come under the spotlight. and president biden is in kentucky meeting some of those affected by what the governor says are the worst tornadoes ever seen there. we start in the uk — which has recorded its highest number of daily covid infections since the start of the pandemic. here's prime minister borisjohnson. if omicron continues to building across the whole of our united kingdom with over covid—19 cases today, the highest ever daily number of reported. and the doubling rate of omicron in some regions is now down to less than two days and i'm afraid we're also seeing the inevitable increase in hospitalisations, up by 10% nationally week on week and up by almost a third in london. so more than 78 and a half thousand new cases in the past 2a hours recorded in the uk. that's 10 thousand more than the previous record injanuary. but while cases are at a record high (ani)the number of deaths — the number of deaths — 165 in the past 2a hours — is significantly lower than during the last peak injanuary when they reached more than a thousand a day. the bbc�*s health correspondent laura foster says the uk was in a very different position back then. very, very few people had any kind of vaccine protection there is now the population has an a lot more. at least 89% had their first dose and the bulk of the people in this country who are vulnerable or most at risk at catching covid—19 had a third boosterjab and the early data suggest that third dose really helps protect you from symptomatic disease from omicron. the fact that we are in this different pace with the vaccines is also coupled with the fact that we learnt a lot more about covid—19 since then in the uk. therapy to treat it and the health service is an in a position to deal with everyone who may come to them in hospital. the only thing is if more people i catching covid—19, more people will get sick enough to go to hospital and if they all come at the same time and we are seeing cases double every two to three days that will cause real problems. earlier the head of the uk health security agency, drjenny harries, warned mps about the threat posed by the 0micron variant. this is a serious threat at the moment. there are several things we do not know. but all of the things that we do know are bad. i will that we do know are bad. i will s-eak that we do know are bad. i will s . eak to that we do know are bad. i will speak to damien _ that we do know are bad. i will speak to damien connecticut's public minister. there are a lot of people looking at these figures being told they will go higher and thinking department if they may have to bring in further restrictions but how will he do that after what we saw in the house of commons last night? it’s a house of commons last night? it's a difficult balancing _ house of commons last night? it's a difficult balancing act _ house of commons last night? it's a difficult balancing act for _ house of commons last night? it�*s —. difficult balancing act for him and immediately what we are seeing is the government and the pen minister saying insisting they think they have the balance right they believed that between the roll—out of the booster campaign and encouraging people to go now seeing 600,000 plus booster is happening and that can provide some protection although it has to be said that in the press conference that we heard a bit earlier the chief medical officer did admit when he was asked that that takes a week or two weeks to come to get the effect of that booster so that is a lag time that already pushes the effect back. but equally department if there was talking about the other measures that are in place. the idea that if you come into contact with someone you come into contact with someone you can do daily testing and calls for people for the mass clearing requirement now and calls for people to take care about going to visit relatives and testing themselves and that sort of thing. the difficulty i think he had is that standing next to him the chief medical officer had a very clear magic —— message that was a bit different which was to the prioritise contacts that are not important to you if you want to be able to prioritise those that are in such as meeting family on christmas day or whatever else is important to you. so on the who are really significant to you and that i think is a daylight between the two positions because the prime minister was saying carry—on and be cautious and take a test but go to parties or any people. so the chief medical officer advice with increase the 0fficer advice with increase the pressure on people and will feel that advice coming to some people may well listen to that. government i think is hoping that the measures it has in place now will be enough to see through this initial period. there have been points in the past during the pandemic where we had daily briefings from the prime minister and his more senior advisers on this. do we reach the point we can expect that now? possibly, but maybe not quite exactly at that point yet. of course, we are getting into a period now where parliament will be closing down for the holidays tomorrow or after tomorrow so they will be less information coming out to the side of two channels like that which may mean that we need to get more regular information coming from briefings. but i think what we are going to see and the chief medical officer said this is he said that we officer said this is he said that we are going to see this rapid rise in cases and as you were pointing out we already have a record and that does come off the back of increased testing as well. it's worth seeing compared to a year ago but we will see this very, very large rise in cases and that's going to obviously mean more records being broken and probably quite a number of points and interestingly what he also said was he also reminded people that that figure about hospitalisations and deaths lags so he did not expect to see hospitalisations from this latest wave really had hospitals untiljust latest wave really had hospitals until just after christmas. latest wave really had hospitals untiljust after christmas. until 'ust after christmas. thank ou untiljust after christmas. thank ou ve untiljust after christmas. thank you very much- _ untiljust after christmas. thank you very much. that's _ untiljust after christmas. thank you very much. that's an - untiljust after christmas. thank| you very much. that's an update untiljust after christmas. thank - you very much. that's an update from westminster. we've also heard from the president of the european commission ursula von der leyen. (sot) if you look at the time it takes from your to double in number, omicron seems to be doubling every two or three days. and that is massive. they are told that by mid january we should expect omicron to be the a new dominant variant in europe. so cases of 0micron are doubling every two to three days in the eu. but ms von der leyen said the eu was in a good position to fight off the variant with 80.6% of its adult population double jabbed. but just how effective is the vaccine likely to be against this highly mutated variant. dr emma hodcroft is a molecular epidemiologist at the university of bern. the data we have with omicron is that two doses of the vaccine are not enough to give the level of protection we would like to see. it really will do a good job in stopping transmission. what's important to know is we are not yet sure whether it was to protect from severe