud around today, breeziest towards the north, lightest winds in the south, 13 possible here, 13 in the likes of northern scotland. but where we've got any lingering mist or murk through central parts of england and northern england, it could be only around seven or eight degrees. now, tonight, the rain turns heavier again across the north of scotland for a time. we'll see a bit more in the way of wet weather for northern ireland, southwest scotland, too. but much of england, wales will be dry, save just one or two spots of light rain and drizzle in southern most counties, and temperatures down a little bit for some of you tonight, but overall, still a pretty mild night for this stage in the year. and into tomorrow, a cloudy and in places damp start for scotland, northern ireland, that will continue through northern ireland, southern scotland, but northern scotland eventually turning much brighter than we've seen through the past few days. a bit of sunshine through parts of north wales, the midlands, east anglia, parts of northern england, but northwest england cloudier through the afternoon, some spots of rain, and still plenty of cloud towards the south, temperatures widely around ten to 12 degrees. and then that quieter spell of weather i hinted at, that all comes courtesy of this high pressure system, moving its way in from the near continent as we go through into thursday, around the edges of it, still a bit of a breeze blowing, but across much of central and eastern uk, gentle winds, a fair bit of cloud, morning, mist and fog patches, and temperatures once more around ten to 12 celsius for the vast majority. and that high pressure really takes hold as we go through the end of the week and into the weekend, right on top of us. now around the centre of that high, not much in the way of wind. and that will lead to some overnight frost, some overnight fog patches which could linger around. it looks like there could be a fair bit of cloud trapped under that air of high pressure, so not huge amounts of sunshine and temperatures just a degree or so above the mid december average. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mps. the reality is, for the government, we've got to do the right thing, as we see it, for the country. of course, we want to carry as many people with us as possible, but ourjob is to protect the country. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level 4 "national incident" — the service's highest emergency level. a new study in south africa suggests two recent doses of the pfizerjab could provide up to 70 percent protection against hospitalisation from omicron. lawyers for anne sacoolas the american woman accused of causing the death of harry dunn deny she's agreed to face criminal proceedings in a uk court. and the new spider—man film is on its way — with tom holland returning to spin those superhero webs good morning and welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson could face the biggest conservative backbench revolt since he entered downing street when mps vote on new covid rules for england. as many as 70 tory mps have indicated that they're prepared to vote against the government's �*plan b' covid rules for tackling the omicron variant. the prime minister has defended his plans as a "proportionate" response to the rising cases. mps are due to vote on a series of measures: new rules on facemasks which came into force last week. face coverings have become compulsory in most indoor settings, except for pubs and restaurants. a measure allowing fully—vaccinated people who have been exposed to a positive covid case to avoid self—isolation if they take daily lateral flow tests for 7 days and receive a negative result. the introduction of a covid pass which would ensure that someone can only enter a large venue, if they can prove they are fully vaccinated or have a negative lateral flow test result. and there will be a vote on making it compulsory for front line nhs staff in england to be fully jabbed. it comes as the nhs is put on its highest level of emergency preparedness — a "level 4 national incident" has been declared. hospitals have been ordered to free up as many beds as possible, discharging some patients to hotels under plans set out by health leaders. and vaccine clinics will run around the clock to give boosterjabs, and the prime minister has appealed for volunteers. more on that in a minute, but first, here's our political correspondent, ben wright. it is, says the government, a race between the virus and the vaccine, and people have been rushing to receive their boosterjab after ministers warned of a tidal wave of infection caused by the omicron variant of covid. that has meant delays for some people trying to access appointments, and a fresh government call for vaccine volunteers. no variant of covid—19 has spread this fast. in the commons yesterday, the health secretary sajid javid said omicron now represented 20% of cases in england and was accelerating fast. the booster programme has been expanded, with anyone over 18 able to book a jab from wednesday. that means nhs resources are being switched to focus on delivering vaccines and urgent clinical care. the health service in england has been put on its highest level of emergency readiness, level four, national incident, meaning it can be coordinated at a national level. in the commons today, there will be a series of votes beefing up public health protections in england. there will be one on more mandatory mask wearing. another on replacing self—isolation with daily testing for people exposed to a positive case of the omicron variant. but it is the plan to require a negative covid test, or proof of vaccination status to attend crowded events that has riled many tory mps. i don't think that we are in a situation, nor should we be in a country where you have to provide, upon inspection... that can be from police — and i have started to see photos. i was looking last night at photographs coming from italy where, in a restaurant, the police went into a restaurant and asked to inspect everybody�*s vaccination certificate. i don't think we live in a country where that sort of thing is acceptable, nor do we want to see it. up to 70 conservatives may rebel against the government, arguing that these restrictions go too far. these votes will be judged as a test of borisjohnson's authority over his party, too. a beleaguered prime minister who may well need labour mps to get his policy through. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. let's talk to our correspondent at westminster caroline davies. a big day for the government. yes, indeed. we do think that these policies will probably go through, but that is because the labour party have said that they will support them. what is more interesting is to say how many of the tory backbench mps will decide to rebel against the government and how that will affect the authority of the prime minister. despite the fact that there will be some who will be rebelling, the justice minister said this morning and defended the decision to put these policies through. the reality is for the government we have to do the right thing is we see it for the country, and of course we want to carry with us as many people as possible. but the big emphasis is on the booster, ramp up booster campaign, it is going well but it is ambitious, we are straining every sinew. we need to take these precautionary, proportionate measures while we ramp that up, and in fairness, while we work out and establish the full severity of omicron, because as i said, we still only have partial information about how damaging it will be, but if we didn't take these measures, you would be saying, why haven't we acted more swiftly? so, we have got four votes —— michael votes that will go through parliament, the debates will happen earlier on the day, the four questions that will be put to parliament will be firstly about facemasks, a retrospective vote because a facemask were introduced into theatres and cinemas on friday. that is expected to go through, the second will be about the changing and requirements that anyone who comes into contact with someone who has had the coronavirus will have to take a lateral flow tests for seven days and then isolate if they test positive. that is even if they have come into contact with the omicron variant, up until now, people had to isolate. that is not expected to be a big issue for the government. the third vote is the one about having either to show your vaccination passport or show that you have a negative lateral flow test before you can enter venues like nightclubs in england. we are expecting to see that there may be a rebellion. it will notjust be tory mps or some of them who will likely vote against this, we know the liberal democrats will vote against it and potentially some dup party members as well. it will be interesting to see quite how many of those numbers go through from the conservative party, at the moment we think around 70, well some of them soften? or will they think that the spread of the variant mean that the spread of the variant mean that they will want to support the government? or will that they will want to support the government? orwill some that they will want to support the government? or will some people decide to abstain? at the moment a lot of the mps have different reasons for deciding to vote against some of these policies, some of them are concerned that this policy is not particularly effective and they are worried that it creates a situation where people are having to show documentation on a regular basis and they do not like that. others do not feel that the government have dealt with the pandemic in the way that they would like this is an opportunity for them to be able to voice their concern about it. it will be interesting to see later on today and probably later this evening quite how many tory mps decide to vote against the government. tory mps decide to vote against the government-— the scottish government is considering limiting household mixing in response to omicron. the measures are likely to be guidance rather than law. social distancing could be brought back and stronger working from home guidance introduced. the cabinet's has been meeting in the last hour, and first minister nicola sturgeon will update holyrood later. wales' first minister has also warned new restrictions could be on the way there — saying ministers may "need to take more steps to keep wales safe". mark drakeford has announced urgent plans to offer the booster vaccine to all eligible adults by the end of the year. there are currently 30 confirmed cases of omicron in the country. in teh past few minutes — a jury has found a mother guilty of killing her 16—month—old daughter in west yorkshire. star hobson was 16 months old when she died. star hobson was 16 months old when she died. our correspondent danny savage is at bradford crown court(os) this is another awful case of child abuse and we heard recently about various different cases, this is another one that has come up in bradford and the trial that has been heard over the last seven weeks and focuses on a little girl called star hobson who was 16 months old when she was murdered in september last year. she was in the care of her mother and her partner and today a jury mother and her partner and today a jury at bradford crown court has found the mother, frankie smith who was 17 years old guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child, and found her partner, savannah brockhill, who is 28, guilty of murder. star hobson, 16 months old, died at her home in keighley in september last year. she had a wider family who were very concerned about her at times. they noted she had become withdrawn and battered and bruised at times. her mother and her partner try to keep explaining this away, saying that she had fallen down the stairs of falling off a chair, the reality was that they were desperately mistreating her in an awful way. they were depriving her of sleep, playing a cruel psychological tricks and beating her as well. the wider family on numerous occasions raised concerns with bradford social services about star hobson's welfare and she was seen on a number of occasions by social workers and on one occasion was taken even by police to hospital with bruises to be checked over. she was always allowed to stay with her abusers. it resulted in her eventually suffering a terrible violent attack in september last year when she was hit in the abdomen. that punch caused such catastrophic injuries that they were on survivable and she died in hospital a short time later. her mother and her partner were both arrested and charged with murder, but the jury at bradford crown court has found the mother, frankie smith not guilty of murder and not guilty of manslaughter as well, but they have convicted her partner, savannah brockhill, of murder. here is the background of this terrible case. star hobson, a happy little girl seen here with her great—grandfather. but over a period of months, she went from this, to being bruised and withdrawn. she had a cruel, miserable short life. friends and family repeatedly contacted social services, worried about her welfare. on one occasion police even took to hospital to be checked over. but she was always allowed to stay with her abusers. t allowed to stay with her abusers. i know for a fact we will never, ever get over losing her. i have gone to work crying some mornings, it hits you and you just get over with it. you just cannot believe we are never going to see her again. her you just cannot believe we are never going to see her again.— going to see her again. her own mother and _ going to see her again. her own mother and her _ going to see her again. her own mother and her partner - going to see her again. her own mother and her partner lied i mother and her partner lied repeatedly about how she had been hurt. all the while conducting an horrifically cruel campaign of abuse. frankie smith and savannah brockhill, deprive their little girl of sleep, beat her and kept concerned social workers away from her. ., . . concerned social workers away from her. ., ., ., , , her. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. star hobson _ her. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. star hobson was _ her. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. star hobson was anything - her. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. star hobson was anything but i her. