penalites in the euros final. good penalites in the euros final. morning, under clears parts good morning, under clearskies in parts of scotland and northern england there is a touch of frost. rain moving from the south—west heading north—east and behind that, some mild air. all the details throughout the programme. good morning. it's wednesday, the 29th of january. our main story. the scottish parliament will be recalled this afternoon, as first minister nicola sturgeon delivers an update on rising coronavirus infections. a record number of cases were also recorded in england, but there are still no plans to bring in new restrictions before new year's eve. meanwhile, the uk health security agency has said it has doubled the number of lateral flow kits available, after a group representing thousands of independent pharmacies across the uk claimed the supply was patchy, and they were sending people away empty—handed. james reynolds reports. this month in scotland, there have been long queues for booster shots. but the newlyjabbed won't all be able to get together for a post—booster celebration. restrictions on large gatherings are now back in place. we need to do it, but to shut everything down at once is a bit hard, as well. we can go out, but not to nightclubs. i feel like now that we've got all of our vaccines, _ there is not actually. another step forward. that's all we can do. across scotland, it is table service only in pubs and bars, with no more than three households in any group. the new set of rules that have come in have just pushed everything a further step backwards. there is so much uncertainty going on. people don't know if they have jobs to come back to, or when we are going to get back to any normality. if these restrictions are to stay in scotland, someone is going to have to find furlough, because that is going to be the only way to protectjobs. we are all going to have desperately uncomfortable conversations if there is not a way of plugging the wage bill gap. wales has also imposed restrictions of its own. events are limited to 30 people indoors, 50 outdoors, and nightclubs have closed. in northern ireland, pubs, cafes and restaurants are providing table service only and no more than 6 people from different households will be allowed to sit together. by contrast, england has not imposed restrictions. the health secretary said people should be cautious and, if possible, celebrate new year's eve in the open air. earlier this month, the prime minister promised every adult in england would have the chance to get their booster shot before the new year. the nhs is now messaging hundreds of thousands more people this week, urging them to get their shot and enjoy what officials call a "jabby" new year. james reynolds, bbc news. funding allocated by the uk government to tackle covid across scotland, wales and northern ireland has been doubled. we'll be joined by scotland's deputy first minister john swinney at 7.10, and by the minister for disabled people, health and work, chloe smith, at 7.30. france has reported europe's highest ever number of new daily covid cases, as the omicron variant continues to spread rapidly. nearly 180,000 infections were reported on tuesday, and france's health minister has warned there could be 250,000 daily cases by the start of january. italy, greece and portugal also reported record rises — as well as the us with more than 440,000 new infections on monday. millions of families in the uk are facing a cost of living catastrophe, according to a leading think tank. the resolution foundation says that stalling wages, rising taxes and soaring energy bills all mean households face cost of living increases of up to nearly £1200, warning 2022 could be the year of the squeeze. a merseyside police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after it emerged he'd shared racist and homophobic pictures. the guardian, which broke the story, also reports that he took selfies at a murder scene. an anti—corruption inquiry into the behaviour of ryan connolly uncovered several years of misdemeanours. merseyside police said connolly's behaviour was deplorable and his dismissal sent a clear message that any abuse of office would not be tolerated. lawyers for prince andrew have filed papers to try to stop a us civil case in which he's accused of sexual assault. the documents question whether the woman making the allegation, virginia giuffre, can bring the case in new york — saying she lives in australia rather than in the united states. prince andrew has denied all the allegations against him. new measures have been announced to try to help autistic people in england, scotland and wales into work. currently, just 22% of autistic adults are in any type of paid employment. as part of the scheme, thousands ofjob centre staff will be given specialist accessibility training, which has been created with the support of the national autistic society. for autistic people, accessibility isn't just one thing. it's about that attitude and approach and understanding of the staff working in job centres. it's about the physical environment, in terms of sensory, being able to make changes to the lights or the noise, to find somewhere quiet that autistic people can be supported in. it's also about understanding the barriers and challenges that autistic people when they're trying to access jobs and the jobs market. record amounts of snow has fallen in western and northern japan, blocking roads and railways and disrupting flights. and disrupting thousands of homes are without power, and the situation may get worse before it gets better, as more snowfall is forecast along the japan sea coast. rupert wingfield—hayes has more. in a normal december, this town in centraljapan might get a sprinkling of snow — a few centimetres at most. but on monday and