disease and death. it likely is not at its highest level as he would like. the good news is it looks like boosters can restore a significant part of his protection and hopefully specifically against that hospitalisation and death. but we are still waiting to find out exactly how effective boosters are but i think the strategy of trying to get them into as many arms as possible for countries that already have the roll—outs under way is probably a good option right now. next let's hearfrom paul hunter — a professor of medicine here in the uk who took part in a who meeting earlier today. today's meeting was a lot of people sharing results of laboratory studies of immunity and i think the key message is that although we cannot be certain about how that will translate into the real world there is hope that their immunity holds up against omicron and there is good evidence that actually the mutations that have happened in omicron don't necessarily interfere with t—cell immunity and if that's the case a good reason for helping that to be rare to see ultimately the reductions in the severity per case. the other issue is that people who ate doesn't look like the booster is providing a substantial increase in antibody levels and the protection against acute disease there are people who have been vaccinated and had covid—19 are probably in some of the best positioned in terms of protection against omicron. to denmark — it'sjust announced stricter covid measures to battle soaring infection numbers there. the government said they expected daily infections would soon exceed all previous records as the highly transmissible omicron variant combined with and fuelled a wave still largely driven by the previous delta mutation. denmark, which like britain carries out extensive rapid genetic sequencing to detect variants, is second only to the uk in the number of confirmed cases of the mutation, with 4,535 cases. troels lillebaeck is professor of infectious diseases at the university of copenhagen. thanks forjoining us. how do you assess the government response to the situation? i assess the government response to the situation?— the situation? i think the government _ the situation? i think the government is _ the situation? i think the government is really - the situation? i think the - government is really exacerbating that that vaccination in denmark and different measures restrictions have been implemented so a lot of things are happening. people are busy preparing for this wave of omicron cases. we also see a doubling of the rates every second or third day in denmark so we see the same pattern as you just described. did denmark so we see the same pattern as you just described.— as you 'ust described. did and we are as you just described. did and we are seeing _ as you just described. did and we are seeing a _ as you just described. did and we are seeing a doubling _ as you just described. did and we are seeing a doubling in - as you just described. did and we are seeing a doubling in omicron| are seeing a doubling in omicron cases are the measures that denmark announced enough? that cases are the measures that denmark announced enough?— announced enough? that the big auestion announced enough? that the big question because _ announced enough? that the big question because no _ announced enough? that the big question because no matter- announced enough? that the big question because no matter howj question because no matter how whether it's less dangerous than delta virus are as dangerous as delta virus are as dangerous as delta virus, if you read high enough number of cases on a daily basis than the hospital system will be overwhelmed and a lot of the staff might test positive and then they have to leave the hospital or nursing homes and so on. so it's still a dilemma because many testing positive will put strains on the health system but in denmark there is an epidemic permission where they are discussing that issue right now whether the restrictions are sufficient or should be changed. we are focused on the number of cases but we also focused on the number of hospitalisations. what's the situation in denmark? is the health service able to cope with the current situation? it service able to cope with the current situation?— service able to cope with the current situation? it is able to co ae current situation? it is able to «me right _ current situation? it is able to cope right now. _ current situation? it is able to cope right now. at _ current situation? it is able to cope right now. at the - current situation? it is able to l cope right now. at the moment current situation? it is able to - cope right now. at the moment you have to remember we have a 5.8 billion population in denmark that we have 500 corporate banking cases in the hospital but we are foreseeing an increasing number of hospitalisations so if we are to see several hundred new hospitalisations every day given our size of country it will really be a strain on the system. also regarding severity of disease, when people start to test positive it takes a while because before they get serious enough to go to the hospital so the jury is still out because it's the need to stay behind the high number of cases so we still need to see what will happen regarding admission to hospital in the next age to come. what the politics are around the restrictions? you have seen is a big argument within borisjohnson�*s argument within boris johnson's conservative party of a wedding you restrictions are necessary and justified. is there a political debate in denmark?- justified. is there a political debate in denmark? there is a aolitical debate in denmark? there is a political debate. _ debate in denmark? there is a political debate. as _ debate in denmark? there is a political debate. as a - debate in denmark? there is a political debate. as a civil - debate in denmark? there is a i political debate. as a civil servant i cannot go into politics but we have this epidemic where the health authorities and also other ministries discuss and recommend restriction and the politicians and the parliament will decide which one to implement but i think in general there is a good dialogue between the health authorities in denmark and the political system as well because nobody wants to end up in a situation where the health system is overwhelmed with a high number of positive cases on a daily basis and the staff has been sent home in isolation. that's not as an that's acceptable. isolation. that's not as an that's acceptable-— isolation. that's not as an that's acce-table. ., , ., , acceptable. lots of people watching in the uk and _ acceptable. lots of people watching in the uk and that _ acceptable. lots of people watching in the uk and that mike _ acceptable. lots of people watching in the uk and that mike and - in the uk and that mike and elsewhere are looking at these case numbers and it's incredibly worrying. how we about omicron? i’m worrying. how we about omicron? i“n worried it will overwhelmed the health system unless we kind of do something against taft and right now we are accelerating vaccinations in denmark and i think as we speak it's 20% that have just received the blisterjob in denmark and 77% of the total population has been vaccinated and i think we are quite certain there is a good effects of the third dose for symptomatic disease and serious disease and even for two doses for a serious disease based on those memories and the t cells that were