for a not so miniscule sum of money. hello and welcome, borisjohnson says the british government is reviewing the rise in omicron cases, hour by hour and "reserves the possibility" to implement further covid restrictions. after almost two hours of cabinet discussions today, the prime minister emerged to tell us things would be left as they are for now, but the current situation he says is "extremely difficult". here's our deputy political editor, vicky young. the decorations are up, and some of the presents are wrapped. the streets of bristol were busy today, but christmas during a pandemic comes with huge uncertainty. at the back of everyone�*s mind, will ourfestive plans again be thrown into disarray? after a two—hour meeting with his cabinet, borisjohnson said the arguments were finely balanced. we agree that we should keep the data from now on under constant review, keep following it hour by hour, and unfortunately, i must say to people, we will have to, to reserve the, the possibility of taking further action to protect the public, and to protect public health and protect our nhs, and we won't hesitate to take that action. the government insists it is not sitting back doing nothing. manchester city's football stadium among the sites helping get vaccinations up to a record 1 million on saturday. people have already been told to work from home, use covid passes and take tests before socialising — not enough, says the labour leader. throughout the pandemic, my strong feeling is that the government has been too slow. but here we are, everybody is very concerned about this variant and i want to see a government under prime minister that gets a grip and puts a plan for that hopefully we can all get behind. other parts of the uk have already gone further. in scotland, guidance has been issued that no more than three households should meet indoors. wales has put guidance in place for the run—up to christmas and will introduce tougher legal restrictions on the 27th of december. for days, there has been a growing sense around here that more restrictions for england are inevitable, but cabinet ministers haven't been convinced by the data. many of them are worried about inflicting more economic harm before they've seen a fuller picture ofjust how dangerous this new variant is. many conservatives don't want more measures. lord frost resigned as brexit minister at the weekend, partly blaming the government's pandemic response. i don't support coercive policies on covid. the prime minister has a very difficult decisions to take and i'm sure he will be thinking very hard about them. critics accused downing street of lacking moral authority when it comes to rules after another photo emerged, this time of the prime minister, his wife and 17 staff in the garden drinking wine during the first lockdown. the prime minister says they were people at work, talking about work. many voters won't see it that way. scientific advisers want more action now. mrjohnson is weighing up his next step. professorjason leitch is the national clinical director for the scottish government and joins us now. two hours of cabinet debate today, discussions, differences of opinion. do you have some sympathy with the predicament they are in at the moment, or do you think the direction of travel, the course of the virus so far, means a decision should have been taken today? evening. it's very difficult. our cabinet will meet tomorrow morning. we've been in discussion with our leaders all day today. the first minister will announce in the scottish parliament tomorrow afternoon their decisions. we are at afternoon their decisions. we are at a fragile moment both in the uk and across europe and the world. omicron is coming. we had nearly 7000 cases today. we think more than half of them are the new variant. it is transmitting quicker than its three predecessors. we don't know what kind of disease it gives you despite what you read unfortunately on social media we don't know if it is worth, better orthe social media we don't know if it is worth, better or the same. we think it might be slightly better but not better enough. —— we don't know if it is worth. better enough. -- we don't know if it is worth-— it is worth. the scientific advisory grou- for it is worth. the scientific advisory group for emergencies _ it is worth. the scientific advisory group for emergencies suggests i it is worth. the scientific advisory | group for emergencies suggests if there are no further restrictions, if no further restrictions are introduced, then death rates per day will go from something between 600 to 6000. the most deaths we had at any point in this whole pandemic is 1820. why is the sage panel looking at 6000 deaths when all of the evidence from south africa suggests this is a milderform of the evidence from south africa suggests this is a milder form of the virus? that's not what all of the evidence from south africa says. you are being selective in your reading, i am afraid. we simply don't know. south africa is not the same as denmark or norway or scotland. it's younger. it's less vaccinated. you cannotjust move their data to our data. you can tell from sage that the range is massive. that indicates that we don't know. we don't have a secret folder we are keeping from you, we simply don't know. if it is 600 or 6000 in scotland, that would be 60 to 600 because we are a tenth of the uk. any of those deaths are too many but we have to tread a path through the other harms, notjust covid, the mental health, the loneliness, the business loss, all of those other things, and that's why the decision—makers have difficult decisions to make despite the advice from my colleagues to get us to that point. sage have to use the best modelling they can. that's what we will continue to do, and we will continue to give the best advice we can. i will continue to give the best advice we can.— will continue to give the best advice we can. , . . , advice we can. i understand that but ou 'ust advice we can. i understand that but you just said — advice we can. i understand that but you just said we _ advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't _ advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know - advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know how- advice we can. i understand that but you just said we don't know how bad it will be and what i'm asking is why are we modelling on the very worst case scenario, and why are we not also modelling on a much better scenario? because it seems to me that we are only fitting towards politicians in cabinet the armageddon scenario, and that has direct implications for everybody in the country. direct implications for everybody in the country-— the country. that's not remotely what we are _ the country. that's not remotely what we are doing. _ the country. that's not remotely what we are doing. remember, | the country. that's not remotely - what we are doing. remember, there are four cabinets, not one, across the uk making these choices. they are making them independently for their population. when we talk to their population. when we talk to the scottish cabinet, which we will do tomorrow morning, we present the full range of our modelling from best, middle, to a worst case. that is what you would expect us to do. what on earth is in our interests to not tell the truth at the time we know it? unfortunately, this virus doesn't give you all of the information you want quickly enough because it takes a while for it to in debate, infect people, then it takes a while for you to get sick from the disease. what we've learnt in two years, and you cannot fail to have this in all of the interviews we've done, this virus does not respond to slowness, waiting and soft results. it responds to fast responses. you are better to pre—empt rather than let it bite. you understand i am putting the devils advocate questions to you and i understand the points you are making. iwant i understand the points you are making. i want to come back to this point that the worst case scenario we are putting forward to all our cabinets, all the policymakers, is three times worse, according to this document from the scientific advisory group for emergencies, three times worse than the worst rain we've had so far. that form of modelling, and the 200,000 deaths sajid javid talked about in parliament the other day, which i think he has retracted, looks like scaremongering to many. 1 think he has retracted, looks like scaremongering to many.