tuesday, it was blanketed by 68cm of snow. the little town became completely gridlocked. people in this part ofjapan just don't expect this much snow and they are not really prepared for it. further north, in what japanese people call snow country, it's a different story. here, people know all about how to deal with the white stuff. but even so, the amounts that have fallen in the last few days are pretty extreme, especially for december. meteorologists say the huge snowfall has been caused by a large and extremely unstable air mass sitting over the sea ofjapan. they say there is plenty more to come over the new year. that is bad news for those about to hit the roads and railways and planes. japan is about to shut down for its biggest holiday of the year. millions of people will flood out of tokyo and other big cities heading for their ancestral home towns. this year, they may be heading into more big snowstorms, with half a metre or more of snowfall forecast in the next two days over the mountains and along the sea of japan coast. tributes have been paid to the model and transgender activist april ashley, who has died at the age of 86. one of the first people in the uk to undergo gender reassignment surgery, she was made an mbe in 2012 for her campaigning work for the transgender community, after her modelling career was cut short when the sunday people outed her as transgender in 1961. in 2013, she told colin paterson she had been privileged to meet some amazing people in her life. if you go through life and you meet einstein, you meet sir winston churchill, dali wants to paint you, picasso looks you over three or four times. you know, to know all these people was extraordinary. and why i met them i will never know. that was the model and transgender activist april ashley, who has died at the age of 86. now the weather with carol. that is not a good picture. it is all right, it is from the library. i have seen that before! that is true, you saw it yesterday. a cold start for some. the temperature in aviemore is —6 and in newquay in cornwall it is plus 13 so a 19 degrees difference in temperatures north to south. we will have rain for time but it will be mild. clearskies have rain for time but it will be mild. clear skies in the north eradicated by the rain pushing northwards and eastwards. behind it, cloud, some brightness, and showers with the wind picking up. temperatures are above average today. 7—17. and it will remain exceptionally mild for the next few days. some of us getting up to 17 degrees in the next few days and the average at this stage in december is 8 degrees. 0vernight, the first band of rain. some clear skies. a new front from the south—west. another into the north—west. a messy night, but mild. tomorrow start with rain, cloud, but some sunshine, especially in parts of scotland and northern ireland but once again temperatures will be a talking point. looking at nine in the north, 16—17 in the south. and the average north to south. and the average north to south at this stage is 6—8. that is quite impressive. i will remember that this time next year. 17 degrees in norwich. thank you. we will see you later. it is a summer's day in norwich. incredible. for many years, schoolchildren have had lessons on the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. now, increasing numbers of pupils are also being taught about the dangers of compulsive gambling. a group of families who lost relatives to suicide have devised a hard—hitting education programme, which they say will save lives. you may find some of this report from our ireland correspondent chris page to be upsetting. it's notjust the damage that this does to the person who has the addiction, it's the damage it does to all the family. anniversaries, birthdays, christmas, family gatherings. when he should be there, he is not. lewis keogh was a passionate sportsperson, but he kept his gambling a secret from his team—mates, friends and family. when he was 3a, he took his own life. he says, every day is a struggle. all i want is a bit of peace. please understand addiction is cruel. and that's his exact words. deep down, when he left that note for us, it really was a cry for help for others. the fact that he couldn't get this illness of his highlighted. that thought has driven pete and sadie and other bereaved families to design a ground—breaking education programme. you're going to love this place, man. - it's easy money. the charity gambling with lives plans to take the project to schools across the uk after it is piloted in northern ireland. it is an addiction that impacts a lot of people. the sessions have made a strong impression on these pupils in east belfast. i wasn't really sure about gambling and how addictive it could be, but now i understand it is a really bad problem. it helps maybe in the future, if someone is going through it, and you can help them. it is on your phones, on sports, everywhere you look. _ gambling is there. and their teacher thinks the topic should be a bigger part of the curriculum. it is something they were aware of as such, but not to the extent of the harm it can cause. addiction has always been covered within the pastoral curriculum, but a gambling addiction is definitely going to have to be more at the forefront. it is estimated that around 340,000 adults in great britain have a harmful gambling habit. so too do about 55,000 young people aged 16 and under. here in northern ireland, more than one in 50 adults have a gambling problem. that is four times the rate of the rest of the uk. the industry group the betting and gaming council says it has brought in measures to tackle addiction and protect children. families who have suffered the most believe their work in schools will prevent suicides. we didn't know about this. and we are going to make sure everybody does. had lewis had the education at school, i think there is a strong chance we would still have lewis with us. i am very hopeful we are going to provide something that will save lives, it is as simple as that. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page with that report. if you have been affected by any of the issues discussed, please visit bbc action line for support by searching bbc.co.uk/actionline. 2021 was a big year for space. from missions to mars, to a new era in space tourism, and a plan to knock an asteroid off course, the frontiers kept being pushed back. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle takes a look back at some of the biggest stories. in 2021, the red planet was the destination for a trio of missions, starting with the united arab emirates making history by becoming the first arab nation to put a spacecraft into orbit around mars. it is like a weight of seven years has been lifted from my shoulders on arriving to mars. i am truly looking forward to the scientific discoveries and it is really hoped this mission will impact an entire to strive to things that are even bigger. there was a first for china, too, who set a rover down on the martian terrain. nasa filmed its own dramatic landing, capturing an out of this world view of mars as its rover, called perseverance, made it to the surface. safely on the surface of mars. we cannot test it on earth. this is the first time we have had a chance, as engineers, to actually see what we designed. it is hard for me to expressjust how emotional it was and just how exciting it was. this mission is all about finding signs of ancient life, but new tech is being tested, too. this is footage of a mini mars helicopter making the first powered flight on another planet. helicopters can cover more ground, can act as scout vehicles, can go into different areas the rover can't go to and then they can do coordinated data, future manned missions to mars can utilise a drone helicopter. so there is a lot of opportunity. back on earth, in february, a flash of light filled the skies as a meteorite hurtled in from space. some of it ended up burnt into the wilcock family's driveway in gloucestershire. the space rock is so rare, some of it was put on display at the natural history museum in london. it is mind—blowing. it's in the natural history museum in london. i can't describe it. and now we have lots of people who will be able to come and see it, so it is just wonderful. why did it land on our drive? it could have landed a few metres away and landed in the hedge - and we would never have seen it. this summer took us from space rocks to space tourism. richard branson took his virgin galactic rocket plane to the edge of space. with tickets costing around a quarter of a million dollars, passengers get to experience weightlessness and taking the view. i have done some ridiculous things in my lifetime, truly, truly ridiculous. i just can't wait to experience it. it is an experience of a lifetime. billionairejeff bezos also launched his tourist rocket, new shepherd, and, on board, heading to the final frontier, the star trek actor william shatner. at 90, he became the oldest person to reach space. the most profound experience. i am so filled with emotion about what just happened. it is extraordinary. these flights are opening a new era in space tourism, but with hefty price tags, for now, they remain the preserve of the super—rich. in november, nasa embarked on a mission like no other to see if it is possible to defend the planet. the dart spacecraft is heading for an asteroid to crash into it and knock it off course. this rock doesn't pose any danger to earth, but the mission could help with any future threats. the reason we are doing this is in case we ever discover an asteroid actually headed towards earth. we want to know we can use technique to change its orbit so it does not impact earth. the spacecraft has a 7 million mile journey ahead and should reach the asteroid next autumn. and lift off. and, finally, the year ended with a spectacular launch as the james webb space telescope blasted off. the start of the most ambitious astronomy mission ever attempted. the telescope has taken 30 years to develop and is cost $10 billion. to develop and has cost $10 billion. it is so big, it had to be folded up to fit inside the rocket. now it is in space, it is starting the fiendishly difficult process of unfurling. if anything goes wrong, it's game over. the telescope is too far away to be fixed. but if it works, by next summer, we will see its first images. scientists say they could transform our understanding of the universe. it is a dazzling finale, but an amazing year in space, and one that promises so much more to come. that is fascinating. always a big year in space. at 8:30am we will be talking about that. time for the sport withjohn. no cricket that. time for the sport with john. no cricket today, please. i guess it is a turning point in the season. we know how fast the games, and potentially last night we saw one with liverpool losing to leicester. and they always say who is leading at christmas? manchester city play tonight. the gap could be nine points to manchester city. you lose something in this time. you cannot lose one match at the moment. manchester city are so good. can you see them dropping points? it could've been very different for liverpool. how often do you see this — mo salah, the league's leading goal—scorer, missing a penalty and then the follow—up? that was before substitute ademola lookman came on to score what would be the winner. definitely an off day for liverpool who lose ground in the title race — six points adrift of manchester city. i said to everybody from the leicester team after the game, "well deserved", because in the situation they are, they had to play two days