mentioned previously. british health secretary sajid javid said omicron had spread so widely here in the uk that travel restrictions no longer had much purpose. as a result eleven countries including south africa, nigeria and zimbabwe have now been removed from the uk's travel red list. those restrictions had caused a lot of anger and accusations of travel apartheid. here's the bbc�*s mayenijones in lagos with the reaction to the lifting of restrictions. it's definitely had an impact on how much trust people have. this was the first christmas in two years when nigerians felt they were finally going to be able to the travel to the uk but also lot of nigerians hoping to come back to nigeria. and put those plans on hold when the country was added to the red mist. it was a lot of frustration on both sides and in both countries. i'm not sure relations can be permanently damaged because as i said before they are so strong and the uk remains the most popular travel destinations for most nigerians. but i think it introduced a level of uncertainty and would have ruined christmas for a lot of people who cancelled their plans and a lot of others who are in quarantine hotels and have spent the money and is there has been a lot of frustration and incomprehension as well because omicron cases so far have not been very high here. last numbers we are hearing about 11 over the centers for disease control has not been releasing daily figures. let's get more from around the world on the pandemic. in germany — the new chancellor, olaf scholz, said germany would confront what he called extremists opposed to coronavirus measures. he was speaking in parliament after police conducted a series of raids in the city of dresden in saxony,after death threats were made against premier michael kretschmer for backing coronavirus restrictions. let's hear from mr scholz. germany will use all the means of this democratic will of the to defend itself against this tiny minority of the hateful attacking the rest of us. our democracy is a democracy that defends itself. jenny hill has more from berlin. people who oppose the idea of vaccines are amongst a minority and extremely vocal minority but they are in the minority and when you look at public surveys actually an increasing number of people and the majority is actually in favour of mandatory vaccination. this is something six months ago was unthinkable in germany. angela merkel government said they did not want to impose that and they thought it was the job of government to persuade citizens to take up the vaccine. i think people have been surprised that so many people have rejected the idea of vaccination and it looks as though the beginning of next year they'll be a vote in the german parliament over whether to impose a mandatory vaccination are not and instead it should say that most health care workers now have to have the vaccine i will have to be able to prove they had a plan in march of next year. so in some segments of society it's already coming in. it's provoking a lot of anger and there is a rising concern about the medicalisation of people who don't make any of vaccination and who don't believe that the corona pandemic exists and so forth and we have seen in recent weeks and it's getting my extreme things like for example, group standing up outside a health minister's house burying flaming torches. this morning we learned parties in berlin are looking into a number of letters which were sent to political and media figures which included pieces of meat which the correspondence reportedly said had been laced with covid—19 as well as the chemical used tomato jewish people during the holocaust. so very unpleasant developments and of course he mentioned police raids this morning after police say they uncovered what appears to have been a part conversation on social media about trying to kill their regional leader. so extremely serious developments as well. president biden is visiting kentucky to see the devastation caused by tornadoes at the weekend. at least 7a people were killed across six states and a further 100 people are still unaccounted for in kentucky alone.(oov) this for in kentucky alone. this what he's been seeing. kentucky was hit by not one but four tornadoes. the state's governor has been briefing the president on the massive cleanup operation that's now underway. hundreds of transportation cabinet workers and the biggest trucks we can find and a division of forestry out there working really hard. first it was to clear the routes but now something that feels pretty therapeutic. we are hauling some of this to be out of town. all in a bit of that chaos and devastation and death out. the tornadoes struck the midwest after dark last friday evening. this is what was visible from the ground, along the missouri—tennessee border — you can see flashes of lightning, made by the the tornado funnel. nomia iqbal is in mayfield, kentucky i'v e i've heard it talked of as the ground zero of this tragedy. what's it like there? it’s ground zero of this tragedy. what's it like there?— it like there? it's been one of those towns _ it like there? it's been one of those towns that _ it like there? it's been one of those towns that was - it like there? it's been one of. those towns that was frightened it like there? it's been one of- those towns that was frightened and during that tornado and as we saw president biden has been assessing the damage and it's something he said when he was asked what really struck him with how people have come together and that is something we have seen ourselves in all the different towns that have been impacted the way neighbours and communities and people who don't even know each other. so we were in dawson springs yesterday. one of the towns thatjoe biden will go to later on today to deliver the exact fit of a response the government is getting. there was one woman who had lost her home and they were people that came from the neighbouring states of indiana to help. and so people are really coming to get a bite of christ people are hoping for federal support from fema. as the federal emergency management agency and joe biden has said that support will be available for people so we are talking about food, and water, and also teams that can help rebuild homes. but he said it willjust be available today but for months to come. in available today but for months to come. , ., , . ., come. in terms of the experience of a-eole come. in terms of the experience of peeple believe _ come. in terms of the experience of people believe live _ come. in terms of the experience of people believe live in _ come. in terms of the experience of people believe live in mayfield, - people believe live in mayfield, what have you heard of their experiences friday night? the thing that really comes _ experiences friday night? the thing that really comes up _ experiences friday night? the thing that really comes up a _ experiences friday night? the thing that really comes up a lot _ experiences friday night? the thing that really comes up a lot from - that really comes up a lot from people is that it all happened so quickly. people have lost so much. they knew there was bad weather coming and people in kentucky are quite used to that and take get weather alerts and some have tornado shelters but never quite to see and stare at me. it was one tornado that caused his incredible damage of or a path that was more than 220 miles which is thought to be the longest ever path the