- scaremongering to many. i don't think it is scaremongering. - scaremongering to many. i don't think it is scaremongering. you | think it is scaremongering. you would expect them to be one end and another, wouldn't you? you would expect them to be a best case and a worst. if omicron goes the way we expect because of its transmission, the problem here isjust weight of numbers. the first minister called it a tsunami of cases, which suggests fast, high, and coming at you before you almost know what has hit you. that is kind of what we saw in south africa. it might be levelling out, it's a bit early to say. it's what we've seen in scandinavia, the netherlands, we see france and germany getting worried about it. the sheer weight of numbers, even if it is milder, gives us those really difficult hospitalisations in intensive care and death. but it is important not to be too depressed or anxious about this. there are things we can do. we aren't helpless in this fight. we can be vaccinated, we can be tested at home, and we can follow the rules about face coverings and all of those other things. our behaviour can help the pandemic. notjust our own version of the pandemic keeping us safe, it can also help the population. to us safe, it can also help the imputation-— us safe, it can also help the --oulation. ., ., , , population. to those who say, yes, we acce -t population. to those who say, yes, we accept the _ population. to those who say, yes, we accept the population _ population. to those who say, yes, we accept the population of- population. to those who say, yes, we accept the population of south | we accept the population of south africa is much younger than the uk population, but we are much more vaccinated. nearly 50% of people in this country, in scotland, england, wales, northern ireland, have had the boosterjabs. so, why are we not better protected or as protected as the people in south africa? we think we robabl the people in south africa? we think we probably are _ the people in south africa? we think we probably are better— the people in south africa? we think we probably are better protected. i the people in south africa? we think| we probably are better protected. we have 93% with one dose, 88% with two, and 56% with a booster. it is astonishing. the last six days have been remarkable. i vaccinated on saturday. i did a shift in one of the vaccination centres in glasgow. i vaccinated a woman nearly 80, and a 13—year—old. it's fantastic. you are right, that will protect us. if you can delay that wave, even a few days or weeks you get more protection because everyday scottish population numbers, you get 70,000 orso population numbers, you get 70,000 or so vaccinated with a booster. that buys you time. it takes two weeks to protected properly. you have to do all that in the advice given to the politicians. but, yes, vaccination is definitely going to help us with this one.— vaccination is definitely going to help us with this one. always good to talk to you- _ help us with this one. always good to talk to you. thank _ help us with this one. always good to talk to you. thank you - help us with this one. always good to talk to you. thank you so - help us with this one. always good j to talk to you. thank you so much. prosecutors in new york say ghilaine maxell is a "sophisticated predator" who lured teenage girls into a trap for the late paedophile jeffrey epstein to sexually abuse. in her closing arguments, the assistant us attorney alison moe said maxwell "knew exactly what she was doing", she did it again and again she said and epstein could not have done abused these girls without her help. in their close, the defence saidy the accounts of maxwell's four in their close, the defence said the accounts of maxwell's four accusers were not credible. maxwell's attorney, laura menninger said the women were motivated by the prospect of a payout, from a victim's compensation fund that is run by epstein�*s estate. let's bring in the bbc�*s barbara plett usher who's in new york for us. talk to us first of all about the prosecution's close. a lot of focus on who ghislaine maxwell was, and the posh demeanour, they said, that allured some of these women into the trap. —— that lured. allured some of these women into the trap. -- that lured.— trap. -- that lured. they recapped their argument, _ trap. -- that lured. they recapped their argument, i _ trap. -- that lured. they recapped their argument, i suppose, - trap. -- that lured. they recapped their argument, i suppose, that i their argument, isuppose, that ghislaine maxwell was crucial for this operation, that her demeanour, as you mentioned, she was age—appropriate, a smiling posh woman, made the girls comfortable, so she provided a cover to what the prosecution called the creepy behaviour ofjeffrey epstein. he never behaviour of jeffrey epstein. he never could behaviour ofjeffrey epstein. he never could have done it without her. they talked about the fact or they said she had a playbook of how to lure these girls in, getting to know them, offering them gifts, spending time with them, making them feel comfortable, and ultimately introducing sexual contact with jeffrey epstein in a... as if it was normal behaviour, that is what the prosecution argued, her grooming them for him. they also said she had been paid by him, $30 million over the period that this trial is looking at, something that one lawyer said, that $30 million of we did this together, we did this crime together, money. those are the arguments they made. ghislaine maxwell, knowing what she was doing, and being very involved in this operation ofjeffrey epstein�*s sex crimes. operation of jeffrey epstein's sex crimes. . _ ., , crimes. the defence say the only reason they _ crimes. the defence say the only reason they are _ crimes. the defence say the only reason they are coming - crimes. the defence say the only reason they are coming after - reason they are coming after ghislaine maxwell is becausejeffrey epstein is not on the stand. that’s epstein is not on the stand. that's one of the — epstein is not on the stand. that's one of the core _ epstein is not on the stand. that's one of the core issues _ epstein is not on the stand. that's one of the core issues the - epstein is not on the stand. that's one of the core issues the jurors l one of the core issues the jurors will have to decide. how much ghislaine maxwell new, and the defence said she did not know that much because her partner, her long—time partner, kept secrets from her. and now he has died, he committed suicide, the prosecution is going after her as a sort of substitute. they are scapegoating her because somebody needs to pay for his crimes. they also argue that the witnesses aren't credible. this is the other core issue, whether the four women are telling the truth. the defence says they aren't, they are mis—remembering, they are inserting ghislaine maxwell into their memories now because they have their memories now because they have the prospect of a payout from a compensation fund, and the details are, you know, not consistent. the prosecution has come back and said if they are mis—remembering they are mis—remembering the same thing, and money isn't an issue because that payout was for civil suits, that's done, there's no money involved in what happens in this trial. those are the issues, how credible the jurors see the accusers, and how much they think ghislaine maxwell knew about what was going on. what knew about what was going on. what are we looking _ knew about what was going on. what are we looking at _ knew about what was going on. what are we looking at now? what's the timetable going on from here? the 'udue is timetable going on from here? tue: judge is giving timetable going on from here? tta: judge is giving them timetable going on from here? t'ta: judge is giving them their instructions, thejurors instructions, thejurors instructions today, and we are expecting them to retired to deliberate night or early tomorrow morning. it then depends on how quickly they decide. it could very well be that they make their decision, they might issue their verdict before christmas, which would be by wednesday at the latest because the courts shut down for christmas on thursday. if they don't make that decision by christmas they will be coming back on the following monday. will be coming back on the following monda . ,., ., will be coming back on