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. | star hobson was anything but spoil. she was killed when she was just 16 months old, her injuries were described in court as utterly catastrophic. her great grandparents, david and anita, try to raise concerns with social services. to raise concerns with social services-— to raise concerns with social services. �* . ., ., services. anita said, you do not want another _ services. anita said, you do not want another baby _ services. anita said, you do not want another baby p _ services. anita said, you do not want another baby p on - services. anita said, you do not want another baby p on your i services. anita said, you do not i want another baby p on your hands and she said, how do you mean and anita said, think about it, that little baby p, he was let down by social services, we want you to go and see what problems there are. but that was it, we never heard anything, theyjust said the case was closed and that was that. star. was closed and that was that. star, do ou was closed and that was that. star, do you love — was closed and that was that. star, do you love your— was closed and that was that. star, do you love your mums? _ was closed and that was that. star, do you love your mums? when i do you love your mums? when challenged. — do you love your mums? when challenged, her _ do you love your mums? when challenged, her mother- do you love your mums? when challenged, her mother and i do you love your mums? when | challenged, her mother and her partner lied, and got injuries from falling over. they claimed the complaints were malicious and from people who did not like their relationship. in court, family members testified against the couple. it members testified against the cou - le. ., , members testified against the coule. ' . ., couple. it was so difficult for them to come forward, _ couple. it was so difficult for them to come forward, because - couple. it was so difficult for them to come forward, because they i couple. it was so difficult for them | to come forward, because they are giving _ to come forward, because they are giving evidence _ to come forward, because they are giving evidence against _ to come forward, because they are giving evidence against the - to come forward, because they are giving evidence against the familyl giving evidence against the family member~ — giving evidence against the family member~ and _ giving evidence against the family member. and about _ giving evidence against the family member. and about their- giving evidence against the family i member. and about their grandchild or their— member. and about their grandchild or their daughter— member. and about their grandchild or their daughter or— member. and about their grandchild or their daughter or their— member. and about their grandchild or their daughter or their niece, i or their daughter or their niece, etc _ or their daughter or their niece, etc and — or their daughter or their niece, etc and we _ or their daughter or their niece, etc. and we were _ or their daughter or their niece, etc. and we were very- or their daughter or their niece, etc. and we were very gratefull or their daughter or their niece, i etc. and we were very grateful how willing _ etc. and we were very grateful how willing and — etc. and we were very grateful how willing and candid _ etc. and we were very grateful how willing and candid they _ etc. and we were very grateful how willing and candid they had - etc. and we were very grateful how willing and candid they had been. i willing and candid they had been. was star— willing and candid they had been. was star hobson's _ willing and candid they had been. was star hobson's death - willing and candid they had been. i was star hobson's death avoidable? could moore have been done by the authorities? many questions have been raised by the short life of this sweet little girl. danny savage, bbc news, bradford. lots of questions and as you mentioned at the beginning it follows on from a long list of other cases, most recently that of arthur labinjo—hughes were family members raise concerns with social services. what happens now in terms of the response that there was to those concerns? i response that there was to those concerns? ., response that there was to those concerns? ~ ., ., concerns? i think throughout the course of this _ concerns? i think throughout the course of this trial _ concerns? i think throughout the course of this trial the _ concerns? i think throughout the course of this trial the case i course of this trial the case identified failings by bradford social services, bradford children services, there have been a number of referrals to them and social workers had physically seen star hobson but she was allowed to stay with those that were hurting her, because those that were hurting her were lying and explaining why her injuries and social services then have their investigation and decided that it was ok, that it was safe, that it was ok, that it was safe, that these were purely accidental injuries. there is an investigation under way at the moment with bradford children services that will report back early in the new year and we are also expecting a statement from bradford council today but you heard in that report, her great—grandfather saying, they rang social services and said do you want another baby p on your hands? how star cannot pay? these were people who had looked after the child before her mother got into a new relationship and i knew what i have —— a happy and healthy child she was and then her mother got into this relationship with savannah brockhill and the child started suffering injuries. they raise the alarm repeatedly and social services repeatedly went round and decided that there was not an issue. there are some very difficult questions to answerfrom bradford children and services at the moment and i think it is very true to say that star hobson nowjoins a very tragic and grim list that includes baby peter conneuy grim list that includes baby peter connelly and arthur labinjo—hughes, of children that have been hurt and killed by those closest to them despite people raising the alarm around them that they worried that something wrong was happening. yes, bradford social services will probably release a statement today and i suspect it will be along the lines of that their enquiry will report back early in the new year and we are likely to hear from west yorkshire police as well in the next hour or so, they are going to release a statement as well. at one point their officers took star hobson and her mother to hospital because the child had injuries, to because the child had injuries, to be seen by a paediatrician. on that day again she was allowed to be taken home to the people that were mistreating her. it raises a whole load of questions and what you have in the background now is a wider family who are completely devastated by what happened to that sweet little girl that they used to look after and see, he was kept away from them really in the last few weeks and months of their life, because the couple who were on trial here thought that that wider family were interfering, getting on the way raising and questions and they were pretending to be heard that they could be questioned about the way they were caring for that child. that widerfamily they were caring for that child. that wider family was spot on, they were right, they were correct in assuming that star hobson was been mistreated and bay, as you saw in my report there, orjust left mistreated and bay, as you saw in my report there, or just left wondering now what could have been done, what more they could have done and left just with the memories of this little child who they should still be seen on a regular occasion and instead theyjust have to have photographs and memories of her in their homes. photographs and memories of her in their homes-— the headlines on bbc news... the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mps. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level 4 "national incident" — the service's highest emergency level. frankie smith has been convicted of causing or allowing the death of her daughter, 16—month—old star hobson. savannah brockhill has been found guility of murdering the toddler. back now to coronavirus — one of the measures for england that will be voted on this afternoon will allow fully—vaccinated people who have been exposed to a positive covid case to avoid self—isolation if they take daily lateral flow test for seven days and receive a negative result. professor irene petersen, professor of epidemiology at ucl has. she has studied the effectiveness of lateral flow tests. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what do you think? is that with the right response? i what do you think? is that with the right response?— what do you think? is that with the right response? i don't know whether it is the right — right response? i don't know whether it is the right response, _ right response? i don't know whether it is the right response, but _ right response? i don't know whether it is the right response, but i - it is the right response, but i think it is necessary if we need to keep the society open. we may well remember in the summer, when a lot of people were contacted and asked to isolate when we had the football euro 2020. we in many areas saw plenty of people who were isolating. if they are going to do that again, if they are going to do that again, i don't think there will be many people out and about for christmas. in terms of whether seven days is the right period of time for someone to be taking daily lateral flow tests if they have been in contact with someone, without be about right? yes. ithink with someone, without be about right? yes. i think so. with someone, without be about right? yes. ithink so. we with someone, without be about right? yes. i think so. we know it takes a couple of days from when you were infected until you might become infectious yourself, so it is likely that if you are infected, you will be infectious yourself and the lateral flow test will be testing positive in a period of time. horse positive in a period of time. how effective are _ positive in a period of time. how effective are the _ positive in a period of time. how effective are the lateral flow tests? particularly with this, which is a new variant which has got so many mutations compared with what went before? is it certain that the lateral flow test can pick it up? well, most of the mutations have beenin well, most of the mutations have been in the spike protein but the lateral flow test uses another part of the virus to detect whether or not you have got that and for fewer mutations are in that. so far, the investigations suggest that the lateral flow tests are effective in identifying people with the omicron variant. ~ ., ., , variant. what are the figures in terms of false _ variant. what are the figures in terms of false negatives i variant. what are the figures in terms of false negatives or i variant. what are the figures in | terms of false negatives or even false positives for lateral flow test? , ., ., ,, ., ., test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow — test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow test _ test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow test has _ test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow test has very, - test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow test has very, very i test? first of all, we know that the lateral flow test has very, very few| lateral flow test has very, very few false positives. it is a very specific test and when it tests positive, please stay—at—home. it is very likely that you are infectious. it is only really a problem with a false positive when you have a very, very low prevalence in the society. at the moment, we cannot really say that we have a low prevalence of covid in our society. yes, a positive is very likely to be a positive. positive is very likely to be a ositive. ~ ., positive is very likely to be a ositive. ~ . ., ., , ., positive. what about negatives, how much can we — positive. what about negatives, how much can we bank— positive. what about negatives, how much can we bank on _ positive. what about negatives, how much can we bank on those? i positive. what about negatives, how much can we bank on those? again, | positive. what about negatives, how. much can we bank on those? again, we did a study that — much can we bank on those? again, we did a study that we _ much can we bank on those? again, we did a study that we published _ much can we bank on those? again, we did a study that we published a - much can we bank on those? again, we did a study that we published a few- did a study that we published a few months ago, where we illustrate that actually the sensitivity of lateral flow tests are pretty good. it is high. it identified people who are infectious and you are infectious for between five and seven days and people would be identified in that period. the critical point is at the beginning ofan period. the critical point is at the beginning of an infection, it may take some time before the viral load gets up to a detected status. it is important that if you are a close contact that you continue to test every day, because you might not be infectious one day, but then the day after you are infectious. 50. infectious one day, but then the day after you are infectious.— after you are infectious. so, if someone tests _ after you are infectious. so, if someone tests positive i after you are infectious. so, if someone tests positive then l after you are infectious. so, if. someone tests positive then on after you are infectious. so, if- someone tests positive then on day seven after a contact or are a close contact of someone who is positive, that does not mean then that they have been going around for the previous six days spreading it unwittingly?— previous six days spreading it unwittinal ? .,, , ., , unwittingly? hopefully not. it is ossible unwittingly? hopefully not. it is possible that — unwittingly? hopefully not. it is possible that they _ unwittingly? hopefully not. it is possible that they might i unwittingly? hopefully not. it is possible that they might have i unwittingly? hopefully not. it is. possible that they might have been spreading at the day before, but it is unlikely that they would have been spreading it for seven days. the first few days you would be infectious if you have just been infected, the question is at what point do you get infectious and that might vary from person to person. the list does sound like the smart alternative to the blanket isolation that we have before. maybe, i do not know if i wrongly took it inference from what you said at the beginning, but i thought what you were saying is that the isolation is kind of the gold standard, but it is not practical, is that actually not correct? ~ ., ., correct? well, i think at the beginning — correct? well, i think at the beginning of— correct? well, i think at the beginning of the _ correct? well, i think at the beginning of the pandemic. correct? well, i think at the i beginning of the pandemic they did not have any other options, because we did not have enough testing and we did not have enough testing and we did not have enough testing and we did not have a rapid antigen test, so we were not able to do the test, so we were not able to do the test, but now we have the test, so it is a smarter way, because she would only identify those who are infectious. there will of course be some people, no tests are perfect, but you could also say that the isolation is very, very harsh test because it assumes that all contacts are positive and that is not the case. it are positive and that is not the case. , , .. , ., case. it is still the case that someone — case. it is still the case that someone living _ case. it is still the case that someone living with i case. it is still the case that i someone living with someone who case. it is still the case that _ someone living with someone who has omicron or any other variant might not get it. it is an enduring mystery of this, it is so transmissible and yet you can be in close quarters and not get it? exactly. omicron is a different based to the one we saw before, but still there are people who do not get infected, even by being in close contact. of course, you should take considerations when you are living with someone who is infected and make whatever attempt you can do to isolate from that person.