tornado has taken in us history. and then you tell them that they are really staggered by it. and what they want it to rebuild and recover and when you see peoples homes gone and i don't think any of the picture is easier by the bwc will do anyjustice. what strikes you is that people have a sense of we have got to get on the date and got to rebuild and recover. we spoke to this doctor who his clinic had been entirely destroyed and his staff was working to get it to try and restart it so they could get back to work and help patients. the people are really as president biden mentioned earlier, coming to get it tojust try and mentioned earlier, coming to get it to just try and rebuild it at times but they do know it will take many years. it is four months now since kabul fell to the taliban — and they retook control of afghanistan. during that time — the economy has been in freefall — and an overwhelmed medical system has struggled to cope with the spread of covid. hunger is everywhere. (gfx)the bbc�*s secunder kermani has been hunger is everywhere. the bbc�*s secunder kermani has been to a hospital in ghor province that is in dire need of supplies for children who are malnourished — some suffering from measles. a nation struggling to survive. a hospital struggling to cope. the war is over in afghanistan, but hunger is the new threat. these mothers desperately waiting for nutrition packs for their malnourished babies. a million children are at risk of starvation. with internationalfunding cut off following the taliban takeover, afghanistan's aid—dependent economy is collapsing. life for many here has always been hard, but with food prices and unemployment rising, more families than ever recorded are going hungry. we have come to the remote province of ghor. it's a ten—hour drive to the nearest big city. the snow here picturesque, but there's less than usual. drought is adding to the crisis. we're visiting the province's only hospital. staff are being paid for the first time in five months after the international committee of the red cross stepped in. but most patients have to buy their own medicines as supplies are so low. we don't have anything now. no medicines? no medicines. how difficult is it for you as the doctor? we are suffering, sometimes crying. if you want to get an idea of how dysfunctional things he can be, this is a child malnutrition ward. temperatures here can drop to minus ten degrees celsius at night, even lower at times. they've only got enough wood in this heater to last a couple of hours. it's notjust hunger they're battling here. with the onset of winter, cases of severe pneumonia are on the rise. a new life born into an uncertain world. even when billions of dollars of international support were coming in, hospitals here were badly under resourced. now staff are doing what they can, but they say they need help. secunder kermani, bbc news, ghor province. for more information you can visit the bbc website and you can find extensive coverage of the omicron variant because of a lead story todayis variant because of a lead story today is that the uk is recorded its highest daily total of covid—19 cases since the start of the pentatonic way back in early 2020. the prime minister and england chief medical officer have been offering briefings and they are saying they are monitoring the situation all the time. hello there. some areas have had a lovely sunny day today, and it's felt very mild too. many other areas, though, held onto the cloud. it was quite gloomy forsome, particularly across southern britain. there was some rain across the north of the uk. now, tomorrow high—pressure will dominate the scene. it looks mostly dry, once again, it's going to stay pretty mild with temperatures double figures for most. this is the weather front which brought the patchy rain to northern ireland, northern england, central southern scotland. it's continuing to drift its way northward through this evening and certainly overnight, becoming confined to the northwest of scotland. further south, it will be mainly dry, there will be quite a lot of cloud around. also some clear spells. our winds will be lighter further south, so where we get any clear spells, we will see some mist and fog developing. it stays breezy for the northwest of northern ireland and certainly for western scotland closer to that weather front. temperature—wise, generally 8—9 celsius where we have the cloud, but down into low single digits where skies clear, and we will have early mist and fog through the morning. that should tend to clear away, and we will see a bit of brightness for northeast scotland, maybe eastern england, but for most places, it's going to be another cloudy, rather gloomy day, unfortunately. we will see that weather front push northwards into the northern isles. so here's some showery bursts of rain, much of scotland and northern ireland looks dry, those temperature 10—12 or maybe 13 celsius. so, again, it will be mild and particularly pleasant where we have the sunshine. through thursday evening, we will see the cloud returning, certainly some mist and fog where we have clearer skies across the east of scotland and northeast england. our area have high—pressure parks itself right across the uk thursday into friday. thejet stream doing an omega pattern. this is an omega block, this area of high—pressure is set to sit around for quite a while. and we will have some fairly mild air wrapped into the system. you can see the colder themes of air on either side. so generally, it will be fairly mild, although, because many places will be rather cloudy again on friday, it might not feel quite as mild because of the lack of sunshine. could see a bit of brightness, though across some western areas and in towards central and eastern scotland. temperatures i think at best southern and western areas 10—11 celsius, otherwise for most, we are in single digits. similar story as we head on into the weekend. a lot of cloud, limited spells of sunshine, generally mild for the time of year, but it will feel a little bit cool across eastern areas for part two of the weekend. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the wave of omicron continues to rolling across the whole of our united kingdom. this rolling across the whole of our united kingdom.— rolling across the whole of our united kingdom. this is a really serious threat _ united kingdom. this is a really serious threat at _ united kingdom. this is a really serious threat at the _ united kingdom. this is a really serious threat at the moment. l united kingdom. this is a really - serious threat at the moment. how bil serious threat at the moment. how big a _ serious threat at the moment. how big a threat, there are several things— big a threat, there are several things we _ big a threat, there are several things we don't know, but all the things— things we don't know, but all the things we — things we don't know, but all the things we don't know, but all the things we do know are bad. it�*s things we don't know, but all the things we do know are bad. it's not 'ust the things we do know are bad. it's not just the uk. _ things we do know are bad. it's not just the uk, countries _ things we do know are bad. it's not just the uk, countries across - things we do know are bad. it's notl just the uk, countries across europe are weighing up their next move as cases arise. also in this half—hour, we will look into the investigation into the storming of the capitol