the following monda . ., , will be coming back on the following monda. . ~ will be coming back on the following monda . ., , . ~ let's look at some of the day's other news the turkish lira has fallen to a record low against major currencies, after president erdogan again stressed that he would not raise interest rates to tackle an inflation rate of more than 20%. at one point it fell 8% against the dollar, representing a fall of more than one third of its value in the past month alone. stock markets in chile have fallen nearly 7%, following the election of the former student activist, gabriel boric, as president on sunday. he has pledged to overhaul the country's economic model but in his victory speech he also promised fiscal responsibility. mr boric, who's thirty—five, is the country's youngest ever president. he will be sworn into office in march. and the new spider—man film made nearly $590 million worldwide in its opening weekend. it sets the record for the most profitable film to come out in hollywood history. all of this, despite ongoing concerns about the omicron variant. the central pillar of joe biden's legislative agenda is lying in ruins, after the democratic senator for west virginia walked away from negotiations. joe manchin gave the president's staffjust half an hours notice this weekend before announcing his decision live on fox news. the president later tried to call him but the senator was reportedly unavailable. with the senate split 50—50 the $1.9 trillion build back better bill is unlikely to pass without manchin's support. although the majority leader chuck schumer has signalled he will put it to a vote in the new year, so everyone can see who has opposed it. here is a part of that interview senator mancin gave to fox news on sunday. ifi if i can't go home and explain it to the people of west virginia i cannot vote for it. i cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. ijust continue with this piece of legislation. i just can't. continue with this piece of legislation. ijust can't. i've tried everything humanly possible but i can't get there. well the white house didn't like it one bit. the press secretaryjenn psaki released the kind of broadside you don't often see. in her statement she said the president had been working towards a compromise withjoe manchin, and that his interview on fox news, represented a sudden, inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the president and the senator's colleagues in the house and senate. let's bring in former adviser to hillary clinton, amanda renteria. good to see you, amanda. making an announcement on fox news in a red tie, that is what struck me! chuckles that is what struck us too. it wasn't about just saying no and walking away, it was the way in which he did it. it was a surprise for folks. which he did it. it was a surprise forfolks. it which he did it. it was a surprise for folks. it was a surprise to folks who were behind—the—scenes, trying to keep the momentum alive, even as it goes into the new year, so this felt like a stark... a stark message here going on fox news, saying he did everything he could, especially on build back better. he did not call out specific proposals in that interview. in a way it seems like discussions were happening in the background. there is some mending to be done, notjust in terms of the proposal, but certainly the relationship with biden, staff, and everybody working behind—the—scenes. and everybody working behind-the-scenes. ~ , behind-the-scenes. was president biden behind-the-scenes. was president itiden naive — behind-the-scenes. was president biden naive thinking _ behind-the-scenes. was president biden naive thinking he _ behind-the-scenes. was president biden naive thinking he could - behind-the-scenes. was president biden naive thinking he could get l biden naive thinking he could get this through by sheer force of personality, and also giving away the one bit of leveraged he had, which was the infrastructure bill? they were tied together and he broke the link. —— leverage he had. shat they were tied together and he broke the link. -- leverage he had.- the link. -- leverage he had. at the time of the — the link. -- leverage he had. at the time of the infrastructure _ the link. -- leverage he had. at the time of the infrastructure bill, - time of the infrastructure bill, there was one way to go, either a bipartisan bill or not. he didn't have that kind of leveraged ever. now we can all look back. no doubt people are looking back and thinking, could we not have done something at that moment? you are still working in a very tight senate and a very tight house. that's the difference folks have to condemned with. particularly many democrats who have to come together and talk about what is the right messaging, what will we fight for as we moved to january? will we have to take certain pieces of this bill and go to the people in west virginia and elsewhere to say this is why it is so important to maintain these programmes as we move forward. i do think it was a naive thing to think about a huge package after the bipartisan bill, and build back better is a big package, so now we must fight for each proposal. manchin is saying let's do this bit by bit. he's hawkish on inflation. he says many of the spending commitments have one, two year timeline is, when realistically they will be paid for for many years to come and the debt will grow in line with that. ~ ., come and the debt will grow in line with that. ~ . ., with that. where we are right now, the inflation _ with that. where we are right now, the inflation i — with that. where we are right now, the inflation i was _ with that. where we are right now, the inflation i was concerned - with that. where we are right now, | the inflation i was concerned about, it is in_ the inflation i was concerned about, it is in transit or we come into real: — it is in transit or we come into real, it's — it is in transit or we come into real, it's harming everybody in west virginia, _ real, it's harming everybody in west virginia, making it almost impossible for them to continue to id impossible for them to continue to go to— impossible for them to continue to go to their— impossible for them to continue to go to theirjobs, the cost of gas, groceries, — go to theirjobs, the cost of gas, groceries, utility bills, all of these — groceries, utility bills, all of these things are hitting every aspect— these things are hitting every aspect of their lives. i these things are hitting every aspect of their lives.- these things are hitting every aspect of their lives. i would have some sympathy — aspect of their lives. i would have some sympathy with _ aspect of their lives. i would have some sympathy with that - aspect of their lives. i would have i some sympathy with that argument aspect of their lives. i would have - some sympathy with that argument and it is a good comeback he has, amanda, except his state is one of the poorest in the country, there are thousands of people in west virginia who need child tax credits, who need housing allowances, the sort of things that were in the bill joe biden is pushing. how does he go back to west virginia and sell what he's just done? to back to west virginia and sell what he's just done?