ago, they had to fight through this really intense period and they did well, they did really well. if we play better, if we play like we're able to play, i think we would have been still the winner. west ham are up to fifth. they were helped by some dire watford defending as they won 4—1, ending a run of two defeats and perhaps starting to think about champions league qualification. to be talked about, you know, chance of the top four, being in europe this year, it's a big turnaround for us. and, look, we've got a long way to go. we have to try and maintain it. we have to get our standards back. 0ur performances are still not anywhere close to where they should be. but hopefully, we can get ready and be like the good teams and get better in the second half of the season. james ward prowse scored for southampton against spurs, that gave them the lead. saints had a player sent off and gave away penalty, you know who, none other than harry kane, made no mistake with his penalty, but couldn't force a winner. and norwich remain bottom, beaten 3—0 by crystal palace. jeffrey schlupp with the third for palace who move naomi 0saka's break from tennis is over — she's arrived in melbourne to defend her australian open title. four months ago, after she was beaten in the third round of the us open, she said she was stepping away from the sport indefinitely to focus on her mental health. the first grand slam of the season begins in just under three weeks. leicester tigers may be top of rugby union's premiership with ten wins from ten games, but there could be trouble behind the scenes. they've confirmed that they're being investigated for a possible breach of salary cap rules. the allegations surround historical payments for image rights, to a company that's since been shut down. leicester are said to be co—operating with the investigation. two years ago, saracens were effectively relegated from the top flight for salary cap breaches. and raheem sterling is continuing to his platform is continuing to use his platform to bring about change. today he's the guest editor on radio 4's today programme. almost six months on from the final of the euros, he's been speaking to the england manager gareth southgate about the ongoing fight against racism, and the abuse suffered by england players after the game. adam wild reports. the summer of sterling continues! they remain some of the defining sporting images of 2021. a cross for sterling! the route to the finals of the euros provoked in english football fans emotions scarcely stirred in a generation. but after such highs, some of the most crushing lows sport could offer. the racist abuse of england players, particularly on social media, prompted a wave of outrage, national soul—searching and calls again for action. people are probably intoxicated a lot of the times, say and do things, just trying to be horrible, because you want to get a reaction out of that person, or you want to get a reaction because you're angry. but at the same time, you know, you being frustrated that shouldn't resort to, you know, negative comments on someone�*s skin colour. i think what hurt me was that this was a group of players who had brought everybody together for 30 days, or whatever it was, on a brilliantjourney. now all of a sudden we're going to allow this division to happen. i wasn't happy about that at all. the racism suffered by gareth southgate�*s england's side was as southgate�*s england side was as ugly as it was depressingly familiar. earlier racist incidents, like the one in bulgaria during qualifying, helped to form the decision for players to take the knee before games. a lot of the times when, you know, the racism comes up, or something's happened, we tend to address it for that period, that five days, or that week. and then, we normally brush it up under the carpet, and things are all fine now. and when the next scenario happens, that's when we go again. 0n the whole, we just wanted to keep highlighting that. yes, there's been times that we've sat down and say, "is the message still powerful?" and we've said yes. as a group and as a collective, we try to keep that going. the tournament that began with players taking the knee, ending in vile racist abuse aimed towards them. but even then room for hope. although there was a horrible reaction that night from too many people, but still a minority, i thought there was a brilliant counter reaction, where the majority of the fans and public were saying, "we're not having this. "we're with bukaya and marcus and jadon. "so, everybody else can go and do their thing, really." it's sad we have to live through that, you know, to make it feel that way. as southgate and sterling continue to help redefine what is possible for the england national team, it's clear that for them, those aspirations now extend beyond just success on the pitch. adam wyld, bbc news. he continues to use his platform to try to continue that conversation around racism. improving social equality. i think that is something, it is interesting hearing him say that, he wants to keep that at the forefront. it is easy to say when these things happen on the football field, we have the conversation and thenit field, we have the conversation and then it goes away. raheem sterling wants to ensure that conversation is always front and centre and is continuing to be had. to try to bring about genuine change. the voice of people who say stick to football to people like him and marcus rashford. that is the criticism. some say marcus rashford and raheem sterling are trying to do more outside the game and i think it is bringing about a positive change and sending about a positive change and sending a positive message to players and everyone else. is that the today programme today? yes, this morning. early start. you can catch up with that on