on january six and the role of extremist groups particularly under the spotlight. as we have been discussing, president biden has been to kentucky to see some of those affected by some of the worst tornadoes they have ever seen. a committee in the united states congress is continuing its investigation into the riot at the capitol on january 6th. the investigation has already seen congress vote to press charges against two formerfigures in the trump administration for refusing to co—operate. the investigation extends to extremist groups too, suspected of being invoved with planning the attack. today this man — enrique tarrio is due to sit for a deposition. he's the former leader of a far—right group — the proud boys. its members were among those who marched on the capitol on january 6th. the proud boys are one of three groups the committee believes was involved in "efforts to overturn the results of the election". the riot onjanuary 6th saw hundreds of trump supporters storm the building which houses the us congress. the riot left five dead and dozens injured. anthony zurcher is in washington. help us understand how the proud blaze fit into this story? the proud bo s, a blaze fit into this story? the proud boys. a far — blaze fit into this story? the proud boys. a far right — blaze fit into this story? the proud boys, a far right militant _ blaze fit into this story? the proud boys, a far right militant group - boys, a far right militant group that had made preparations to come to washington, dc onjanuary six. they were at the vanguard of the group that broke into the united states capitol. they were using military tactics, many of their members have been charged and arrested because of entering the capital. so i think the investigator —— investigative committee wants to learn who they were in contact with, what sort of preparations they made what sort of preparations they made what sort of organisation outside the proud boys is taking place in preparation forjanuary six? the city of washington yesterday announced that it was going to sue members of the proud blaze and the organisation for damages that were caused onjanuary organisation for damages that were caused on january six around organisation for damages that were caused onjanuary six around and in the capital. using a law in the 18005, the capital. using a law in the 1800s, similar to the one that was used in charlotte spell to hold the organisers and unite the right rally responsible for the damage from the riots in charlottesville. i think we are going to see an attempt to put the financial burden on the proud blaze in a civil case, not a criminal case, although there are criminal case, although there are criminal cases, but in a civil case to try to get them to pay a financial penalty for their role in the attack on the capital.- financial penalty for their role in the attack on the capital. some of the senior proud _ the attack on the capital. some of the senior proud blaze _ the attack on the capital. some of the senior proud blaze members | the senior proud blaze members who are going to be appearing before the committee, are they in the mood to talk? ~ ., . ., committee, are they in the mood to talk? ~ ., _, ., talk? well, and rico trail, the former proud _ talk? well, and rico trail, the former proud white _ talk? well, and rico trail, the former proud white leader - talk? well, and rico trail, the| former proud white leader who talk? well, and rico trail, the i former proud white leader who is scheduled to testify, looks like he is not going to testify that was scheduled to testify today and has shown a willingness to cooperate with investigators. it's a case—by—case basis. there are still members of the proud blaze, but it sounds like there are some of them who may be willing to shed some light on the planning that went into the attack on the capital and also who else was involved or at least who else was involved or at least who else was informed ahead of time that this could happen. stay with us, anthony, _ time that this could happen. stay with us, anthony, because yesterday, congress voted to seek criminal charges of contempt of congress against. this man — mark meadows, donald trump's former chief of staff. he had been providing information with the inquiriy — but then withdrew his co—operation citing something called "executive privilege". legal experts think that defence is unlikely to hold, onjanuary 6th, mark meadows was the chief of staff of the white house, and the former president, donald trump, has said that all of his communications with meadows and meadows's communications with other people are subject to the executive privilege. now, it should be quite clear under united states law that it's one president at a time, and the executive privilege of the white house belongs to the president of the united states, who isjoe biden, which should mean that all of these documents should be required to be turned over to congress and these former officials of the trump white house to testify. the difficulty is that the courts have not been absolutely clear on that. here's another legal expert on what's next for mark meadows. the recommendation goes to the justice department that will then make a decision as to whether to actually indict him for contempt as recommended by the house of representatives. this exercise happened recently with former donald trump aide, steve bannon, and he was indicted and his trial is injuly. the factual circumstances are a little bit different. mr meadows did corroborate to some degree, turned over 9000 documents, records, including texts and e—mails that people are talking about a lot. so, there is no way to predict necessarily what will happen at the justice department, but the next step is a possible criminal indictment which could trigger up to a year injail. as we heard there — mark meadows has shared texts and emails which have helped the committee understand what was happening inside the white house whilst the mob was storming the capitoljust over a mile away. liz cheney is one of two republicans on the committee. mr meadows received numerous text messages which he has produced without any privilege claim. imploring that mr trump take the specific action we all know his duty required. i will read a few of them. "mark," one member said, "he needs to stop this now." in all caps: "tell them to go home." "potus has to come out firmly and tell the protesters to dissipate. someone is going to get killed." one of those pleading with mark meadows to get the president to intervene was donald's trump's son — doanr. he texted to mr meadows "we need an oval office address. he has to lead now." "it has gone too far and gotten out of hand". other messaages came from members of congress and even fox news presenters. brian kilmeade texted "please get him on tv" — saying what was happening was "destroying everything you have accomplished." anthony zurcher is in washington. what is interesting about these fox news texts is there a bit of what they have been saying and text message and what they have said on air. �* ., ., , _, ., ., air. another fox news commentator wast ina air. another fox news commentator was trying to — air. another fox news commentator was trying to get _ air. another fox news commentator was trying to get donald _ air. another fox news commentator was trying to get donald trump - air. another fox news commentator was trying to get donald trump to l was trying to get donald