— back to west virginia and sell what he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right — he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right when _ he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right when you _ he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right when you say - he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right when you say his - he'sjust done? to be clear, you are exactly right when you say his state| exactly right when you say his state particularly benefits from these programmes. there is a piece here that folks on the ground in west virginia, really all across the country, aren't exactly connecting what this president has done to their everyday lives. sure, you see child tax credit, you see those monthly credits coming in. the reality is, though, they've been coming in, the people have had relief. it's not until that end that it becomes real again, that without it, where are we? that's a big piece of the chicken in the egg. people are worried if we will see that debt. that's why we saw goldman sachs change its ratings of what will happen now. we are in uncharted territory, in a pandemic, in a pandemic that is worsening, so that's why i think these next 30 days will be really revealing not only what kind of economy we are dealing with but what people are going through on the ground. when those members go back home they remember what it is like to be in the states they are in and west virginia is one of the poorer states. it will be real to him when he gets home. states. it will be realto him when he gets home-— states. it will be realto him when he lets home. ., , . , ,, he gets home. there has been a press briefin: at he gets home. there has been a press briefing at the — he gets home. there has been a press briefing at the white _ he gets home. there has been a press briefing at the white house _ he gets home. there has been a press briefing at the white house to - he gets home. there has been a press briefing at the white house to try - briefing at the white house to try and clear this up. it has been mentioned that the president and manchin are still friends. but there has been some fightback. manchin said there was no point giving the people of west virginia child tax credits because they would spend the money the wrong way. can you see a way forward where manchin and the democratic party could work together? t democratic party could work together?— democratic party could work touether? . ., . , together? i do see a way forward but both manchin's _ together? i do see a way forward but both manchin's team, _ together? i do see a way forward but both manchin's team, the _ together? i do see a way forward but both manchin's team, the white - both manchin's team, the white house, the democrats, they all need to go home, be reminded of what's going on in their communities, be around theirfamilies, take a break after this back—and—forth because it'll be important to rebuild those relationships on the half of what the country needs. the next 30 days are very uncertain in the states. we see what's happening in new york. that will shape re—emergence of this and the relationship. that part is important. you can feel the tension and the hurt feelings both from manchin and biden. all of these folks have worked for a long period of time together. i think that's the hopeful message. these two institutions have worked together on some of the toughest times which we might be entering now. and that's when the country comes together again. there was talk of these two having relationships. we might need some time but there is hope here. we will leave it there. thanks for your help this year. merry christmas to you if we don't see you again before then. ~ , , ., , you if we don't see you again before then. ~ , , .,, , ., if like me, your arm is getting longer, when you read, then the book i am about to tell you about is not for you. it measures less than the tip of a pencil — which means in bad light i wouldn't be able to see it, never mind read it. unless i had my granny focals with me. so, this tiny leather bound book has just sold at auction in brussels for £3,500 — that's around $4,600. it measures just 5mm by 5mm. and yet it still manages to include the lord's prayer in dutch, english, american english, french, german, spanish and swedish. the sale price was around 4 times the original estimate. reassuringly the printed text is so minuscule that even younger people cannot read it with the naked eye — you do need a strong magnifying glass. don't forget there's plenty more on these stories, on the bbc app, and you also can get in touch with me and the team on twitter — i'm @cfraserbbc. there is plenty more to come on the channel. stay with us. hello. it's certainly been a pretty chilly and rather murky start in the run—up to christmas. but there will be some changes for a while this week as we see milder air push in from midweek — with it, some wet weather at times, too. but could cold air fight back for christmas, maybe bring a little bit of winteriness? i'll have more on that in just a short while. out there at the moment, though, plenty of cloud in place, but we are seeing a few breaks here and they are, chiefly in the west and on the hills of wales, northern england, scotland — the blue colours indicating these are the areas most likely to see frost — but even with the clouds in place, temperatures still only 1—2 degrees above freezing. so it will be a cold and rather murky start to tomorrow, the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year — so a little bit of positivity there that from this point onwards, the days will start to draw out again, just five hours, 49 minutes of daylight in lerwick. but at least for the winter solstice, with a little bit more breeze to the south and the west, optimistic that some more of that cloud will break up — so a bit more sunshine returning across parts of wales, west, maybe southern england, and a bit more sunshine at times in the very far north of scotland. but here, there'll be 1—2 showers for orkney, shetland, also across lewis. another chilly day, 4—8 celsius the high. and that will be followed by a cold night — exception being across ireland, where temperatures actually rise through the night, cloud and rain spreads its way in. but through scotland, england, and wales, widespread blue on the chart — coldest morning of the week with a widespread frost to greet the morning commuters. and then, into wednesday itself, got high pressurejust about holding on, but these weather front starting to bring about that change to something milder — mainly across ireland initially during the morning, northern ireland seeing rain on and off through the day, spreading in across parts of southern scotland into the isle of man, wales, and through western parts of england before the day is out. much of england staying dry, a good part of northern scotland will stay dry. still chilly in these areas, but 9—10 celsius as that mild air pushes in through wednesday afternoon. into thursday, the mild air�*s just about with us all, could be a bit of snow for a time across the scottish mountains, but it'll be rain on thursday as that becomes confined to scotland through the day. turning drier and brighter across the rest of the country through thursday, and notice the temperatures — 12—13 celsius in the south, only 6—7 celsius in the north. and it'll be that battle towards the end of the week, christmas eve and christmas day. cold air trying to push in from the north, mild air from the south — the greatest chance of a white christmas is, for some, in parts of scotland. no guarantees, but that dividing line could be crucial. and we'll keep you up—to—date as we go through the week. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. switzerland and ireland introduce new covid restrictions, as the omicron variant spreads through europe. we have a special report on the deadly repression of civilians carried out in myanmar after the miiltary seized power. jurors weigh up the fate of theranos founder elizabeth holmes, examining whether she lied to patients and investors about her blood—testing technology. plus, the journalist who's doubling down on his controversial belief that hospitals should treat unvaccinated patients last. we'll discuss. welcome back. the omicron variant of coronavirus is causing an increase in infections both in the vaccinated and those who have previously had the disease. that's the latest warning from the world health organization. the omicron virus is pretty effective at evading oui’ immune responses. and so switzerland has become the latest country to introduce new covid restrictions, that including a mandatory work from home order. the british prime minister boris johnson, as we discussed, is reserving the right to take further action, but has not announced any such measures today. meanwhile, the european medicines agency has authorised a vaccine from us company novavax, which the company says prevents symptoms in 80 to 90% of cases. in a moment, we'll hear from our correspondent in washington, but first to the bbc�*s imogen foulkes who's been visiting a ski resort near the swiss capital, bern. across europe, governments are rushing in new covid restrictions. in the netherlands, there is a lockdown, denmark is thinking about a curfew, and here in switzerland, doors are closed to the unvaccinated. to get into a bar or restaurant, a theatre or a museum, a football match or your gym, you will need the covid certificate. it shows whether you are vaccinated or whether you've recovered from covid. a negative test won't get you in. it's