bbc sounds. time now to get the news, where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. charities and police are urging victims of domestic abuse not to suffer in silence over the holidays. it's estimated around 300 women and children in london are spending the festive season in refuges. last year during the pandemic domestic abuse increased by 40%, and this was when women and children were locked in with their perpetrators. and it's the same over the christmas period. lockdown gives perpetrators the perfect excuse for controlling behaviour. a driver's in hospital after receiving potentially life threatening injuries in a two—car crash near westerham. it happened yesterday morning on the a25 westerham road in limpsfield, near the golf club between 0xted and westerham. the met police say the force spent £4 million dealing with road—block protests by insulate britain between september and november. £3.1 million went on staffing, 300,000 on overtime bills and 600,000 on deploying vehicles, while surrey police and the city of london police spent more than £150,000 on overtime. new figures show international flights to and from the uk are down this year by 71% on 2019. aviation analytics firm cirium also found domestic flights fell by 60%. gatwick airport, which saw almost 26,000 flights this year, says christmas bookings are up and they're optimistic about adding more routes in 2022. the airport is hoping the government will remove pre—arrival covid test requirements in january. a nurse from kent who's administered more than 15,000 covid vaccines this year, is urging more people to come forward for their booster. it's after a drop in those getting theirjabs over christmas. 75% of people eligible for a boosterjab have had one. but lucy le vasseur from ramsgate says there's still plenty of capacity. come forward, come here, it's a great place to be, you will be well looked after, you will be in and out really quickly. things will be really well explained to you. have it. be safe — be safe for your family, and for everyone that you are with as well. let's get the weather now with kate kinsella. good morning. it is a reasonably mild start this morning, but the temperature is set to get milder still over the next few days. now this rain moves from west to east through this morning. it is a warm front. the winds are strengthening is behind it, quite a brisk south—westerly. the temperatures exceptionally mild for the time of the year, 15, 16 celsius. 0vernight will get some clear spells to start with, but then more cloud moves in. it stays pretty windy overnight. some patchy light rain, but that's about it, the temperature barely dropping. 12 or 13 celsius the minimum temperature. this mild air will stay with us through thursday and towards new year's eve as well. in fact, it stays with us into the first part of 2022. a largely cloudy day for thursday, the odd spot of rain, temperatures, like i say, similar. new year's eve, similar temperatures. even into new year's day, temperatures still in the mid—teens. i'll be back with more newsjust before seven o'clock. bye for now. hello, this is breakfast with katherine downes and dan walker. we'll be bringing you all the latest news and sport at seven o'clock. now it's time for a business year, with ben thompson, who reflects on how the uk economy, businesses and jobs have changed during the coronavirus pandemic and in the wake of brexit. 2021 has, for many people, been a long and difficult year. a year of change and uncertainty. and worry about lives and livelihoods and jobs and prospects. and early hopes of a return to something more normal have been replaced by a realisation that covid will be around for much longer than we first thought. its impact on how we live and how we work has been far more significant than feared. 0ur social lives, shopping habits and our travel plans all changed by this pandemic. and now, we are learning to live with this virus, but learning to live with its consequences will be harder — the lostjobs and the rising prices, and a big covid bill still to pay. getting back to where we were will take time and the question is, just how long will it take? since the pandemic began last year, the whole uk... the start of 2021 was not a happy new year. but we now have a new variant of the virus. we must therefore go into a national lockdown which is tough enough to contain this variant. that means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home. a rise in cases plunged the country back into a national lockdown. shops, bars and restaurants were forced to close once again. any festive cheer turned into a painful hangover. schools shut their doors. travel ground to a halt. and office workers settled down in spare rooms and on kitchen tables, to work from home once again. and for those who couldn't, an extended furlough scheme helped to prop up earnings. the scheme supported the wages of more than 11.7 million people after it launched in march 2020. but it came at a heavy price, and by the time the scheme was wound down in the summer, it had cost more than £70 billion. but even then, many firms feared it was being withdrawn too soon. many still were not able to operate at full capacity and warned that without financial help, they could be forced to close. how confident are you that you will be here this time next year? 0oh, difficult question. difficult question. i want to still be here and i'll do my damnedest to still be here. the true cost of the pandemic is still hard to calculate. as well as thejob retention scheme, there were loans and grants for businesses to help them through the worst of the crisis, the total cost hit nearly £380 billion. but that support kept the economy moving. businesses were closed and workers stuck at home, but the economy avoided another huge slump. second time