trump to make a public appearance to tell the protesters to go home, but then later that evening she talked about how she thought the attack on the capital is being instigated by the left and not by donald trump supporters. just a matter of hours in a different story of what's going on behind the scenes and what they were saying over how much the line from republican party from conservatives have changed this is down damaging donald trump's legacy. to essentially once again rallying behind donald trump, respecting the power he has within the republican party and looking ahead to what they would view as his health and the midterm elections next year. it's a remarkable journey in just 11 months stop byjust remarkable journey in just 11 months stop by just a remarkable journey in just 11 months stop byjust a couple of practical questions. how long will it take and what power does it have? that's a good question how long it will take. the members of the committee realised that democrats may not be in control, january of 2023. so they want to get this investigation wrapped up and hopefully wrapped up before the midterm elections in november because they don't want politics looming over this. when the deadline is beyond that is anybody�*s guess depending on these legal battles. a kind of power they can have their power to compel testimony. like steve bannon or not speaking out, but i think the final results of this investigation will be a reported with recommendations and if there's any kind of lasting impact it won't be criminal, it will be political. impact it won't be criminal, it will be political-— be political. good to talk to, anthony- — be political. good to talk to, anthony. thank _ be political. good to talk to, anthony. thank you - be political. good to talk to, anthony. thank you very - be political. good to talk to, i anthony. thank you very much be political. good to talk to, _ anthony. thank you very much indeed. here in the uk — the cost of living has risen at its fastest rate for ten years — with inflation at 5.1% last month. the office for national statistics says a surge in transport and energy costs drove the increase. our economics editor faisal islam has more. it is notjust here in cardiff that inflation is reaching ever dizzy heights. across the nation prices are rising at their fastest rate in decades, driven by record petrol prices, massive spikes in gas and electricity, and now clothing and food price rises too, raising questions about how quickly it will come back down—to—earth. the official rate of inflation reached 5.1% in november, the highest level since 2011 and well over the double rate targeted by the bank of england. the older price index measure, still used by some government departments and to set some bills, reached 7.1%, the highest level in over 30 years. this reflects the every day experience of those at the cardiff christmas market, with widespread price pressures and now uncertainty over the spread of the variant. food has gone up, travel has gone up, everything to do with every day living really. so people are still buying, but i think they are considering it more carefully. importing my cheese has gone up, and lots of other things like diesel is increasing in cost at the moment, but because we have had such a long time locked down people have more spare money. if as we fear there may be some further social restrictions, what does that due to consumer confidence? i imagine it will kill it off. the same uncertainty affects decision makers at the bank of england, pondering whether to raise interest rates tomorrow. significant price rises are here for months to come, just how many months depends on whether price rises lead to wage rises and then further price rises a spiral. but the fact on employment did not rise after the end of the furlough scheme means the bank of england thinks it has the green light to start raising interest rates slowly. that could come tomorrow, but because of the omicron variant, it could also be delayed until february. if energy prices continue to rise into next year, affecting those on fixed incomes... such as chrissy, a pensioner in somerset whose bills have gone from thousand pounds a year to over £2000. just incredibly worrying because you don't know where it is going to end. it is mainly energy. but other things too? petrol is a ridiculous price. it is going to be a tricky balancing act for many households this winter. faisal islam, bbc news. now, stay with me an outside source. in a few minutes, we will share market revelations concerning christmas parties in westminster, and some from borisjohnson's conservative party in the uk which they have now apologised for. more than 100 people have been rescued after rescue from a burning skyscraper. our reporter said this update from the scene. lt skyscraper. our reporter said this update from the scene.— update from the scene. it was lunchtime _ update from the scene. it was lunchtime when _ update from the scene. it was lunchtime when smoke - update from the scene. it was| lunchtime when smoke started bellowing into this shopping mall levels. this video shows binaries in a buffet rested not sure what to do. i shop heard no fire alarm. the fire department confirmed later that they had been informed that they had to turnit had been informed that they had to turn it off for renovation works. as people made their way out, some found it hard to go down the staircase because of the smoke. instead, they went up onto the podium. some officers ended up on the roof. more than 30 levels above ground. it didn't take long before firefighters came to their rescue. the fire brigade spanned around for hours to put everything under control. this renovation is built in the 1970s,... and the scottish... ourfiremen discovered the 1970s,... and the scottish... our firemen discovered the fire scene _ our firemen discovered the fire scene was _ our firemen discovered the fire scene was heavily smoked logged, at the time _ scene was heavily smoked logged, at the time of— scene was heavily smoked logged, at the time of arrival. so to a firemen. _ the time of arrival. so to a firemen, we found it, it is one of the reasons— firemen, we found it, it is one of the reasons we need to get to distressed occupants inside the building — distressed occupants inside the building stop at the fire department says it _ building stop at the fire department says it will— building stop at the fire department says it will investigate further to determine the cause of the fire. bbc news, _ determine the cause of the fire. bbc news, hong kong. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is... the uk has recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic as the omicron variants gathers pace. let's return to coronavirus in the uk now — and the controversy over parties held last christmas — in downing street and elsewhere — has continued — with resignations and apologies, over breaches in the regulations. we're going to spend the next few minutes looking at the latest developments in the story. the uk has recorded its highest daily number of covid cases since the pandemic began. 