the swiss government's answered the vaccine hesitancy. a third of the population here still hasn't had a firstjab, and infection rates are rising fast. they are far higher than switzerland's neighbours france or italy, but like last year, switzerland won't close its ski slopes. they are closed now including for british tourists, but to enjoy any of the apres ski, everyone will need that certificate. here in north america, omicron has been found in almost every state, with people forming long queues to get tested, ahead of the holidays. scientists are warning of a viral blizzard hitting the country vaccination rates are not going up by anything like what the white house wants to see. only half the jabs are being given compared to april. in some states, in the south and west, fewer than 50% of eligible adults are double jabbed. sporting and entertainment venues are closing down, and in a country that has seen 800,000 covid deaths, president biden will try this week to persuade the doubters that it is masks and vaccines that will stop that number rising further. as gary was alluding to there, americans also face an uncertain holiday period, as omicron begin to takes hold. dr fauci said this weekend he thinks it will take over as the dominant strain within the next two to three weeks. in new york — where new covid—i9 cases rose 60% last week — new records have been set on three consecutive days for the number of new cases reported in a 2k hour period. and you will see from this graph there's been a steep rise in those admitted to hospital who are unvaccinated. we are going to talk about that later in the programme. the new york mayor, bill deblasio, says the country need to "go on a war footing" to fight the variant — with vaccinations and boosters the best defence. we do know that omicron moves very fast, it is very transmissible. it moves fast, we have to move faster, that is why we are focusing even more on vaccination, and we do know that vaccination helps address omicron. so, bottom line, fast breading variant, we are going to see a surge so, bottom line, fast spreading variant, we are going to see a surge in cases for a few weeks, then we think we are going to see it start to trail off. the answer is vaccination. bill de blasio there in new york. let's come back to the uk. let's bring in dr naomi forrester—soto, a virologist at keele university. thank you for being with us. the prime minister here clearly wants to give plan b some time to work but there is a feeling that he is preparing the ground for new restrictions on the other side of christmas. do you think they are necessary?— necessary? that is a really good ruestion. necessary? that is a really good question- i _ necessary? that is a really good question. i think— necessary? that is a really good question. i think that _ necessary? that is a really good question. i think that there - necessary? that is a really good question. i think that there is i necessary? that is a really good . question. i think that there is some necessity in trying to bring down the rising cases and stop that exponential spread that we are seeing. that could just increase to the point where even a small proportion of people who require hospitalisation could end up being a very large absolute number and it is that that i think is the biggest concern, as well as the fact that as more people test positive, things just generally shut down anyway. by bringing in restrictions earlier and then finding out that they are not needed as much, they could be released earlier, but it would help reduce that exponential rise in the omicron cases. do you think we are seeing a link between the rise in cases and a rise in hospitalisations? ts cases and a rise in hospitalisations? is a hospitalisations - hospitalisations? is a i hospitalisations there? i hospitalisations? is a - hospitalisations there? i don't think we know _ hospitalisations there? i don't think we know yet. _ hospitalisations there? i don't - think we know yet. unfortunately, at the moment, because we have two different variant circulating, delta and omicron, and at the moment it is the hope that it is delta causing severe hospitalisations and omicron thatis severe hospitalisations and omicron that is causing fewer severe infections but i think it is still too early. it has only been three or four weeks since omicron was identified. i think there is some sense in which we don't actually know yet how severe that will be. are you clear, due to the public is clear, on what the guidance actually is at the moment?— is at the moment? well, for me, it is at the moment? well, for me, it is net is at the moment? well, for me, it is get your— is at the moment? well, for me, it is get your boosters _ is at the moment? well, for me, it is get your boosters and _ is at the moment? well, for me, it is get your boosters and wear- is at the moment? well, for me, it. is get your boosters and wear masks as much as possible is what i am understanding. whether or not that has been made clear to everybody else i don't know but i do follow it very closely, so it would be surprising to me if i didn't understand it. surprising to me ifi didn't understand it.— surprising to me ifi didn't understand it. , ., , ~ understand it. yes, of course. and ou are understand it. yes, of course. and you are not _ understand it. yes, of course. and you are not a _ understand it. yes, of course. and you are not a behavioural- understand it. yes, of course. and| you are not a behavioural scientist, you are not a behavioural scientist, you are not a behavioural scientist, you are a virologist so i may be putting on the spot but i wondered if you thought that the advice we are getting at the moment from number ten is adequate in relation to what you are seeing in the figures? let's talk about south africa. clearly there is more and more coming out of south africa. they are slightly ahead of us. what do you see the figures we are getting from down there? from south africa, they had _ getting from down there? from south africa, they had a _ getting from down there? from south africa, they had a really _ getting from down there? from south africa, they had a really hard - getting from down there? from south africa, they had a really hard and - africa, they had a really hard and fast rise in omicron cases and then they are starting to see a reduction now. again, south africa has a very different population demographic to that of the uk so i am not certain that of the uk so i am not certain that there is a whole lot of analogies that can be drawn there but certainly there are things that are interesting there in terms of how fast omicron might go through the population and then maybe come down again. i think that is something we will be interesting to look at. we something we will be interesting to look at. ~ ., ~ something we will be interesting to look at. ~ ., ,, ., look at. we were talking to professor _ look at. we were talking to professor leach _ look at. we were talking to professor leach at - look at. we were talking to professor leach at the - look at. we were talking to professor leach at the top| look at. we were talking to i professor leach at the top of look at. we were talking to - professor leach at the top of the programme, he was saying that the peak will come quicker than other variants, that it may come by march, february, march. what do you see in the figures? do you think it will come much quicker? so the figures? do you think it will come much quicker?— the figures? do you think it will come much quicker? so there is definitely an _ come much quicker? so there is definitely an element _ come much quicker? so there is definitely an element of- come much quicker? so there is definitely an element of that. i come much quicker? so there is i definitely an element of that. the faster a variant transmits, the fast imagery population and almost burned through all the people who it can infect much more quickly stop i think that is a possibility that that might happen but whether or not... how that plays out long term with its ability to re—infect, i don't know whether or not... we can hope that is the case but i think we have to wait and see how it plays out in terms of our complex population, vaccinated versus unvaccinated, variant exposed and not. , ., ., ., ,, unvaccinated, variant exposed and not. , ., ,, i. , unvaccinated, variant exposed and not. , ., ,, , . not. understood. thank you very much for bein: not. understood. thank you very much for being with — not. understood. thank you very much for being with us. _ not. understood. thank you very much for being with us. thank— not. understood. thank you very much for being with us. thank you. - a bbc investigation has shed new light on the murder of civilians by the myanmar military. the united nations says the evidence points to crimes against humanity. earlier this yearfour villages in kenee township in central myanmar were targeted over a period of a few weeks injuly. this report by rebecca henschke contains some distressing images from the beginning. this girl is grieving over her grandfather's body. it's distressing to see. there are clear signs of torture. when the myanmar military entered their village in the kani township, she fled. her grandfather stayed, believing his age would protect him. more bodies were uncovered, close to where her grandfather was found. 