around, businesses and workers had learned to better navigate the restrictions. unemployment began to fall, cushioned by the furlough scheme, but remained stubbornly high, with many still unable to get back to full—time work. prices began to rise as well, prompted by supply shortages and rising demand, as the economy began to reopen later in the year. inflation hit a ten—year high, prompting a rise in interest rates, and speculation that more could follow. gdp had fallen very sharply. lockdowns naturally did that. but we quickly saw a rebound by the second quarter, as things started to reopen. the second lockdown, businesses were able to reopen more, able to operate. factories, businesses were able to get back up and running, and we really did see that in the economic growth? exactly. the restrictions were limited to contact services, and a lot of businesses were allowed to carry on. schools were not as disrupted as they were the first time round, so various areas of the economy were allowed to continue. at the start of the year, we had unemployment at around 5.3%, about 1.8 million people. and then on top of that, we also had another fifth of the population on some form of government support, be it the furlough scheme for self—employed help and also a lot of people that fell through the gaps. but it highlights the extent of the support that was required to just bridge the gap through the lockdown period. of course, since then, unemployment has come down very sharply but all of the indicators currently suggest that the labour market is looking very strong, plenty of demand for workers and, if anything, not enough work is available, people who are skilled to fill the jobs that are out there. what happens in 2022? what will the year look like economically? we should complete the recovery in gdp terms in 2022 and there is still further catch—up because the economy would have naturally grown anyway, had it not been for the downturn. the big challenge will be higher inflation. the energy inflation that we have seen in wholesale markets has not fully fed into household sectors yet, and the increase in the energy price cap in 0ctoberwasjust10%, 11% increase, but we potentially have another 17% increase coming through in april and that will be a major shock for households when it happens. while every part of the economy continued to feel the impact of the pandemic, the hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit. and even now, it's dealing with a reintroduction of restrictions that many firms hoped were long gone. pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels all bore the brunt of lockdown rules. despite spending millions on new safety measures to protect their customers and staff. just so nice to be with people again. in april, hospitality venues were able to reopen, after a winter of lockdown. but they could only do so outdoors and, even then, there were limits on numbers. it meantjust a third of hospitality venues could trade — those that had outdoor space or a beer garden. it's nice to get together and to share what we've been doing. feels like forever that we've been able to sit down together. they are managing it quite well. you need to be out with your friends and family and do these things. - it was really challenging because you simply don't know, we did have pre—bookings and people were booking because of the social—distancing space limitations, but it still meant you had a mismatch between supply and demand — where you had an unpredictable number of people coming, very heavily weather dependent in the early part, april and may, where people would cancel their bookings very last minute because they could not sit outside. and crucially, it meant it was difficult to get staff to come back to work and recruit new staff into the industry because we could not offer them a stable career choice and we could not offer them a guaranteed set of hours for them to return to hospitality. others had to wait until may to reopen indoors. even then, it wasn't business as usual. with nervous customers staying away and many others deterred by the rule of six limits. nice to be back as a team, nice to see our regulars once again. we are down financially, we are down, but we are surviving and we hope to survive. three, two, one. cheering byjuly, nearly all remaining restrictions were lifted in england. but they came with a warning from the prime minister that life would not instantly revert to normal. but that initial excitement gave way to a realisation that the pandemic was far from over. tighter restrictions remained in wales, scotland and northern ireland. and in december, england reintroduced some rules, moving into its so—called plan b. and as 0micron cases began to rise, so did cancellations. many hospitality firms reported a slump in christmas bookings, as fears of a new wave of infection convinced customers to stay at home. michael represents the night—time industries — bars and music venues and nightclubs — and he told me firms had learned to adapt, but many struggled to stay open. there were so many confusing guidelines and rules, even things where the local authorities and police were really struggling to interpret. so for an industry that had been somewhat beleaguered, it was a very difficult time, especially economically, they were struggling. but in terms of the culture side of things and venues and nightclubs, once they were given the opportunity, they were out of the blocks because some of those youngsters were starved of those social environments and they can go out and enjoy. 