78,000 is the latest total. and many people are now facing a disrupted christmas — again. on tuesday night, mps voted through new restrictions designed to contain the surge. but for covid rules to work — they have to be followed. and the opposition says borisjohnson isn't the man to make that request. can the prime minister not see that he has no hope of regaining the moral authority to deliver that difficult message if he cannot to be straight with the british public about the rule breaking in downing street last christmas? to this, the prime minister referenced boosters and the economy, and added: that it what people of this country are focused on, mr speaker, rather than the partisan trivia that he continually raises. millions of boosters have been given. and while mrjohnson says the christmas party reports are trivia — questions remain — and trivia is involved. but before we get to the no.10 christmas quiz, let's start the day before december 1a. london was in tier 2. and the rules were clear. "you must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting." also on december 1a, there was this gathering at the conservative party's headquarters. attendees included shaun bailey — conservative's candidate for mayor of london. the picture had been obtained by pippa crerar of the mirror. her report says: "some of the group are shown wearing paper hats while one is sporting a house of commons christmas jumper" the times had already covered this event, desribing about 25 people gathered in the basement" shaun bailey we're told "�*eceived a lego set as a christmas present from a donor". hours before this, it was announced london would move to tier 3 because of spiralling case numbers. well this week, a spokesperson for the bailey campaign said: "this was a serious error of judgement" we fully accept that gathering like this as that time was wrong and apologise unreservedly. also mr bailey has resigned as chair of the london assembly's "�*police and crime committee. the transport secretary grant schapps is unimpressed by the whole thing. many of us were going to great lengths last year, including, as i mentioned, in my family, where i thought i may never see my father again. it is unacceptable for people to be breaking the rules. mr schapps says that the event at the conservative party's headquarters and attended by its candidate for mayor — was not authorised by the conservative party. the day afterwards there was a christmas quiz at no.10. the times had reported it — then the mirror obtained this picture of the prime minister as quiz master. it reports: "a source said many staff huddled by computers, conferring on questions and knocking back fizz, wine and beer from a local tesco metro." "one was wearing a santa hat and the other draped in tinsel." and on sunday, the education secretary was asked about this. there's no drink here. i don't think there's a rule here against ya know, recognising christmas with tinsel or or or or a a hat. 10 — 15 minutes to thank his team that are working all hours on a virtual screen on a pub quiz. i think people can make their own mind up on that. indeed they can. and the mr zahami is quite right — there was no rule against tinsel. so no questions for this official on those grounds. but this was dec 15. social mixing between households indoors was banned. the next day the government would ban most mixing indoors.and there's more detail. "invitations were sent out by email many wore novelty christmas jumpers on the day. sources told the times "while some staffjoined in remotely many more participated inside the building, gathering around screens." we then heard more form mirror. it's seen an email on this — it emphasised social distancing — and said: "teams in the office should ensure that they arrange themselves behind the perspex screens. all staff will be required to leave the office immediately after the end of the quiz." the problem is the mirror also reports: "sources said staff had knocked back fizz, wine and beer — and some stayed in number ten socialising and drinking for hours after the quiz finished." also in a detail i didn't anticipate, the mirror says it has the team names for the quiz. among them were: professor quiz whitty/ we've been clear/ hands, face, first place and next slide please, as well as — bucks quiz/ beaver fever/ rebels without a claus / cheeses of nazareth. a lot of teams — some, we're told, from pm's private office, the policy unit and the press office. and for the team coming last: "the booby prize was a bottle of sanctuary body wash". the prime minister has had repeated the rules were followed. this was two weeks ago. all guidance was probably completely during _ all guidance was probably completely during numberten. we all guidance was probably completely during number ten.— during number ten. we also heard from him on _ during number ten. we also heard from him on monday _ during number ten. we also heard from him on monday stopped - during number ten. we also heard from him on monday stopped i - during number ten. we also heard| from him on monday stopped i can tell you once again that i certainly broke no rules, all that is being looked into. as well as the quiz, and the party at conservative party hq - there's also the christmas party on december 18. the one which started this whole story. there's more on that. itv reported that borisjohnson's senior aide gave awards at downing street christmas party�* during lockdown. the aide is jack doyle — borisjohnson's press chief. he offered to quit — borisjohnson declined. and all of these details feed into today's prime minister's questions — and this attack from labour. for weeks now, he claims that no rules were broken, he claims he didn't know what was happening in his own i don't believe it. his mps don't believe him and nor do the british public. to which borisjohnson pointed the action he's taken. mr speaker, i've repeatedly answered that question before, and as he knows, a report is being delivered to me by that cabinet secretary into exactly what went on. the prime minister is correct — he has answered questions. he's repeatedly said rules weren't broken — but hasn't offered any evidence to show why. and he has now requested an investigation. the cabinet secretary simon case is leading that and is expected to report back within days. and while the politicians trade blows — perhaps it's useful to listen to england's chief medical officer, chris whitty. earlier he was asked about the parties. it's a statement of fact that when people think there is unfairness, particularly if they think there is unfairness in high places, of course people get angry. but he also said this of all the attention last december. most people actually separate that out from their absolute need to think seriously about what's good for them, their communities, their families, their workplaces and the wider country. we'll see. and as when the report arrives, we'll learn if this is �*partisan trivia' or something more. and if rule breaking last december will impact on the prime minister's authority to ask for rule—keeping this time around. let's talk to rob watson. rob, it's very clear the government wants to move on from this, but journalists with press conferences still ask. , ., still ask. they do indeed. the 0 . inion still ask. they do indeed. the opinion polling _ still ask. they do indeed. the opinion polling suggests - still ask. they do indeed. the opinion polling suggests that| opinion polling suggests that something really interesting, and thatis something really interesting, and that is most people who considered this, it does cut there, they do think that downing street is being hypocritical, they do think it's one rule for the governed and another part of those in power. interestingly, the if you look at this