12 in total. some were buried in shallow mass graves. the military carried out the mass killings in four villages in kani township. a region that has been a stronghold of opposition to the military regime. in this village,14 people were killed. we have blurred their bodies, as they are too gruesome to show. the man filming finds people he knows. at great risk, our team interviewed a number of eyewitnesses. for their safety, we are hiding their identity. their stories are all similar. translation: they split us - into groups of men and women. men were tied up with ropes and beaten up. i we couldn't stand to watch it, so we kept| our heads down, crying. we begged them not to. they didn't care. they took away everything from us. they asked the women, - "is your husband among them? "if he is, do your last rites." this man managed to escape. translation: 11 others were arrested with me. | they were tied up, beaten with stones and rifle buts and tortured all day. i put our evidence to the military spokesman. translation: t’m i put our evidence to the military spokesman. translation: i'm not den in: spokesman. translation: i'm not denying that _ spokesman. translation: i'm not denying that incidents _ spokesman. translation: i'm not denying that incidents such - spokesman. translation: i'm not denying that incidents such as - spokesman. translation: i'm not denying that incidents such as this | denying that incidents such as this can happen. we can happen. for us, when they treat us as enemies and open fire on us, we have the right to defend ourselves. the united nations is investigating the mass killings in the hope that future generations, those left behind, will get some kind ofjustice. rebecca henschke, bbc news. further investigation needed. thank to rebecca for that report. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: ajury in california is weighing up the charges in the criminal fraud case against fallen silicon valley ceo, elizabeth holmes. we'll discuss that next. the queen has decided to stay at windsor for christmas — and not travel to sandringham. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the details. quite plainly, it would have looked and felt all wrong at a time when concern about the omicron variant is increasing quite considerably both here in the united kingdom and in other countries for britain's head of state to be seen to have been engaging and taking part in her normal large family gathering at her norfolk estate in sandringham. now, the queen always likes to feel that she is in tune with what is happening across the country, she likes to lead by example, so now we are told that this was a personal decision after careful consideration, it reflects a precautionary approach by her. we are told that downing street was informed rather than consulted. so the queen will remain at windsor. now, this would have been herfirst christmas at sandringham surrounded by herfamily, of course, since the death of her husband, the duke of edinburgh, in april of this year, but now, as happened last year as well because of the covid pandemic, she was at windsor accompanied then by her husband. she will remain at windsor castle. we are told that there will be other members of the royal family there, so she will not be on her own. i was going to ask you about that, nicholas. presumably if the queen's plans change, quite a few other people's plans change. well, i think it will be taken as indicative. this is, as we are led to believe, a personal decision. it is not for the queen to be declaring what other people should do, but i think the very fact that she has taken this decision not to have a family gathering but to have a much smaller christmas gathering at windsor castle, though some members of the family will be there with her, i think many people will follow that example and see that as another indication of how this christmas should be approached. a number of prominent trials coming to an end in the united states before christmas. we have focused on the ghislaine maxwell trial, so let's turn now to the fate of elizabeth holmes, the founder of the theraputics company, theranos. we have dipped in and out of this case for the last three months, the jury has gone out to consider its verdict. we saw two very different pictures of this young entrepreneur at trial. for the defence, ms holmes was the hardworking ceo, who'd dropped out of stanford to start to her own company, took risks on a project that she thought might change the world. for the prosecution, ms holmes is a fraud who lied to prominent investors when the house of cards began to collapse. ms holmes had dazzled silicon valley with her plans for a machine, known as edison, that with just a few drops of blood could detect hundreds of conditions. she was dubbed the "female stevejobs", the business was at one point valued at $9 billion and everyone from bill clinton to rupert murdoch were singing her praises. but within a year, she was exposed as a fake by the wall streetjournal — the edison machine didn't work at all. the company collapsed by the end of 2018. ms holmes faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of the 12 charges of fraud and conspiracy to defraud that have been made against her. i'm joined now by ellen kreitzberg, who is professor of law, santa clara university. thank you for being with us. is it a difficult case to prove this? all entrepreneurs take risks with their investments, don't they? yes. entrepreneurs take risks with their investments, don't they?- entrepreneurs take risks with their investments, don't they? yes, it is. these cases — investments, don't they? yes, it is. these cases are _ investments, don't they? yes, it is. these cases are difficult _ investments, don't they? yes, it is. these cases are difficult and - investments, don't they? yes, it is. these cases are difficult and very i these cases are difficult and very few go to trial. most settle in some way. this is an unusual trial to go forward. the government's position is that what ms holmes did was different that a lot of other silicon valley companies was she went beyond saying what my company can do in the future are these wonderful things, this is what my machine is doing today was what she said. that was false, clearly misleading and that is where the fraud comes in with respect to the investors. . fraud comes in with respect to the investors. ,, . ,, , . investors. she did take the stand in this case, which _ investors. she did take the stand in this case, which is _ investors. she did take the stand in this case, which is always _ investors. she did take the stand in this case, which is always a - investors. she did take the stand in this case, which is always a risk - this case, which is always a risk for the defence, and she did quite a long time on the stand, 2a hours of testimony. she came across as very charismatic. d0 testimony. she came across as very charismatic-— charismatic. do you think it worked for her? we _ charismatic. do you think it worked for her? we will _ charismatic. do you think it worked for her? we will know— charismatic. do you think it worked for her? we will know when - charismatic. do you think it worked for her? we will know when the - charismatic. do you think it worked | for her? we will know when the jury comes back but it certainly was most likely her best option. the government had meticulously painted a picture of all of the misstatement she made and really her chance was to show herself to the jury as a sympathetic, vulnerable, impressionable person on the other way to do that was by taking the stand and she was pretty effective at doing that. stand and she was pretty effective at doing that-— stand and she was pretty effective at doinu that. , at doing that. there were some very, very prominent _ at doing that. there were some very, very prominent investors. _ at doing that. there were some very, very prominent investors. rupert - very prominent investors. rupert murdoch was one of them, the walton's who are the heirs to the walmart fortune. they all piled money into theranos. does that work in her favour money into theranos. does that work in herfavour or money into theranos. does that work in her favour or not? money into theranos. does that work in herfavour or not? t money into theranos. does that work in her favour or not?