— isolate from that person. professor irene peterson. _ isolate from that person. professor irene peterson. thank _ isolate from that person. professor irene peterson. thank you. i i'm joined now by our health correspondent laura foster. what does this mean? the level for national incident is where the nhs goes from being regionally managed to nationally supported to been run nationally, they are being told what they need to do from now on. what are they being told? first of all, the booster programme, the vaccination site should operate 12 hours a day seven days a week as standard and that might include those 24—hour seven day a week vaccination clinics where it is relevant in the local community. they are also being told that temporary buildings will be dispatched and there will be pop—up sites coming on board over the next few days. they also need to increase capacity and the way they are saying you should do that is about freeing up you should do that is about freeing up beds in hospital, so discharging patients to hotels, making more use of private hospitals, so also using virtual wards. this is when a patient is progressing very well, recovering well from coronavirus and they are sent home with a pulse oximeter and given supporting information to monitor their oxygen levels at home whilst being guided in hospital. in levels at home whilst being guided in hosital. , ., , in hospital. in terms of capacity, 4.4 in hospital. in terms of capacity, 4-4 million _ in hospital. in terms of capacity, 4.4 million people _ in hospital. in terms of capacity, 4.4 million people apparently i in hospital. in terms of capacity, i 4.4 million people apparently tried to book a vaccination yesterday, but only 545,000 managed to make a booking, is there enough capacity in the system when we also hear that lateral flow tests are running out, to actually manage everything that is currently required? that to actually manage everything that is currently required?— is currently required? that is what the government _ is currently required? that is what the government are _ is currently required? that is what the government are saying i is currently required? that is what the government are saying in i the government are saying in england, orthey the government are saying in england, or they are referring back to the increase in the number of sites where you can go and get a booster vaccination over the next few days and weeks and we know that people are being prepped at the moment. we know that there is enough supply of lateral flow devices, we were warned last week that there might have been a delay, we were not expecting there to be such a rush on the site and not be available to order, but we are told that is being sorted out and there has been a promise to offer everyone a vaccination by the end of the month, trying to deliver them by the end of the month, well, we will wait and see. ., ~' the month, well, we will wait and see. . ~ , ., , the month, well, we will wait and see. ., ~' ,, , ,, see. thank you. let me bring you some breaking — see. thank you. let me bring you some breaking news _ see. thank you. let me bring you some breaking news in _ see. thank you. let me bring you some breaking news in responsel see. thank you. let me bring you i some breaking news in response to the sentencing over the death of star hobson, that 16—month—old girl, her mother frankie smith, guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and her partner, savannah brockhill, guilty of murder. those verdicts just brockhill, guilty of murder. those verdictsjust in the brockhill, guilty of murder. those verdicts just in the last half an hour. we are now getting reaction from the department for education. a statement says her death is deeply disturbing and a reminder of why we have taken action to strengthen how safeguarding issues work together locally to protect children at risk of abuse or neglect of why we will never hesitate to take robust steps to prevent tragic cases like this happening. there are clear systems in place to report serious incidents which in her case led to a local child safeguarding practice review. this is due to conclude injanuary and is learning is conveyed into the national review of arthur labinjo—hughes and his death organised by the secretary of state. in the months since the death of star hobson a commissioner has been announced to assess the capacity of their ability to approve and he will report injanuary of whether their ability to approve and he will report in january of whether the council should retain control of those services and unseen that we will not hesitate to remove service control if that is what is necessary to drive improvements. we heard earlier that several family members reported their concerns about the well—being of star hobson to social services including her grandfather who, in one conversation with social services, you do not want another baby p. in every time that concerns were raised, there were checks made and star hobson was returned to the care of her mother and her mother's girlfriend and as we are hearing today, in court, they have both been found guilty over her death. her mother guilty of causing or allowing the death of her child and her girlfriend guilty of murder and they will be sentenced tomorrow. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. there will be a bit of sunshine at times over the coming days, cloud will often dominate and today that cloud has been thick enough for some heavy rain in the north of scotland. heaviest rain, though, through the afternoon, likely to be across shetland. the rain will come and go across western areas of scotland, dry and bright to the east, may be the odd shower in northern ireland, a little bit of drizzle from thicker cloud in the south. we have had some mist and fog today, the north of england and the midlands and wales, it will struggle to shift. seven or 8 degrees, most places are very mild day, 13 celsius in the south, 13 in the far north of scotland. there will be a few breaks in the cloud, with sunshine today, a few breaks tonight and where you get them, you will see again the odd mist or fog patch, temperatures in mid—single figures. for most though, another mild night and what we will see, things will turn wetter in the west of scotland and eventually into parts of northern ireland. that takes us into a damp start to the day in scotland and northern ireland, particularly across western areas. the northern half of scotland turns brighter, more sunshine around compared with the past few days. certainly a bit damp across the north west of england. south of that, some sunny breaks, a lot of cloud in the south and another mild one as well. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mps. the reality is, for the government, we've got to do the right thing, as we see it, for the country. of course, we want to carry as many people with us as possible, but ourjob is to protect the country. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level four national incident — the service's highest a new study in south africa suggests two recent doses of the pfizerjab provide 70% protection against hospitalisation. frankie smith — the mother of toddler star hobson — has been convicted of causing or allowing her death. savannah brockhill has been found guilty of murdering star. they will be sentenced tomorrow lawyers for anne sacoolas, the american woman accused of causing the death of harry dunn , denies she's agreed to face criminal proceedings in a uk court. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, terry sarah. with the premier league hit by covid outbreaks at several clubs, manchester united's game at brentford tonight has been postponed. a record 42 players and staff across the league have tested positive in the last week. united had already closed their training ground and delayed their trip to london. the decision to postpone was based on guidance from medical advisers, according to the premier league, who say the match will be rearranged in due course. there are also confirmed covid cases at brighton, tottenham, leicester, aston villa and norwich — although the game between norwich and villa tonight will go ahead as things stand. also tonight, leaders manchester city take on leeds, and amid further discussions about vaccination rates amid premier league players, manager pep guardiola says health and safety for everyone must come first. i'm concerned, not because we're going to cancel and break maybe the premier league, i'm concerned that society still is, the virus is here and people suffer and we have seen with tottenham first and norwich, leicester, i think united, what i hear, so there are many. and some people here, the staff, they've got it. right now. and we have spoken with the players almost every day, be careful. well, away from players and staff, new covid protocols are coming in forfans in england tomorrow. they'll have to show proof of double vaccination or a negative test to attend sporting events with crowds of more than 10,000 and clubs are telling fans exactly what they expect of them. we are also going to ask people to complete an online declaration in advance of the game, which will have to be done for match ticket holders for every game, and for season ticket holders hopefully just once. and then once they're inside the stadium, once again, we're asking people to be responsible, wear their masks when they're moving around and also ideally wear their masks in the stadium bowl. it seems to be a small price to pay for keeping each other safe, protecting the nhs, and hopefully keeping the stadium open with a full capacity. manchester united defender viktor lindelof is undergoing tests after he suffered breathing difficulties during their win at norwich on saturday. he was forced off during the second half, but the incident isn't believed to be connected to the covid—19 outbreak we were just telling you about. the club said he had recovered well and was having a series of precautionary investigations. the second ashes test begins on thursday and despite the capitulation in the first, england captainjoe root believes there is reason to be optimistic. they may have lost by nine wickets and suffered two batting collapses, but root has stressed the positives heading into that day—night test match with australia in adelaide. without sounding too cliched, there were things there we just have to do for longer. and we could be looking at a very different scoreline. and that's the sort of confidence that you have to take forward. and i think that's why it doesn't feel like previous tours, leaving brisbane where we have been absolutely battered and completely on the wrong end of the result, i think we're actually leaving there with a slightly different perspective. the organisers of the next summer olympics in paris in 2024 have released pictures on social media, showing how the opening ceremony is likely to look. it will be held along the banks of the river seine and they've promised the most spectacular and accessible opening ceremony in olympic history. around 160 boats will carry athletes and officials on the water, with crowds of more than 600,000 expected to attend for free. it'll be the first time the event won't be staged inside a stadium. it looks nice. that's all the sport for now but there's plenty more on the bbc sport website, you can keep updated there on the latest developments on the covid outbreaks in the premier league. i'll be back with more later. more now on the spread of omicron. the head of the south african medical association, angelique coetzee, has been giving evidence to parliament's science and technology committee about omicron. she said the variant should be tackled through vaccination and boosters, and by ensuring people wear masks and avoid crowded gatherings. but she said she didn't think wider restrictions on movement were necessary. if you look at what is happening at ground level. we don't have a problem. family practitioner spikes as well as in hospitals, then we do not see the need for restrictions. there is an economic downfall to it as well. and, again, people are already upset. it is no use putting restrictions around movement because the virus is everywhere. maybe we need to learn how to live with this. matthew taylor, chief executive of the nhs confederation, said it is now a battle against time to avoid the nhs getting ovwewhelmed — and the pressure being seen at the moment is unprecedented. we are now involved in a race. omicron is clearly a strain that spreads very quickly. we do not yet know about the severity. it does look as though three vaccinations is better than two. we need to do everything we can to reduce the spread whilst we expand the booster programme. if we do not do that, the danger is we will have an increase in numbers of people requiring hospital care at a time that could not be worse for the nhs. it is always the case the nhs is under pressure in winter. but we have never seen the level of pressure it is experiencing now in all parts of the health service. preliminary findings from a large—scale study in south africa suggest two recent doses of the pfizerjab could provide 70 per cent protection against hospitalisation from the omicron variant. )the study looked at more than 200,000 positive covid test results in a three—week period — of which almost 80,000 were suspected but not confirmed to be omicron cases. the initial results, released by a large private health insurance company, also showed that two doses provided 33 percent protection against infection. peter openshaw is an immunologist at imperial college london and a member of the uk vaccine network. he gave us his reaction to the findings. i think this is really interesting report. we have to regard it as preliminary. we have not seen draft manuscript, this isjust a news report. it fits with what we have assumed, which is the rather disappointing results from the laboratory testing of antibody levels have not been completely reflected by the real—world protection seen against hospitalisation. a couple of doses of pfizer biontech are giving pretty good protection against hospitalisation, 70% versus 90% if we were looking at delta. it is not complete protection. it fits the pattern and they are also reporting a 33% protection against infection, presumably that is symptoms and a positive pcr results. that is more than you might expect. i think this is encouraging. i think it emphasises the vital importance of people getting vaccinated, as well as the current drive for boosters. i think this fits really with what we are seeing. it is quite compatible with what we are seeing in the uk. i would say that omicron is so transmissible, it is remarkably transmissible, it is remarkably transmissible, and the large number of cases we anticipate we will see over the next weeks will lead to a surge in hospital admissions, even though there is some protection by vaccination. and possibly a slight change in the pattern of disease caused by this new variant. lawyers for anne sacoolas — the american woman accused of causing the death of the motorcyclist harry dunn — have denied an agreement has been reached for her to face criminal proceedings in a uk court. last night, the crown prosecution service said the case would be heard at westminster magistrates court next month. mrs sacoolas is accused of killing the 19—year—old in a crash outside an raf base in northamptonshire in 2019. danjohnson has this report. harry dunn was knocked off his motorbike outside this raf base in northamptonshire in august of 2019. anne sacoolas, wife of a us intelligence official who was stationed there, fled the country under diplomatic immunity. she was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after a campaign, but an extradition request was refused by the us. now the crown prosecution service has told harry's parents the case will go to court next month. you can imagine, they're completely overwhelmed at the moment. lots of tears. but, importantly, you know, of course we continue to think about harry. this is no celebration, this is no victory, but clearly, the culmination of two and a half years now of very tough, high—profile public campaigning for justice. the foreign secretary has welcomed the news. but it's not clear whether the original charge is still being pursued, or how diplomatic immunity is being bypassed. and anne sacoolas' lawyers say although they had always been willing to discuss a hearing via video link, there is no agreement at this time. this complicated case has taken many turns and faced difficult challenges. but there will be a hearing at westminster magistrates' court on january the 18th. dan johnson, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news. frankie smith — the mother of toddler star hobson — has been convicted of causing or allowing her death. savannah brockhill has been found guility of murdering star. they will be sentenced tomorrow. the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mps. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level 4 national incident — the service's highest emergency level. the government is launching what it says will be common—sense reforms to the human rights act that will restore confidence in the legal system. others say the changes are an attack on our fundamental rights. so, what is the human rights act, and what's changing? the act includes basic rights to life, a fair trial, and freedom from ill—treatment. its wording comes from the european convention of human rights — a treaty agreed by almost every nation in europe after world war ii. the convention is enforced by a court in strasbourg, france, which includesjudges from the uk and all other nations. it's nothing to do with the european union. the proposed changes will mean the supreme court in the uk will have the final say on our rights. other changes will make it easier for the government to deport foreign national offenders, by introducing circumstances in which they cannot claim a right to family life in the uk. the plans will see a new legal test which would allowjudges to block what the government calls spurious cases. earlier we heard from thejustice secretary dominic raab about the changes. i think we have an opportunity to look again as we do periodically over the centuries how we strengthen freedom, particularly freedom of speech. in various ways we have seen that it raided. that should be strengthened and reinforced. that is a quintessentially british liberty. and other elements like trial by jury and other elements like trial by jury that applies different ways in different parts of the uk but some recognition of that is part of the british story. and there are other areas where we are seeing the elastic interpretations of human rights that damage the credibility particularly the example i would give is the frustration of deportation orders by foreign national offenders claiming the right to family life. there is a good example of elastic interpretation of rights that has resulted in what i would argue is abuse of the system. i think there is a broader democratic point. we have seen the goalposts on human rights shift and if that is going to happen it should be decided by elected lawmakers are not happen because of a debate by lawyers in the courtroom. it is not a criticism ofjudges but the human rights act. we can strengthen liberty but add common sense and that is what our plan will achieve. the number ofjob vacancies in the uk has reached another record high — with almost 1.2 million roles being advertised between august to october — that's one vacancy for every 25 people working. delivery drivers, warehouse workers, hospitality staff, cleaners , health and social care workers are in greatest demand. meanwhile, uk workers on payrolls rose by more than a quarter of a million between october and november. our business correspondent nina warhurst has been speaking to some bosses to find out how they're affected. who could have predicted this? from a pandemic that punished the economy, lots ofjobs now available, not enough people to fill them. this hotel in manchester has bounced back to a high number of bookings, but despite recruitment drives and training new faces, they are still 30 members of staff down. adrian, where's everyone gone then? good question. so, some went back to europe. and some people just chose, in the last year—and—a—half, to go off and do other things. some went to work at libraries, some went to start their own business, some are doing things from their own home, of course. so what are you now doing to entice people into the industry, to come to the hotel? well, firstly, we've increased all our entry level pay to the national living wage. and we've also addressed some of the key positions where we just felt market forces required us to improve the salary levels. and increased salaries in onejob market can put pressure on others. 10% of uk roles are in hospitality, and there is some evidence that that's pulling workers away from jobs like cleaning. ryan employs around 25 people cleaning office spaces, but it's not enough to fulfil his contract. he needs more. a lot of the applicants and a lot of candidates have left the industry, particularly to go to the supermarket industry, for example, where they've seen huge growth during covid, and they know that they're not going to be furloughed, the premises isn't going to close down, the work is going to carry on regardless in a supermarket environment, whereas in the cleaning industry, if they're in an office or they have been cleaning a pub, there's obviously a higher chance that they might be furloughed or potentially even lose theirjob when that premises closes. vacancies here and across the board are down to a variety of reasons. yeah, it's partly european workers going home because of covid and because of brexit. but also, lockdown led to people reassessing what they wanted out of life, thinking about the priorities. and in fact the number of people switching jobs is also at a record high. some people are calling this period the �*great resignation'. helen has lost staff at her workshop and it's starting to affect business. we're having to push out our lead times to our customers. and some of our customers are being patient, but somejust really can't wait as long as we are quoting them in terms of time frames, and they've taken their business elsewhere. obviously working in a foundry is dirty work. but we do pay more than we pay the staff that we have in our warehouse as a little bit of compensation for the working environment. keeping fewer rooms open, delaying deadlines, failing to expand, all consequences of not having enough people. and increasing wages can impact prices more generally, putting more pressure on family budgets. nina warhurst, bbc news. more than a hundred people are still missing in the us state of kentucky, after the series of devastating tornadoes at the weekend. officials say at least 74 people have died. in the city of mayfield — one of the worst—hit areas — a candle factory was destroyed while more than a hundred people were working inside it. president biden will head to kentucky on wednesday to see the impact of the disaster. laura podesta from cbs news is in mayfield. and gave us the latest on the search for survivors it is ongoing. look at this home behind me. you can see the side, orange spray paint, cruise noting the date on the fact they have gone through the home and found no one inside. that is their zero with the mark through it. and they are going structure to structure, particularly in daylight. it is pitch black right now, so they do stand down in the middle of the night. we saw them going structure to structure yesterday and they will continue today as they look for people who could potentially still be alive under the rubble that is apparent in this community and surrounding neighbourhood. just some numbers to give you. the latest is 88 people are dead due to the tornadoes. that stretches over five states. 74 have been killed in kentucky. the death toll is expected to climb as they continue to identify people. we arejust we are just hearing there are currently no macro pcr tests available in england anywhere today. this is the page, if you are after a covid test at a walk—in or drive—in centre in england. that is what will greet you if you put your details in to the government website page. home tests are available for the general public, the website says. if you order one it will be posted to your home and should arrive the day after you order it. and they say home test kits are being prioritised for essential workers. kits are being prioritised for essentialworkers. if kits are being prioritised for essential workers. if you want to go to a site today in england they are not available. just rolling down they are available in northern ireland, scotland and wales, but in england they are not. this follows on from what was happening yesterday and continues today. there is a shortage of availability of lateral flow tests. the government said it is not that they are not around but there are problems with distribution. currently unable to order lateral flow tests online to be sent to your home, but you can get a qr code online that should enable you to go to the pharmacy to pick up lateral flow tests in a pharmacy, although there are reports some pharmacies are struggling to provide those. i can bring you breaking news we are getting from the health security agency, susan hopkins says ten people are in hospital with omicron in the uk. she is giving evidence at the science committee. that figure is the figure that dominic raab arrived at this morning. there was confusion in terms of the numbers in hospital in the uk with omicron and he eventually landed on ten and that is being said at this hearing. brute eventually landed on ten and that is being said at this hearing.— being said at this hearing. we can listen in. this _ being said at this hearing. we can listen in. this is _ being said at this hearing. we can listen in. this is very _ being said at this hearing. we can listen in. this is very different i being said at this hearing. we can listen in. this is very different to l listen in. this is very different to if you are over 18 and triple jabbed. if you add over 70, over 80, over 40 risk, under 40 jabbed. if you add over 70, over 80, over40 risk, under40 risk, jabbed. if you add over 70, over 80, over 40 risk, under 40 risk, when you add that together plus the people who have chosen to not take a vaccine, can you give me an idea of the scale of the pool, with a spreading wave, end up in hospital in the next 4—6 weeks? spreading wave, end up in hospital in the next 4-6 weeks?— in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much- _ in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much- you — in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much. you do _ in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much. you do not _ in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much. you do not mean i in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you very much. you do not mean that. in the next 4-6 weeks? thank you | very much. you do not mean that. i mean _ very much. you do not mean that. i mean thank— very much. you do not mean that. i mean thank you for the invite and opportunity to try to explain findings _ opportunity to try to explain findings we are working on at uk hsa~ _ findings we are working on at uk hsa~ to — findings we are working on at uk hsa~ to try— findings we are working on at uk hsa. to try to assess the risk posed by this_ hsa. to try to assess the risk posed by this variant and to help government form policy to mitigate that risk _ government form policy to mitigate that risk. thank you for the opportunity. you phrased the key question— opportunity. you phrased the key question in an efficient and specific— question in an efficient and specific way. unfortunately, for this variant, we cannot yet make an accurate _ this variant, we cannot yet make an accurate calculation of that. i am sure there _ accurate calculation of that. i am sure there is _ accurate calculation of that. i am sure there is arranging _ accurate calculation of that. i am sure there is arranging it. - accurate calculation of that. i—n sure there is arranging it. the public want to know if it is everybody, i million, help us out without impugning your scientific integrity. it without impugning your scientific inteuri . , ., integrity. it is not about scientific _ integrity. it is not about scientific integrity, - integrity. it is not about scientific integrity, it. integrity. it is not about scientific integrity, it is| integrity. it is not about - scientific integrity, it is making sure _ scientific integrity, it is making sure we — scientific integrity, it is making sure we give the most useful numbers when we _ sure we give the most useful numbers when we can — sure we give the most useful numbers when we can. the key question is for the uk _ when we can. the key question is for the uk population, across all age groups. _ the uk population, across all age grouns. if— the uk population, across all age groups, if with a different vaccination status when and if they -et vaccination status when and if they get infected with the omicron variant, — get infected with the omicron variant, what is a reasonable proportion of infections that will need _ proportion of infections that will need hospital treatment? that is the number— need hospital treatment? that is the number we _ need hospital treatment? that is the numberwe want to need hospital treatment? that is the number we want to know. it is very difficult _ number we want to know. it is very difficult to — number we want to know. it is very difficult to estimate. there were numbers — difficult to estimate. there were numbers mentioned in the hearing this morning that are being reported today— this morning that are being reported today that _ this morning that are being reported today that we have not had chance to drill int0~ _ today that we have not had chance to drill into. today, a 29% reduction was mentioned in the risk of people attending _ was mentioned in the risk of people attending hospital in south africa. compared — attending hospital in south africa. compared to delta. i do not have additional— compared to delta. i do not have additional details on that and that sounds _ additional details on that and that sounds like perhaps one of the most useful— sounds like perhaps one of the most useful early numbers to come out. with the _ useful early numbers to come out. with the greatest of respect and apologies, i cannot give an estimate, otherthan apologies, i cannot give an estimate, other than to say there is a real— estimate, other than to say there is a real risk— estimate, other than to say there is a real risk it — estimate, other than to say there is a real risk it is large, that a substantial of proportion of people in those _ substantial of proportion of people in those age groups could possibly require _ in those age groups could possibly require hospital treatment if they are infected. require hospital treatment if they are infected-— are infected. thank you. so given that uncertainty, _ are infected. thank you. so given that uncertainty, can _ are infected. thank you. so given that uncertainty, can we - are infected. thank you. so given that uncertainty, can we make i that uncertainty, can we make assumptions, have you made assumptions, have you made assumptions to try to say if it is 25% less effective than models for delta, what does that produce? how are you feeling out the edges of the trajectory of this omicron wave? working together with colleagues in academia _ working together with colleagues in academia and groups within the uk government, we are doing two parts to the _ government, we are doing two parts to the risk— government, we are doing two parts to the risk assessment and the first is to try— to the risk assessment and the first is to try to— to the risk assessment and the first is to try to characterise the speed of growth, — is to try to characterise the speed of growth, to see how fast the epidemic— of growth, to see how fast the epidemic is progressing. to get a sense _ epidemic is progressing. to get a sense of— epidemic is progressing. to get a sense of how quickly the number of infections _ sense of how quickly the number of infections will increase. beyond that, _ infections will increase. beyond that, we — infections will increase. beyond that, we are thinking about a number of scenarios — that, we are thinking about a number of scenarios and working with partners _ of scenarios and working with partners to see the likely impact on hospitalisation. i probably would call out — hospitalisation. i probably would call out helpful work by colleagues at the _ call out helpful work by colleagues at the london school of hygiene and tropical— at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine that has gone specifically through a reasonable set of _ specifically through a reasonable set of assumptions covering a broad range _ set of assumptions covering a broad range and _ set of assumptions covering a broad range and has outlined a useful set of scenarios that show the potential for the _ of scenarios that show the potential for the number of hospitalisations to approach and surpass levels of hospitalisations, peaks that have been _ hospitalisations, peaks that have been observed in the past two years. this is— been observed in the past two years. this is the _ been observed in the past two years. this is the science and technology committee of mps trying to uncover as much as they can about the impact potentially of omicron. hearing this morning about evidence emerging in south africa and hearing currently, from the imperial school of public health in london. he was saying there was a risk a large number could require hospital treatment if infected but in terms of putting figures on it he said he cannot do that but he said the evidence heard earlier, which is it looks like from what has happened in south africa there is a 29% reduced risk of hospitalisation with omicron compared with delta. he said that looks about right. we will keep dipping in when there is no evidence but right now let's catch up with the weather. the heaviest rain through the afternoon likely to be across shetland. rain coming and going across western areas of scotland. the odd shower in northern ireland. if you have had fog in northern england and wales, 7—8. most places a mild day. breaks in the cloud to allow sunshine today. when you get breaks tonight you will see the odd fog patch. for most a mild night. turning wetter in western scotland and parts of northern ireland. which takes us to a damp start there tomorrow. northern scotland turning brighter with more sunshine around. turning damper in the north west of england. south of that, sunshine, cloud in the south and another mild one. this is bbc news. the headlines... frankie smith — the mother of toddler star hobson — has been convicted of causing or allowing her death. smith's partner savannah brockhill has been found guility of murdering star. they'll be sentenced tomorrow. the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mps. the reality is, for the government, we've got to do the right thing, as we see it, for the country. of course, we want to carry as many people with us as possible, but ourjob is to protect the country. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level 4 "national incident" — the service's highest emergency level. a new study in south africa suggests two recent doses of the pfizerjab provide 70 percent protection against hospitalisation. lawyers for anne sacoolas, the american woman accused of causing the death of harry dunn deny she's agreed to face criminal proceedings in a uk court. a woman's been found guilty of murdering her partner's 16 month good afternoon. a woman's been found guilty of murdering her partner's 16 month old daughter in west yorkshire. 28 year old savannah brockhill repeatedly assaulted star hobson in the months before she killed her in keighley in september 2020. star's mother, frankie smith has been found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter's death. danny savage reports. # she loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah. star hobson, a happy little girl seen here with her great—grandfather. but over a period of months, she went from this, to being bruised and withdrawn. she had a cruel, miserable short life. friends and family repeatedly contacted social services, worried about her welfare. on one occasion police even took to hospital to be checked over. but she was always allowed to stay with her abusers. i know for a fact we will never, ever get over losing star. i have gone to work crying some mornings, it hits you and you just get over with it. you and you just get overcome with it. you just cannot believe we are never going to see her again. her own mother and her partner lied repeatedly about how she had been hurt. all the while conducting an horrifically cruel campaign of abuse. frankie smith and savannah brockhill, deprive their little girl of sleep, beat her and kept concerned social workers away from her. pretty girl. you are a spoiled, pretty girl. star hobson was anything but spoil. she was killed when she was just 16 months old, her injuries were described in court as utterly catastrophic. her great grandparents, david and anita, tried to raise concerns with social services. anita said, you do not want another baby p on your hands and she said, how do you mean and anita said, think about it, that little baby p, he was let down by social services, we want you to go and see what problems there are. but that was it, we never heard anything, theyjust said the case was closed and that was that. star, do you love your mums? when challenged, her mother and her partner lied, and said she got injuries from falling over. they claimed the complaints were malicious and from people who did not like their relationship. in court, family members testified against the couple. it was so difficult for them to come forward, because they are - giving evidence against the family member. i and about their grandchild - or their daughter or their niece, etc. and we were very grateful how . willing and candid they had been. was star hobson's death avoidable? could more have been done by the authorities? many questions have been raised by the short life of this sweet little girl. danny savage, bbc news, bradford. west yorkshire police have been giving a reaction — senior investigating officer mark smith he has been speaking outside the court. irate he has been speaking outside the court. ~ ., ~' he has been speaking outside the court. ~ ., ,, ., ., court. we would like to say that althouah court. we would like to say that although they — court. we would like to say that although they take _ court. we would like to say that although they take no _ court. we would like to say that although they take no pleasure | court. we would like to say that i although they take no pleasure in the verdict today, because it will never bring back star, they welcome the convictions and at least can take some comfort in those convictions today. could i please make a play on their behalf for some privacy and to leave them now in place to try and rebuild the rest of their lives? this has been a particularly upsetting, distressing investigation for everybody involved. no child should ever stop as star suffered, and particularly not at the hands of those who are supposed to care for them and love them the most. justice lambert has paid tribute to the jury, because of the harrowing nature of the evidence that had to be heard over the last eight weeks, i want to pay tribute to my investigation team, who worked tirelessly, in very difficult situations and very emotional circumstances, to bring the evidence together and secure these verdicts today. thank you. we have tried to remain professional, we are doing one to ones now. yes. inaudible. it has affected me personally and it is very dramatic, we have tried to remain professional, to see the investigation through until today and get the best result possible for star and herfamily. and get the best result possible for star and her family.— star and her family. inaudible. there is a review _ star and her family. inaudible. there is a review ongoing, - star and her family. inaudible. there is a review ongoing, and l star and herfamily. inaudible. - there is a review ongoing, and local safeguarding and practice review are not the early stage of the investigation, i linked in with the chair of the review to ensure it could be undertaken in a timely manner and make sure that information be shared, lessons learned and more importantly, the lessons implement it. i cannot comment any further in terms of the review, because it is not yet been published. it is a work in progress. the family now need the opportunity to engage with the review and that will be published in due course. what i would say, is that no matter what that review says and whatever the outcomes of the review, if those two individuals that have been convicted today of those offences, had not done what they had done, then star hobson would still be alive. . , then star hobson would still be alive. ., , , ., alive. the details in your investigation, . .. - alive. the details in your- investigation, . .. inaudible. alive. the details in your- investigation,... inaudible. the review is investigation,... inaudible. fie: review is important because investigation,... inaudible. ii9: review is important because we have to do as much as we can to minimise the chances of this ever happening again. i am the chances of this ever happening again. lam not the chances of this ever happening again. i am not saying there has been a lack of intervention from social services, been a lack of intervention from socialservices, but been a lack of intervention from social services, but what i am saying is during the investigation it became apparent that there had been contact from agencies with the family and therefore that review needs to be undertaken and i do not want this to sound clinical, but it is our statutory duty to engage with that and i want to make sure that mr mellor could undertake that review at the earliest possible time. she was letdown. — at the earliest possible time. she was let down, wasn't she? we all know that she was let down? it does not matter what the review says, she was let down by agencies. that not matter what the review says, she was let down by agencies.— was let down by agencies. that is our was let down by agencies. that is your view- _ was let down by agencies. that is your view- the — was let down by agencies. that is your view. the review _ was let down by agencies. that is your view. the review is - was let down by agencies. that is your view. the review is due - was let down by agencies. that is your view. the review is due to i was let down by agencies. that is| your view. the review is due to be published and we will await that review been published. the police were in contact with the family. west yorkshire police had some contact with the family. that was recognised and that has been referred to the independent office for police conduct and a line of investigation is under way and i cannot comment further. that is olice cannot comment further. that is police reaction _ cannot comment further. that is police reaction outside - cannot comment further. that is police reaction outside court - cannot comment further. that is police reaction outside court in l police reaction outside court in response to the sentencing of star hobson's mother in relation to her killing and also her mother's girlfriend, who has been found guilty of murdering star. we will have more reaction to that a little bit later. borisjohnson could face the biggest conservative backbench revolt since he entered downing street when mps vote on new covid rules for england. as many as 70 tory mps have indicated that they're prepared to vote against the government's �*plan b�* covid rules for tackling the omicron variant. the prime minister has defended his plans as a "proportionate" response to the rising cases. our political correspondent ben wright has more. it is, says the government, a race between the virus and the vaccine, and people have been rushing to receive their boosterjab after ministers warned of a tidal wave of infection caused by the omicron variant of covid. that has meant delays for some people trying to access appointments, and a fresh government call for vaccine volunteers. no variant of covid—19 has spread this fast. in the commons yesterday, the health secretary sajid javid said omicron now represented 20% of cases in england and was accelerating fast. the booster programme has been expanded, with anyone over 18 able to book a jab from wednesday. that means nhs resources are being switched to focus on delivering vaccines and urgent clinical care. the health service in england has been put on its highest level of emergency readiness, level four, national incident, meaning it can be coordinated at a national level. in the commons today, there will be a series of votes beefing up public health protections in england. there will be one on more mandatory mask wearing. another on replacing self—isolation with daily testing for people exposed to a positive case of the omicron variant. but it is the plan to require a negative covid test, or proof of vaccination status to attend crowded events that has riled many tory mps. i don't think that we are in a situation, nor should we be in a country where you have to provide, upon inspection... that can be from police — and i have started to see photos. i was looking last night at photographs coming from italy where, in a restaurant, the police went into a restaurant and asked to inspect everybody�*s vaccination certificate. i don't think we live in a country where that sort of thing is acceptable, nor do we want to see it. up to 70 conservatives may rebel against the government, arguing that these restrictions go too far. these votes will be judged as a test of borisjohnson's authority over his party, too. a beleaguered prime minister who may well need labour mps to get his policy through. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. let's talk to our correspondent at westminster caroline davies. a difficult day for the government. yes, the prime minister seems to find himself stuck between two sides, his own party or some in his own party who say that these measures are going too far and others who argue that they are not going to be enough to be able to stem the flow of what the government itself calls a tidal wave of the omicron variant. as mentioned in the report, it is likely that these measures are going to pass, in particular the vote on the fact that when you enter large venues in england like nightclubs that you will either have to show your vaccination status or that you have had a negative covid test recently and that is because the government will be able to know that the labour party will also be voting for these measures. the bigger issue here is how this will affect boris johnson's authority, will it dented? will it mean that he might have difficulties getting through other future measures as well? we know that this could potentially be the biggest rebellion he has seen since the election and potentially even since he became prime minister. we will have those votes later on today, we know around 70 conservative mps could potentially vote against these measures, howeversome could potentially vote against these measures, however some might decide to abstain or change their mind on this and feel that public opinion is actually going in the opposite direction and decide not to vote against the government, but others will decide to be able to take these steps and they might feel that this is creating a false sense of security, because you can still pass on the virus while you have been vaccinated. this is creating an idea of having paperwork before entering venues or they might dislike the way the government has dealt with the pandemic and feel it is an opportunity to be able to voice that. there will be a debate in the course of the next hour or so and we will be able to know how many conservative mps have decided to rebel against the government when the vote happens later this evening. you're watching bbc news... about 70 conservatives are expected to vote against plans to introduce mandatory covid passes to enter large venues such as nightclubs. one of them is the conservative mp, greg smith. hejoins us now. thank you he joins us now. thank you for joining us. why are you voting against, what are you voting against? i against, what are you voting aaainst? , :, ., ., , against? i will be voting against three of the _ against? i will be voting against three of the measures - against? i will be voting against three of the measures today. i l against? i will be voting against. three of the measures today. i feel vindicated by one of the measures coming forward, because last week i voted against the ten day self isolation period for those who are vaccinated and the government has already you turned on that guidance for daily lateral flow tests to be vaccinated, which i think is a sensible move. i am against the expansion of masks and against the concept of mandatory vaccination for anyone, i voted against mandatory vaccination for care home staff last summer, because i felt it would have a detrimental impact on that sector and it has come homes in my constituency or saying they have lost staff, they cannot recruit staff and we think somewhere between 30 and 40,000 people have left the care sector and if we mandate vaccines for the nhs, there is modelling to suggest 73,000 front line nhs staff will leave. this is a time where we need more people in the nhs, not to be putting on measures that will drive tens of thousands of people out. thirdly, i am against this concept of a vaccination passport, the very concept of having to produce papers to say what your health status is on something in order to go into a venue is totally alien to me and the way it is being presented to us is an absolute mess! i saw something just now that said that venues that do open later into the night will not actually have to check the pass until 1am! not actually have to check the pass until1am! so, you can sit not actually have to check the pass until 1am! so, you can sit in the pub or baror until 1am! so, you can sit in the pub or bar or whateverfor until 1am! so, you can sit in the pub or bar or whatever for a few hours, getting drunk with your mates, but then it is this magical hour at midnight or whatever it turns out to be, where you have got to produce your paperwork! itjust makes no sense to me whatsoever. it makes no sense to me whatsoever. it sounds like you are pretty comprehensively against what your prime minister or the prime minister and the government are doing. boris johnson says he is a freedom loving prime minister, how do you see that compared with what you are seeing and measures you think are going to be brought forward?— and measures you think are going to be brought forward? these are deeply illiberal measures _ be brought forward? these are deeply illiberal measures and _ be brought forward? these are deeply illiberal measures and that _ be brought forward? these are deeply illiberal measures and that is - be brought forward? these are deeply illiberal measures and that is why - illiberal measures and that is why i'm doing myjob as a backbench mp, scrutinising the government, asking the questions and i hope to speak in the questions and i hope to speak in the debate later, but i cannot in any consciousness go through the eye lobby for measures which will restrict freedoms again something that the government itself said we would not have the information or data on for three weeks. that was only two weeks ago and we also see the data coming out of south africa thatis the data coming out of south africa that is four weeks ahead of us to show us from what they are showing that omicron is a more mild variant of covid, that is not to dismiss covid as something that is not serious, it is, but the data from south africa this morning, 38 cases per thousand requiring hospitalisation compared to over 100 per thousand for the delta variant. likewise, the pfizer vaccination, which is the one we have the data for the first is 70% effective with just two doses against omicron and with the booster, much better. you will have heard _ with the booster, much better. you will have heard obviously the same information that we are all hearing, which is that we are in a situation where it is currently not exactly clear where this is going to go, but it is clear that it is more transmissible and if the numbers are high in terms of infections, even if it is a milder illness, and fewer people do get hospitalised, than the evidence from south africa is it is 30% reduced, a smaller number of a much bigger number is still going to be enough people to cause the nhs not to cope and potentially a lot of people in very difficult situations. do not accept that? i can see that argument, but we have got the hope, we have got the vaccinations and the government have stepped up the boosterjabs government have stepped up the booster jabs so that we government have stepped up the boosterjabs so that we can all have it by the end of this year, mine is booked and i urge everyone to get their booster booked, because we know that vaccinations are the solution to covid, whichever variant, not the restriction of freedom and that the things that cause harm in their own right to other health conditions. how many people are not going to be able to have a health condition looked at or diagnosed in time? we know that there are tens of thousands of people with undiagnosed cancer, that is a really serious problem and we know the mental health effects, particularly on children, and the hit of the economy. just particularly on children, and the hit of the economy.— particularly on children, and the hit of the economy. just to keep focused on _ hit of the economy. just to keep focused on where _ hit of the economy. just to keep focused on where we _ hit of the economy. just to keep focused on where we are - hit of the economy. just to keep focused on where we are now, l focused on where we are now, obviously the importance of the booster vaccinations, that is the other part of the government strategy and basically they are saying that they want to get as many people as possible with the boosters before the end of the year and, in the meantime, the strategy is to be pragmatic, buy time for that to happen, because it is going to take time to get the shots into arms and then for the immunity to actually work through the system of someone. dominic raab says this is about a short—term situation, to be pragmatic, where, if this was not done, and things unfolded in a way that did see greater problems than are currently forcing, everyone would be saying why did you not do more to protect us. i would be saying why did you not do more to protect us.— more to protect us. i don't think legislating. _ more to protect us. i don't think legislating, bringing _ more to protect us. i don't think legislating, bringing in - more to protect us. i don't think legislating, bringing in new- more to protect us. i don't think legislating, bringing in new laws and rules of the back ofjustin case is a good way to go about this. we that the vaccination works and the evidence that comes out from south africa that we will have more data on, seems to indicate that our vaccinations are effective against omicron. we must put our trust in vaccinations and to go down a damaging additional set of restrictions over the next few weeks will see a huge impact on our economy, on other health conditions, on mental health particularly amongst our children and we have got to have a balance in our politics that sees all the problems our country is facing, notjust that sees all the problems our country is facing, not just the coronavirus. country is facing, not 'ust the coronavirusfi country is facing, not 'ust the coronavirus. :, :, , , coronavirus. how do you see this vote in terms _ coronavirus. how do you see this vote in terms of _ coronavirus. how do you see this vote in terms of the _ coronavirus. how do you see this vote in terms of the party's - coronavirus. how do you see this vote in terms of the party's faith | vote in terms of the party's faith in the prime minister? these are going to get through because labour will be supporting them, but in terms of tory support falling away in quite large numbers, it looks to be very difficult for the prime minister. ibis be very difficult for the prime minister. : , , :, be very difficult for the prime minister. : , ,, be very difficult for the prime minister. ~ , ., minister. as you say, the labour party seem _ minister. as you say, the labour party seem to — minister. as you say, the labour party seem to have _ minister. as you say, the labour party seem to have given - minister. as you say, the labour party seem to have given up - minister. as you say, the labour party seem to have given up on| minister. as you say, the labour i party seem to have given up on the job of opposition and just turned over and had their tummies tickled by the government on this issue. it actually falls to the backbench conservative members of parliament to do ourjob, to scrutinise the government, to ask the difficult questions, to probe the data and understand if these measures are proportionate and reasonable and i have come to the conclusion that they are not and that is why i will be in the no lobby, but on other things, i continue to support this government and i think it is doing a good job when it comes to the environment, a good job when it comes to getting the borders bill through, we have already got the agriculture bill through, we are already ensuring that there is more money going into the national health service to deliver underscore manifesto commitments. greg smith, thank ou manifesto commitments. greg smith, thank you very — manifesto commitments. greg smith, thank you very much. _ manifesto commitments. greg smith, thank you very much. those _ manifesto commitments. greg smith, thank you very much. those votes - thank you very much. those votes happen later today and we will have full coverage, the debate is due to start in the next ten minutes or so we will you coverage. (pres)sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, (turn) here's sarah(os) (pres)good morning / afternoon / evening.... (pres)arsenal have stripped pierre—emerick aubameyan of the club captaincy and said he won't be considered for selection against west ham tomorrow night. (00v)aubameyang was dropped for saturday's win over southampton for what manager mikel arteta described as a "disciplinary breach". reports suggest he returned late from a trip to france. (pres)manchester united defender viktor lindelof is undergoing tests after he suffered breathing difficulties during their win at norwich on saturday. (00v)he was forced off during the second half, but the incident isn't believed to be connected to the covid—19 outbreak at the club. united said he had recovered well and was having a series of precautionary investigations. well those covid cases at united have led to the postponement of tonight's game at brentford. united had already closed their training ground and delayed their trip to london. a record 42 players and staff across the premier league have tested positive in the last week, with cases reported at brighton, tottenham, leicester, aston villa and norwich — although the game between norwich and villa tonight will go ahead as things stand. also tonight, leaders manchester city take on leeds — and amid further discussions about vaccination rates amid premier league players, manager pep guardiola says health and safety for everyone must come first. i'm concerned, not because we're going to cancel and break maybe the premier league, i'm concerned that society still is, the virus is here and people suffer and we have seen with tottenham first and norwich, leicester, i think united, what i hear, so there are many. and some people here, the staff, they've got it. right now. and we have spoken with the players almost every day, be careful. the second ashes test begins on thursday and despite the capitulation in the first, england captainjoe root believes there is reason to be optimistic. they may have lost by nine wickets and suffered two batting collapses, but root has stressed the positives heading into that day—night test match with australia in adelaide. without sounding too cliched, there were things there we just have to do for longer. and we could be looking at a very different scoreline. and that's the sort of confidence that you have to take forward. and i think that's why it doesn't feel like previous tours, leaving brisbane where we have been absolutely battered and completely on the wrong end of the result, i think we're actually leaving there with a slightly different perspective. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. angelique coetzee from the south african medical association, has been giving evidence to parliament's science and technology committee about omicron. south africa was the first country to recognise the emergence of the new strain. she said the variant should be tackled through vaccination and boosters, and by ensuring people wear masks and avoid crowded gatherings. but she said she didn't think wider restrictions on movement were necessary. if you look at what is happening at ground level and the cases are predominantly mild and we don't have a problem in the family practitioner space, as well as in the hospitals, then we do not see the need for stricter restrictions, because there is an economic downfall to that as well and again, you know, people are upset about having any restrictions around movement. the virus is everywhere and may be, in a way, we need to learn how to live with this. meanwhile , preliminary findings from a large—scale study in south africa suggest two recent doses of the pfizerjab could provide 70 percent protection against hospitalisation from the omicron variant. the study looked at more than 200,000 positive covid test results in a three—week period — of which almost 80,000 were suspected but not confirmed to be omicron cases. the initial results, released by a large private health insurance company, also showed that two doses provided 33 percent protection against infection. peter openshaw is an immunologist at imperial college london — and a member of the uk vaccine network. he gave us his reaction to the findings. this is a really interesting report, i think we have to regard it as preliminary. we haven't actually seen any draft manuscript, this isjust a news report, but i think it fits with what we have been assuming, which is that the rather disappointing results from the laboratory testing of antibody levels have not been completely reflected by the real—world protection that has been seen against hospitalisations. so, a couple of doses of the pfizer/biontech are giving a pretty good protection against hospitalisation, i mean 70% versus 90%, if we were looking at delta, so it is not complete protection, but i think it really fits that pattern and they are also reporting that there is 33% detection against infection, that is presumably symptoms and positive pcr results, so that is more than you might expect, really. i think this is encouraging and i think it does emphasise the really vital importance of people getting vaccinated, as well as the current drive for boosters. so, i think that this fits, really, with what we are seeing. you know, it is quite compatible with what we are seeing in the uk. i would however say that omicron is so transmissible, it is remarkably transmissible, and the very, very large number of cases that we are anticipating that we are going to see over the next few weeks, will lead to a surge in hospital admissions, even though there is some protection via vaccination and possibly a slight change in the pattern of disease that is being caused by this new variant. we told you earlier that there are issues with pcr tests in england and there is no where you can go and get a pcr test for covid today and we just heard from the health security agency that because of extremely high demand there are no in person tests available in england, but they say more test slots will be released this afternoon and home tests are available to order. school attendance figures are out in england shortly when we'll get sense of how the omicron variant and rising covid cases could be impacting classroom numbers. geoff barton, general secretary of the association of school and college leaders has warned that there's "very severe low attendance" among pupils and teachers ahead of the christmas break as the new variant spreads across the country. let's talk to the the children's commissioner for england, dame rachel de souza. thank you forjoining us. we do not have the figure shed, we are expecting them any minute, but the general picture does seem to be clear that there is an impact on schools, what are your thoughts about that?