anecdotal evidence and anecdotal evidence, may be having a certain disregard for the messenger by taking that message on board, in other words, for example, the majority of people supported the measure is where rejected last night and obviously the anecdotal evidence are rushing to get their booster jabs, whenever they think of them help us understand this investigation by the cabinet secretary. is it binding? what happens when it's delivered? that's an easy one — happens when it's delivered? that's an easy one to _ happens when it's delivered? that's an easy one to answer. _ happens when it's delivered? that's an easy one to answer. i _ happens when it's delivered? that's an easy one to answer. i don't - happens when it's delivered? “trust�*s an easy one to answer. i don't think we entirely now. we are not sure exactly what it covers, the sort of suggestion i think we are getting is that we will look into anything that may have violated the restrictions on gatherings that were in place this time last year, and we have also been told that if at any point during the investigation something comes along that would be a police matter, the police will be informed. in terms of last night you will have been very closely watching that rebellion against borisjohnson, what is your reading of the position of the conservative party at the prime minister has reached up more restrictions are needed.— restrictions are needed. talking to some of the _ restrictions are needed. talking to some of the rebels _ restrictions are needed. talking to some of the rebels as _ restrictions are needed. talking to some of the rebels as they - restrictions are needed. talking to some of the rebels as they were i some of the rebels as they were rebelling, i should add, ross. some of the rebels as they were rebelling, ishould add, ross. my take is that this was a truly ominous moment for the prime minister and for the conservative party. ominous, firstly, because i think it's hard not to argue, he appears to have lost control of the governing conservative party on the most important issue of the day, namely cove ed, what do you do about the pandemic. now to get to the heart of the question, let's say the prime minister is right and there is a tsunami of infections, what does he do, as one otherjournalist put it, does he listen to the advice of the chief with her to his chief the medic and goodness gracious, we may with that upset those in his own party? with that upset those in his own .a ? ., ~' , ., , . party? thank you very much indeed live with us- — party? thank you very much indeed live with us. just _ party? thank you very much indeed live with us. just before _ party? thank you very much indeed live with us. just before we - party? thank you very much indeed live with us. just before we wrap i live with us. just before we wrap up this edition of outside source, let's talk about lewis hamilton, quite a few days. missed out i thriller for the f1 world quite a few days. missed out i thrillerfor the f1 world by thriller for the f1 world by the prince of wales. that 36—year—old has been honoured for his services to motorsport and it comes, as i was saying, just a few days, three days after he lost out in controversial fashion to an eight formula 1 world title. the dutchman claimed that extraordinary and highly controversial for all a controversial for all a controversial ruling, you name it, it all happen for me can imagine the samples that out of his mind for a few minutes while he was chatting to prince charles, maybe they discussed the race. who knowsmaggots are lewis hamilton now. if you have not seen the details of to the formula 1 world championships committee go to the bbc sport or bbc news website, you will find a report we did hear an outside source summarising all the twists and turns in and around four minutes. that's it for this edition of outside source. thank you very much indeed for watching. see you soon. all the best. hello there. some areas have had a lovely sunny day today, and it's felt very mild too. many other areas, though, held onto the cloud. it was quite gloomy forsome, particularly across southern britain. there was some rain across the north of the uk. now, tomorrow high—pressure will dominate the scene. it looks mostly dry, once again, it's going to stay pretty mild with temperatures double figures for most. this is the weather front which brought the patchy rain to northern ireland, northern england, central southern scotland. it's continuing to drift its way northward through this evening and certainly overnight, becoming confined to the northwest of scotland. further south, it will be mainly dry, there will be quite a lot of cloud around. also some clear spells. our winds will be lighter further south, so where we get any clear spells, we will see some mist and fog developing. it stays breezy for the northwest of northern ireland and certainly for western scotland closer to that weather front. temperature—wise, generally 8—9 celsius where we have the cloud, but down into low single digits where skies clear, and we will have early mist and fog through the morning. that should tend to clear away, and we will see a bit of brightness for northeast scotland, maybe eastern england, but for most places, it's going to be another cloudy, rather gloomy day, unfortunately. we will see that weather front push northwards into the northern isles. so here's some showery bursts of rain, much of scotland and northern ireland looks dry, those temperature 10—12 or maybe 13 celsius. so, again, it will be mild and particularly pleasant where we have the sunshine. through thursday evening, we will see the cloud returning, certainly some mist and fog where we have clearer skies across the east of scotland and northeast england. our area have high—pressure parks itself right across the uk thursday into friday. thejet stream doing an omega pattern. this is an omega block, this area of high—pressure is set to sit around for quite a while. and we will have some fairly mild air wrapped into the system. you can see the colder themes of air on either side. so generally, it will be fairly mild, although, because many places will be rather cloudy again on friday, it might not feel quite as mild because of the lack of sunshine. could see a bit of brightness, though across some western areas and in towards central and eastern scotland. temperatures i think at best southern and western areas 10—11 celsius, otherwise for most, we are in single digits. similar story as we head on into the weekend. a lot of cloud, limited spells of sunshine, generally mild for the time of year, but it will feel a little bit cool across eastern areas for part two of the weekend. this is bbc news. the headlines. the uk records over 78 thousand new coronavirus cases — the highest daily figure of the pandemic england's chief medical officer says the numbers of hospitalised covid patients are starting to rise — and warns of very difficult weeks ahead. this is a really serious threat at the moment. there are several things we do not know but all the things that we do know are bad. a sharp rise in the cost of living — as the price of energy, fuel and clothing push inflation to a 10 year high. the woman who murdered 16—month old star hobson is sentenced to life — while star's mother is jailed for 8 years forfailing to protect her daughter. and arise sir lewis — he may have lost his formula one title — but lewis hamilton has gained a knighthood