— in her favour or not? i think it does work — in her favour or not? i think it does work for _ in her favour or not? i think it does work for the _ in her favour or not? i think it does work for the defence - in her favour or not? i think it does work for the defence to | in her favour or not? i think it - does work for the defence to some degree because the victims in this trial are these wealthy investors and no one feels that sympathetic about people and families who can lose $100 million and barely looked upset about it on the stand. it is not a place where your heart goes out to the people who lost money necessarily. on the other hand, many of the people who testified were very credible, believable witnesses and you really have to disbelieve all of them in order to find her not guilty. 50 all of them in order to find her not i uil . ., all of them in order to find her not tuil . ., " all of them in order to find her not ruil . . " , guilty. so there are 11 counts here, 11 counts of — guilty. so there are 11 counts here, 11 counts of fraud _ guilty. so there are 11 counts here, 11 counts of fraud and _ guilty. so there are 11 counts here, 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy i guilty. so there are 11 counts here, j 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy to defraud. she faces up to 20 years in prison. i suppose for the prosecution, they only have to prove their case in one of those charges, correct? . �* , , ., ., correct? that's true you need to remember _ correct? that's true you need to remember that _ correct? that's true you need to remember that in _ correct? that's true you need to remember that in the _ correct? that's true you need to remember that in the american | correct? that's true you need to - remember that in the american system the government has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and so it is a very high burden the government has to kavanagh needs to be unanimous. all 12jurors missed dilemma must agree. —— it has to be unanimous. if thejuries dilemma must agree. —— it has to be unanimous. if the juries divide at 11 to 14 unanimous. if the juries divide at 11 to 1a conviction goes down as a mistrial, it is unresolved and they have to decide whether to start all over again. have to decide whether to start all overagain. t have to decide whether to start all over aaain. .,, have to decide whether to start all over again-— over again. i hope you will come back when _ over again. i hope you will come back when we _ over again. i hope you will come back when we have _ over again. i hope you will come back when we have a _ over again. i hope you will come back when we have a verdict. i over again. i hope you will come i back when we have a verdict. thank you for the moment.— you for the moment. thank you for havin: you for the moment. thank you for having me- — we showed you a chart earlier in the programme of infection rates in new york. that top line there the unvaccinated, the bottom line are those who have had the jab. it is not the first such chart to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the vaccines, these miracles of science, do protect people and they are the best way to ensure our hospitals are not overwhelmed with covid cases. and yet there's still roughly 10% of people here in the uk who have not had any jab at all. in the us, the rate is a little higher than that. and the evidence suggests as omicron takes hold they are the majority of people, who will fill hospital wards in the coming weeks, and to make way for them, surgeries will be cancelled. but our next guest suggests hospitals should start treating the unvaccinated patients last. the atlantic staff writer david frum says that might be controversial, but he is pretty sure there's a lot of people watching who will agree with him. david frum welcome to the programme. what sort of reaction have you had to the tweet you sent out in the articles you have written? tt is articles you have written? it is very puzzling- _ articles you have written? it is very puzzling. there _ articles you have written? tt 3 very puzzling. there was of course an explosively negative reaction from fox news and anti—vaxxers and their view is that the vaccine is deadly, the vaccine is unnecessary, the covid is a hoax, nothing to worry about and anybody who suggests otherwise is committing a crime against humanity by infringing their right to get medicine for the thing that makes them desperately sick. but there are a lot of people, of course, who need cancer surgery, whose surgeries will be cancelled to make way for the people who had a choice to get a vaccine, and there are a lot of people out there who are a lot of people out there who are really frustrated by that. tt you are in a traffic accident this christmas, if you have a heart attack, you are going to be in trouble because of the people who are unvaccinated. if you need a hip replacement or you need back surgery, you are going to find yourself facing long delays. i was making a point in n on —— on twitter, i wasn't writing a manifesto on how to manage hospital rooms but i was expressing frustration that people who are refusing to be vaccinated are making a bad choice and they are imposing those costs notjust on themselves, notjust those costs notjust on themselves, not just on those costs notjust on themselves, notjust on their those costs notjust on themselves, not just on their loved those costs notjust on themselves, notjust on their loved ones who may miss them, but on all the rest of society and maybe we need some approach other than would you like another cup ofjuice? maybe we need another cup ofjuice? maybe we need a little bit of tough love. if you impose costs on everybody else, everybody else is going to speak up. there are lots of people who make bad decisions, people who drink—drive, fall out of trees. if we put all of them to the back of the queue, it is not going to work. doctors take the hippocratic oath and they treat people who come to the door. t’m and they treat people who come to the door. �* ., . . . the door. i'm not writing a manual. i've been writing _ the door. i'm not writing a manual. i've been writing this _ the door. i'm not writing a manual. i've been writing this for— the door. i'm not writing a manual. i've been writing this for the - i've been writing this for the atlantic for a long time talking about the frustration of vaccinated americans, people making the right choice. and it is such an easy choice. and it is such an easy choice. giving up tobacco is difficult. people struggling with mental health issues and many other issues. to refuse a jab... there is no excuse for it. it is such an easy task. if you say you are not going to do it because you have some objection or you are misinformed or whatever, when the moment of crisis comes, at that say to the rest of society, forget everything i have said over the past six months, that doctor vouches some kind of war criminal, iam doctor vouches some kind of war criminal, i am some kind of holocaust victim, treat me first because of the because i impose on all of you. because of the because i impose on all of ou. , because of the because i impose on allof ou. , , ., , because of the because i impose on allof ou. , , ., all of you. there is history, of course, all of you. there is history, of course. in _ all of you. there is history, of course, in the _ all of you. there is history, of course, in the united - all of you. there is history, of course, in the united states i all of you. there is history, of i course, in the united states when it comes to vaccination and there are some sections of society who are rightly suspicious of vaccine programmes, do have suspicion simply with that? —— do you have sympathy with that? —— do you have sympathy with that? —— do you have sympathy with that? we with that? -- do you have sympathy with that? ~ . . . ., . with that? we had a rampage on a radio programme _ with that? we had a rampage on a radio programme and _ with that? we had a rampage on a radio programme and the - with that? we had a rampage on a radio programme and the polio i radio programme and the polio vaccine was delayed for many months. and we have a long history of this. in britain, vaccination against smallpox in the 18th century, there were riots of people who believe the wrong things. we have come so much further now. good information is so available. if you refuse to believe it and want to take medical advice from podcast as an weirdo facebook pages, don't you have some responsibility? t’m pages, don't you have some responsibility?