— schools, what are your thoughts about that? , , about that? there definitely will be about that? there definitely will be a dro in about that? there definitely will be a drop in attendance, _ about that? there definitely will be a drop in attendance, we _ about that? there definitely will be a drop in attendance, we have - about that? there definitely will be | a drop in attendance, we have seen it, normally around this time there is about 94% of school children in school and i would think it is probably going to be somewhere in the 805, probably the high 805, that is too many out of school. children have told me how important being in school is to them, i did a major survey and half a million children responded and they told me that they need to be in school to be with their friends and their education and for theirfutures. their friends and their education and for their futures. frankly as well for safeguarding. and for their futures. frankly as well forsafeguarding. i and for their futures. frankly as well for safeguarding. i am and for their futures. frankly as well for safeguarding. lam keen and for their futures. frankly as well for safeguarding. i am keen to find out where all those children are and to encourage them and get them back into school. which what is the answer? there are a number of issues. some of those children are off because of covid and some told me they are off because of mental health concerns, or they are worried about being bullied. some of them are playing truant and should be in school and we need to find out why. what my office and try to get them into school, where they can learn and where they are safe. i reflected over the weekend about the case about author and i do worry that if vulnerable children are not in school, their safety is compromised. i really do want to see all children back into school and i am pleased that local authorities are cooperating with me, i will find those children. harper authorities are cooperating with me, i will find those children.— i will find those children. how are ou auoin i will find those children. how are you going to _ i will find those children. how are you going to do — i will find those children. how are you going to do it _ i will find those children. how are you going to do it and _ i will find those children. how are you going to do it and when - i will find those children. how are you going to do it and when you l i will find those children. how are i you going to do it and when you talk about vulnerable children, obviously like arthur labinjo—hughes, it was raised when his father and stepmother were recently sentenced over his killing that things would have been picked up more easily had he been in school. in these situations where parents are not being completely straightforward about what is going on in the home, what can you do in your position to protect those children?— what can you do in your position to protect those children? well, school attendance is _ protect those children? well, school attendance is a _ protect those children? well, school attendance is a very _ protect those children? well, school attendance is a very useful- protect those children? well, school attendance is a very useful way - protect those children? well, school attendance is a very useful way and l attendance is a very useful way and attendance is a very useful way and a useful proxy for keeping those children safe, arthur was a vulnerable child and actually had a vulnerable child and actually had a vulnerable —— place even during covid and we need to keep those places up, it is the data, we need to see the data of which children are in and out and actually the local authority has a responsibility and work with other agencies as well, to know and to keep a register of what are those children are in my office, i have a big research team, i will be checking those local authority registers, finding out from them exactly where all children are and making sure that children are and making sure that children are in school.— are and making sure that children are in school. how long would you exect it are in school. how long would you exoect it to _ are in school. how long would you expect it to take _ are in school. how long would you expect it to take for _ are in school. how long would you expect it to take for you _ are in school. how long would you expect it to take for you to - are in school. how long would you expect it to take for you to report| expect it to take for you to report back and how, even when there is a clearer picture in terms of some kids will be off because of issues they are struggling to deal with and perhaps their parents are wanting to get back to school and they are unsure of what support is required, but in other cases, there are kids whose parents are not giving them that choice. i whose parents are not giving them that choice-— that choice. i think, first of all, let us find _ that choice. i think, first of all, let us find out _ that choice. i think, first of all, let us find out where _ that choice. i think, first of all, let us find out where we - that choice. i think, first of all, let us find out where we are, i that choice. i think, first of all, i let us find out where we are, find the children, then one of the things that my office can do that is quite unique is speak to children themselves, go directly to children and actually take their voice to schools, to governments, so that everyone understands what the barriers really are. that is what we need to know, first, where are the children, and secondly, what the issues are and secondly, making sure we understand what is causing them to stay. what children told me, and thatis to stay. what children told me, and that is half a million children, is that is half a million children, is that they want to be in school, they want to be learning for the future, they want to be able to play with their friends and do all the things they get to do at school and we really need to make a concerted effort to find out why numbers are dropping. we know when it is covid, when it is sickness, it is fair enough, but children are staying off for other reasons, that is what we need to get under the skin. dare for other reasons, that is what we need to get under the skin. are you able to put — need to get under the skin. are you able to put any _ need to get under the skin. are you able to put any sort _ need to get under the skin. are you able to put any sort of— need to get under the skin. are you able to put any sort of figure - need to get under the skin. are you able to put any sort of figure on - able to put any sort of figure on this? ~ ., able to put any sort of figure on this? ~ :, :, ., ,:, able to put any sort of figure on this? ~ :, :, ., ., :, this? we are worried about around about 100.000 — this? we are worried about around about 100,000 children. - this? we are worried about around about 100,000 children. that - this? we are worried about around about 100,000 children. that was| this? we are worried about around l about 100,000 children. that was in the context, 1% extra of children are not, we are really not sure, the data is not showing us where they are and that is partly because the data, the way we do the data is we get confirmed on a timely basis, we need our data to be in real time, part of what i want to look at is how well our local authorities, who have responsibility for collecting this, working with other agencies are working with other schools, so that they understand where children are. it is the 21st century, we should be able to know where all children are and that they are in high quality education or in school. you're talking there joined up systems, so everyone is working together for the well—being of these children, we have already discussed arthur labinjo—hughes, today we have got the awful case of star hobson, whose mother has been convicted over her killing and his mothers partner has been convicted of the murder, and what are your thoughts on in that case no one can look at pictures of that beautiful little girl and not feel absolute horror at the situation. we girl and not feel absolute horror at the situation.— girl and not feel absolute horror at the situation. ~ , :, ., ._ the situation. we must not turn away from that. the situation. we must not turn away from that- the _ the situation. we must not turn away from that. the serious _ the situation. we must not turn away from that. the serious case - the situation. we must not turn away from that. the serious case review | from that. the serious case review will be coming out injanuary, i call for national review after the death of arthur and that now happening. this case must fit into that national review and we must find the answers to why this has happened. don't get me wrong, this child was clearly killed and we know how that happened from the court case, but i want to know if there is more that we could have done, what tends to happen in these cases as you have a national review and you get recommendations, my concern is let us look at delivery, let us get right down and look at how social care has been delivered and make sure that social workers are asking the right questions and are supported to as the challenging question by their managers, we have got to stop these cases happening and it will be all about the hard work and delivery and services joined up down on the ground. thank ou. now it's time for a look at the weather, with darren good afternoon, the cloud appears to be thinner across england and wales, hence a bit of sunshine. there is a south—westerly breeze and it is keeping it mild and we have some rain in scotland and overnight tonight that rain will slip south adam and when the rain arrives on the far north west of england, perhaps there will be breaks in the cloud, a bit of mist and fog, temperatures down to 5 degrees, further south across england and wales it will be grey and gloomy on... . parts of central southern scotland, some patchy rain tomorrow, there will be sunshine in scotland, a breezy day, those temperatures widely getting up to 11 or 13 degrees. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. frankie smith — the mother of toddler star hobson — has been convicted of causing or allowing her death. smith's partner savannah brockhill has been found guility of murdering star. they'll be sentenced tomorrow the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mp5 the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level four "national incident" — the service's highest emergency level. a new study in south africa suggests two recent doses of the pfizerjab provide 70% protection against hospitalisation. making the uk the safest place in the world to be online — that's the aim of the government's online safety bill. a group of cross party mp5 are due to set out what new laws, they think are needed to achieve that objective. cyberflashing is one of the issues that campaigners hope will be addressed by the bill. graham satchell has been hearing why. three women with three different experiences of receiving unsolicited obscene pictures on their phone, so—called cyber flashing. it was kind ofjust out of the blue. "do you like this?" oh, no. laura was sent naked pictures after sharing her number with a man. it was obviously pictures of his private parts. i was utterly shocked because i just felt like, where did that come from? itjust made me feel disgusted and it made me feel anxious about moving forward and speaking to people and exchanging my contact details in the future. i noticed there was a man standing a few metres away from me. he looked up at me and i got another request. iwas like... gosh. sophie was on the tube in london when she was airdropped indecent images. the man who was sending them followed her into the station. he was looking at me, he was looking at his phone. i looked down at my phone and saw the requests coming in. in that moment was so unnerving, that somebody was able to send me these quite horrendous unsolicited images. elle is sent naked images on most every day. she has more than 800,000 followers on instagram page. she posts fitness workouts. unfortunately, i do receive unsolicited pictures of genitals daily. i wouldn't leave my house for a week at one stage because this person that had been sending the images constantly and making new accounts found out where i lived. and they were saying they knew where i ran in the morning. they knew what floor i was on in my building. it's just really, really scary, because you don't know where it's going to go. and the fact it isn't illegal, blows my mind. cyberflashing is remarkably common especially among teenagers. one recent study found 76% of girls aged 12 to 18 had been sent unsolicited naked images. aged 12 to 18 had been sent today's report by a group of mp5 says what's illegal offline should become fully regulated online, and specifically says cyber flashing should be made illegal. in the corridors of power, conservative mp siobhan baillie says most cyber flashing, 70%, comes from anonymous, unverified accounts, and things need to change. i am proposing that we verify our accounts, or have the choice to, and then giving people the option to follow only verified accounts and only be followed by verified accounts. i think thatjust gives people the confidence that a, if that account abuses you, you will be able to find their details and hopefully prosecute much quicker. and b, that somebody with their details held are less likely to do the abuse in the first place. that kind of deterrent. the government says its new law will make britain the safest place to go online and that cyber flashing is likely to be addressed. campaigners want the cloak of anonymity removed and greater protection from unsolicited obscene images. graham satchell, bbc news. a us congressional committee has voted unanimously to recommend that mark meadows, the last white house chief of staff under donald trump, be charged with criminal contempt of congress. mr meadows has refused to testify in the house investigation into the deadly attack on the capitol building last january. our north america correspondent, david willis reports(tx) the violence was the worst of its kind in more than 200 years. an insurrection which delayed the certification ofjoe biden's victory left several dead and dozens more injured and sent lawmakers running for their lives. congressional investigators believe donald trump's fist—bumping former right hand man, one—time white house chief of staff mark meadows, played a vital role in that and other attempts to undermine the results of the 2010 election. but having supplied the january 6th committee with documents relating to the day in question, mr meadows has since said he is no longer willing to cooperate, citing executive privilege on behalf of his former boss. his decision to ignore the committee's subpoena left members indignant. mr meadows was a central participant in the events that culminated in this assault on our capitol, our country and our core democratic values. to create the most accurate account of what occurred, why it occurred and what specific steps we can take to prevent it from occurring again, our committee needs to hearfrom mr meadows. evidence already provided by mark meadows includes transcripts of text messages received from lawmakers frantically urging him to get the president to call off the rioters. among those horrified by the violence was the president's son, donjr. donald trump jr texted again and again, urging action by the president. quote, "we need an oval office address, he has to lead now." "it has gone too far and gotten out of hand." end quote. but hours passed without necessary action by the president. the committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending criminal contempt charges against mark meadows. another former trump aide, steve bannon, has been indicted on the same charges and is due in court next year. mr chairman, i move that the committee favourably report to the house the committee's report on a resolution recommending that the house of representatives find mark randall meadows in contempt of congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the select committee to investigate the january 6th attack on the united states capitol. the committee's recommendation will now go to a full vote by the house of representatives. should they decide in favour of criminal contempt proceedings, it would then be up to the us justice department to decide whether to prosecute mark meadows. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. more than a hundred people are still missing in the us state of kentucky, after the series of devastating tornadoes at the weekend. officials say at least 74 people have died. in the city of mayfield — one of the worst—hit areas — a candle factory was destroyed while more than a hundred people were working inside it. president biden will head to kentucky on wednesday to see the impact of the disaster. laura podesta from cbs news is in mayfield. and gave us the latest on the search for survivors. it is ongoing, in fact look at this home right behind me here. you can see the siding in orange spray paint, that search and rescue crews have noted the date and the fact that they have gone through this home and found no one in, that is what the zero with the mark through it stands for. and they are going structure to structure, particularly in the daylight hours. it is just black right now, so they do stand down in the middle of the night, but we saw them going from structure to structure yesterday and that will continue today as they continue to look for people who could potentially still be alive underneath the rubble that is apparent in this community and the surrounding neighbourhoods. just some numbers to give you — the latest we have heard is that 88 people are dead due to these tornadoes, and that stretches over five states. 74 people have been killed here in kentucky and the death toll is expected to climb as they continue to identify people. let me bring you comments from boris johnson and also chris whitty on the latest on omicron. we hear that borisjohnson latest on omicron. we hear that boris johnson warned latest on omicron. we hear that borisjohnson warned his cabinet this morning a huge spike of omicron is coming according to downing street. the prime minister's official spokesman gave an account official spokesman gave an account of the cabinet meeting and said the prime minister said a huge spike of omicron is coming and the measures we aim to introduce as part of plan b are balanced and proportionate, helping to reduce transmission while we ramp up the booster programme. the cabinet was taking place virtually for the first time in months in the light of the increasing number of cases and the advice to work from home where possible. chris whitty, the chief medical officer of england, spoke to the cabinet and he said, a significant increase in hospitalisation from omicron is expected. the official spokesman of the prime minister said chris whitty told ministers the doubling time for the variant is between 2—3 days. he said it was too early to say whether cases were reducing or plateauing in south africa but there is no reliable evidence of a peak in case rates and said it was too early to say how severe the omicron variant is but we can expect an increase in hospitalisation as cases increase. that comes before the votes later on new government measures. the headlines on bbc news. frankie smith — the mother of toddler star hobson — has been convicted of causing or allowing her death. savannah brockhill has been found guility of murdering star. they will be sentenced tomorrow. the rebellion over new covid rules in england — borisjohnson faces what could be his biggest revolt from conservative mp5. the vote comes as health service leaders in england declare a level four national incident — the service's highest emergency level. all over the world, entire communities have to manage without a source of reliable electric power. the problem is often worse in remote, rural areas. in sub—saharan africa, less than half the people are thought to have any electrical connection at all. many have difficulties connecting to the national grid. well for one community in rural kenya this is no longer an issue. a young man has taken matters into his own hands and set up his own electricity system — a microgrid. our correspondent merchuma reports. it is early evening in central kenya. this is a time for home work in many households. for this family, the past months have been very different. they have access to electricity. previously, we would use hand—held lamps which were dangerous, smoky. sometimes we would be scared the lamps would burn the house. in kenya, in many african countries, power is available and there is generating capacity, but it is in the wrong place and expensive to install. that leads to huge inequality in living standards. translation: i use electricity to run a cutter to cut grass. we use the same electricity to pump water from the river.— the same electricity to pump water from the river. beatrice's home and many others _ from the river. beatrice's home and many others in _ from the river. beatrice's home and many others in her _ from the river. beatrice's home and many others in her village - from the river. beatrice's home and many others in her village are - from the river. beatrice's home and many others in her village are lit. many others in her village are lit up many others in her village are lit up by a grid set up by a man who got sick of waiting for them to be connected to the supply. when you look at the landscape, beyond this village, darkness. ila look at the landscape, beyond this village, darkness.— village, darkness. no electricity. we are able _ village, darkness. no electricity. we are able to _ village, darkness. no electricity. we are able to be _ village, darkness. no electricity. we are able to be connected. - village, darkness. no electricity. we are able to be connected. in | village, darkness. no electricity. . we are able to be connected. in this area, you will find some who are farmers. they could not be able to afford to be connected. you need many people in the area to be connected. many people in the area to be connected-— many people in the area to be connected. : , ,, :, :, connected. and with his knowledge of hith school connected. and with his knowledge of high school physics, _ connected. and with his knowledge of high school physics, he _ connected. and with his knowledge of high school physics, he made - connected. and with his knowledge of high school physics, he made a - high school physics, he made a simple hydroelectric generator. he used a motor from a simple hydroelectric generator. he used a motorfrom a broken simple hydroelectric generator. he used a motor from a broken welding machine. and the rims of two bicycle wheels. he put them in the water of his local river and as the wheels turned, it produced electricity. his mother's home was the first to get power. now he provides electricity to much of the surrounding area. right now, we are generating around 130 kilowatts. i was in high school. i had five customers. now it is 750 customers we have connected. that is in a radius of 24—28 kilometres. tats in a radius of 24—28 kilometres. as demand for power has grown he has invested in training, safety equipment and well—trained staff who know how to operate it. he has a few partners and now runs a well—equipped hydropower plant on the banks of the river. over the past years the networks aim to enhance rural connectivity to the national grid has been put in place by the government will stop but this is utilised because connection costs are often too high for most families and the supply is characterised by low voltages, frequent breakdowns and long restoration times for outages. but this affordable electricity has been a game changer in the community. from powering individual homes, his power is used individual homes, his power is used in businesses in nearby centres. he has never attended a single engineering class, but, around here, he is known to everyone as the engineer. he is clearly the pride of the area. the latest spider—man blockbuster is about to be released in cinemas. it's the fifth time that tom holland had donned the red and blue suit — and this time he's joined by some familiarfaces from other marvel universes. sophie van brugen has been to meet tom, and his co—star zendaya. ever since i got bit by that spider, i've only had one week where my life has felt normal. the latest spider—man instalment picks up exactly where the last film left off. as we see spider—man's true identity exposed to the world. this film really is a celebration of, you know, three different generations of cinema. we have villians from three franchises coming back, and it'sjust an honour, it'sjust an honour to be part of it, it's an honoured to be the centre of it. and, you know, the fan speculation and the excitement that they have shown over the last six months has been incredible. so i just want to get the thing out there now save people can see it. oh, look at this, this is a good one. some suggest that parker's powers include... fans have been equally excited to see how spider—man's relationship with mj develops in this film, with hollywood superstar zendaya reprising the role. i think what's special about her relationship with peter, peter allows her to just open up, and, like, explore more parts of who she is and be a little bit more vulnerable and a little bit, you know, just kind of melts her a little bit. so that's been fun, is exploring different sides of mj. both stars are no stranger to screaming fans, having both gained fame at an early age. you know, people knowing who i am and kind of dealing with that has been a nice, slow version, you know. it's not like i woke up one day and my entire life changed and everyone knew who i was, kind of thing. i think i started off when i was quite young. but it's been like a slow progression, so i've been able to grow into it in a way. your life belongs to you, you know, so you've got to separate those things and prioritise those things. some things belong to you and it's ok for some things to belong to the world but it also ok if it doesn't, you know. it's just really about what makes you feel comfortable. well, i mean, i guess i've worn a mask for the last two years. that's so good, i thought for celebrities that must be brilliant. yeah, i went to waterloo for the first time the other day in about a year, and it was incredible. it was amazing. does there ever come a point where it is overwhelming when people stop you on the street all the time? yeah, i mean, it's incredibly overwhelming. and i think sometimes, you know, people in the public eye are held up to a certain standard which sometimes is very unrealistic. having thisjob is more thanjust having a job, it's a responsibility, you know. there are kids out there who look up to spider—man, they come home from school, the person they want to sit down with is spider—man. and i am that person right now. so i have a responsibility to be a role model and to give these kids some drive and something to look up to, and there is this a small price to pay which is your privacy. but there are ways around it and it took me a while to figure out how to navigate fame and all that sort of stuff. but i think i've figured it out now so i'm feeling much more confident and comfortable. now time for a weather update. hello. we're heading towards the start of a very quiet and calm spell of weather across the uk later this week. out there today, still a bit blustery in places, particularly further north, closer to this area of low pressure that's heading towards iceland at the moment, weather fronts here as well. the strongest of the winds just south of that, but they're dragging in some pretty mild air, could get around 13 degrees in northern scotland. and across the board, temperatures high that we expect for mid december. closer to those weather fronts, you've got rain across the north of scotland, shetland having a particularly wet day. not as bad for time this afternoon across north and west of scotland, rain turning lighter and patchier. there could be some drizzle across the south. elsewhere, the morning murk lifts up, a little bit of sunshine here and there. overall, a fair bit of cloud around today, breeziest towards the north, lightest winds in the south, 13 possible here, 13 and the likes of northern scotland. but where we've got any lingering mist or murk through central parts of england and northern england, it could be only around seven or eight degrees. tonight, the rain turns heavier again across the north of scotland for a time. we'll see more in the way of wet weather for northern ireland, southwest scotland, too. but much of england, wales will be dry, save just one or two spots of light rain and drizzle in southern most counties, and temperatures down a little bit for some of you tonight, but overall, still a pretty mild night for this stage in the year. tomorrow, a cloudy and in places damp start for scotland, northern ireland, that will continue through northern ireland, but northern scotland eventually turning much brighter than we've seen through the past few days. sunshine through parts of north wales, the midlands, east anglia, parts of northern england, but northwest england cloudier through the afternoon, some spots of rain, and still plenty of cloud towards the south, temperatures widely around 10—12 degrees. that quieter spell of weather i hinted at, that all comes courtesy of this high pressure system, moving its way in from the near continent as we go through into thursday, around the edges of it, still a bit of a breeze blowing, but across much of central eastern uk, gentle winds, a fair bit of cloud, morning, mist and fog patches, and temperatures once more around ten to 12 celsius for the majority. high pressure really takes hold as we go through the end of the week and into the weekend, right on top of us. around the centre of that high, not much in the way of wind. that will lead to some overnight frost, some overnight fog patches which could linger around. it looks like there could be a fair bit of cloud trapped under that air of high pressure, so not huge amounts of sunshine and temperatures just a degree or so above the mid december average. 16—month—old daughter who died after months of physical abuse. the court in bradford heard that star hobson died of "utterly catastrophic" injuries in september last year. savannah brockhill — seen here in the foreground — inflicted those injuries. star's mother, frankie smith, was convicted of causing or allowing the child's death. this has been a particularly upsetting and distressing investigation for everybody involved. no child should ever suffer as star suffered. we'll bring you the latest from the crown court in bradford. also this lunchtime... a5 mp5 debate new covid rules for england, borisjohnson faces a major commons rebellion. long queues for the covid booster jab — health officials warn of a "very difficult" four weeks ahead with the omicron variant.