— pages, don't you have some responsibility? i'm going to put our responsibility? i'm going to put your tweet _ responsibility? i'm going to put your tweet on _ responsibility? i'm going to put your tweet on screen _ responsibility? i'm going to put your tweet on screen so - responsibility? i'm going to put your tweet on screen so peoplej responsibility? i'm going to put i your tweet on screen so people can see it. we havejust found it. do you think the politicians need to change the balance here with us it is happening in austria and germany. they are taking a tougher line on vaccine passports, people getting vaccinated. should that be happening in the united states? the vaccinated. should that be happening in the united states?— in the united states? the right answer is mandates. _ in the united states? the right answer is mandates. i'm i in the united states? the right answer is mandates. i'm not i in the united states? the right i answer is mandates. i'm not here writing a manual on how to run an emergency room and i think there are practical problems with any kind of triage but we have is minority who are refusing vaccination. we also have sabotage of the attempt to do mandates. the courts are sabotaging that and many of the conservative state governments. the biden administration is fearful to do the mandates that it could do for air or interstate transport. the right answer is to say do it voluntarily to protect yourself and others, as a good citizen. if you won't do it, let's have a mandate that says if you get on a plane or train, you have to. the cost to children of missing education is so catastrophic.— missing education is so catastrohic. �* ., ., catastrophic. i'm out of time. i could talk— catastrophic. i'm out of time. i could talk to _ catastrophic. i'm out of time. i could talk to much _ catastrophic. i'm out of time. i could talk to much more i catastrophic. i'm out of time. i could talk to much more but i catastrophic. i'm out of time. i | could talk to much more but we catastrophic. i'm out of time. i i could talk to much more but we are out of time at the end of our programme. thank you very much for your time. we will back same time tomorrow. hello. we're on the proper run—up to christmas now and it does look like the atmosphere is going to continue to keep us weather forecasters on our tiptoes. whilst we do start the week, as we've seen so far, with some fairly chilly conditions, milder weather is expected from midweek onwards with some rain. it's how much the cold air fights back later and how much the potential of a white christmas. a lot of uncertainty, then, but one thing's certain by christmas, the days will be that little bit longer, only a little bit, because tuesday is the winter solstice, shortest day of the year, lerwick only five hours a9�* worth of daylight, but for the winter solstice, it does look like there may be a bit more sunshine around. ok, so we still have high pressure, a lot of cloud trapped underneath that, but a stiffening breeze, not much breeze, but enough towards the south and west to help break up the clouds some more. so across england and wales, a bit more sunshine for some, although some eastern areas will stay rather grey throughout. fairly grey across northern ireland, a good part of scotland, but in the far north, we should see some brighter conditions, but the chance of a shower in orkney, shetland and lewis later. most, though, will be dry, cold at around 4 to 8 degrees and a cold night will follow. a stiffening breeze across ireland, cloud, and eventually rain will keep the temperatures up here, but under those clear skies, so scotland, england and wales, we could see a widespread frost, temperatures well below freezing, certainly in the countryside. so a cold start to wednesday, the high pressurejust about with us, keeping things dry, pushing away a little bit, a weak weather front with the showers in the north of scotland, but gathering weather fronts towards the west, which on wednesday in northern ireland will bring outbreaks of rain on and off through the day, eventually into the south—west of scotland pushing its way northwards. it may turn wetter through the isle of man, wales and other western parts of england. further east, though, many will stay dry, but the colder air holding on here, 3 or 4 celsius, compared to 9s and 10s we'll see out towards the west later in the day. and it's that mild air which will win out through wednesday night to thursday, maybe the rain preceded by a bit of snow on the hills of scotland for a time, but temperatures continuing to rise through into thursday itself. coldest air lasting with those northeast winds across orkney and shetland, but another bout of rain pushing its way northwards through thursday becoming confined to scotland later in the day and it will be rain rather than snow. much of ireland, england and wales will see skies brightening through the day. 12 degrees in the south, 6 degrees in the north. that cold air still there across the far north, in fact into friday and indeed christmas eve, but with it starting to push southwards again, we could see some of it turn a little bit wintry only on the top of the hills. at the same time, mild air trying to have another go at us with outbreaks of rain into ireland, wales, central, southern england, as we go through christmas eve. temperatures down a little bit, but still on the mild side, but notice how the temperatures are dropping across scotland. and it's that battle for christmas day which is causing all sorts of problems. where will the dividing line be? the best chance of, but no guarantees, some snow on christmas day will be in the blue areas to the north and west, but on that dividing line we could see a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. at the moment, for us at least, looks like that could be the very far north of england on the hills and on the hills of scotland. rain at times towards the south, temperatures on the mild side, plenty of cloud, a little bit of brightness, colder air to the north, one or two wintry flurries possible. but if that is how it plays out, it looks like beyond christmas day we'll keep with the generally mild theme, but potentially turning pretty windy and stormy out towards the west. this area of low pressure slowly moving through as we go through boxing day into the start of next week. but it's only one scenario, if that dividing line's a bit further south, as showing on some computer models, the cold air could win out through boxing day, low pressure stay across france and the chilly conditions will last into next week. we'll keep you updated. the prime minister says no new covid restrictions for now, but he doesn't rule out bringing them in. with questions swirling about what the omicron variant might do to christmas, borisjohnson said ministers were monitoring the data and poised to act. unfortunately, i must say to people, we, we will have to reserve the, the possibility of taking further action to, to protect the public. a million jabs were delivered across the uk on saturday, but labour says the uncertainty over christmas shows weakness from the prime minister. instead of being hamstrung by his own cabinet and hiding from his own backbenchers, it is time that borisjohnson stopped putting the politics of the conservative party ahead of public health. as many families look again at their christmas plans, the queen announces she will spend it in windsor, rather than at sandringham, as is traditional.