850,000 new 18—year—olds came of age during that period, who were without a doubt dying to get out to grace the dance floor with whatever moves they felt were right! is it fair to say the pandemic revealed some of the failings of the industry, and businesses have taken those things, like not paying staff enough? without a doubt, we can see some of the failings and shortcomings on our side and we have work to do in terms of safeguarding and looking after staff. rates, environment, all of these key elements are going to make a difference, but we also need to invest in them. what will 2022 look like? i want to believe that 2022 will be our opportunity to take a handle on this and move forward. we need the confidence back and the uncertainty to be taken away. we need strong economic drivers to allow us to rebuild and we need tourism back without a doubt and that has got to be a huge consideration, even with new variants coming forward. like hospitality, the travel industry struggled to get off the ground this year as well. travel did start again, but with strict, fast—changing rules. february saw the introduction of hotel quarantine. uk residents returning from coronavirus hotspots abroad had to book a ten—night stay in an approved airport hotel. other foreign visitors were still off—limits. by the summer, foreign holidays were possible, at last, but with expensive tests to take and long forms to fill in, for many, a trip to the sun was still out of reach. how are you feeling about this holiday? really excited. to be going away again after these lockdowns. normally go in the holidays, something to look forward to, but i have to say, this has been a pretty stressful anxious time for everybody, so not sure i would do it again, knowing what i know from this experience. the impact of the frequently changing rules prompted anger from the industry. what we don't understand is why the uk, which has been so successful with vaccines, is expecting its vaccinated citizens travelling to portugal, coming back, to quarantine because they have already been vaccinated. so they are making it up as they go along and it is more mismanagement of the covid recovery from thejohnson government and, sadly, it has caused unnecessary disruption and stress for thousands, hundreds of thousands of british families. as the year went on, and despite the challenges, confidence began to return. bookings jumped, as airlines and passengers learned to navigate the restrictions. for many, it was their first holiday since the pandemic began. and for the travel industry, their first steps on a long road to recovery. take us back... laura is from the travel firm skyscanner. we have seen a huge change in the way the industry has approached the pandemic and we have seen resilience from both travellers and the industry in the way we have had to adapt. flexibility is something that was relatively unheard of before the pandemic and something we've all become accustomed to. like tickets and bookings and refunds? yes, flexible policies. probably a greater understanding of insurance. being able to change your plans is something that whilst not always what people have in mind, it has enabled people to feel more confident if they are thinking about going away. the industry did learn to adapt and navigate the new rules, but the arrival of 0micron, the new variant, has brought new uncertainty about how, and where, we can travel. we believe this will be a significant setback for demand this winter, real impacts on christmas, people will now cancel or postpone travel plans. and for a sector that hasn't had any revenue for 18 months, give or take a few months in the summer, it's really significant indeed. airlines don't make money in the winter, so we have a really difficult stretch ahead now. 0n the high street, there was a quicker return to something more normal. shops reopened, and shoppers — in need of a retail fix — rushed back. what have you got? a pair of trousers. i have bought my little boy three outfits, from the sales. do not show my partner this. i've had my firstjab, but i've got my mask for going into places. my firstjab. but covid has changed our habits and the shift to online gathered pace in the pandemic, and it means retailers are having to work much harder to keep us coming back to the high street. i'm so relieved that we've got here. we've been closed for around eight months out of the last 13 and how can you really run a business like that? we have an online presence, so that has been really helpful. i don't know what would have happened if we hadn't been online. 2021 was also supposed to be the year that we returned to the office en masse, finally ditching the kitchen table and zoom calls, but concerns over the roll—out of the vaccine and the need for staff to self—isolate meant that many bosses adopted a new hybrid model — some time working in the office and some time at home. we're never going to go back to working the way we used to work. people working from home 3—4 days will need 20% less space, but we won't do that if everyone is working from home on mondays and fridays, so we have got to manage that, i think, quite carefully. the implications for our town and city centres were clear. we rely heavily on the office trade. there is locations that have 5,000 people and only 140 people came to the building, so most people were working from home, or maybejust once a week coming. and that makes it really difficult. experts predicted the pandemic would change our lives in many ways, but it's brought some unexpected problems as well. not least, a lack of workers. the uk's formal exit from the eu at the start of 2021 added to the complications. many workers who left because of brexit or covid did not return. the impact was felt across industries. with a shortage of lorry drivers, abattoir butchers, fruit pickers a nd restau ra nt staff. in hospitality and retail, the hgv driver shortage caused particular problems for suppliers, especially for items shipped in from overseas. it led to empty shelves and apologies to customers. a shortage of drivers means that you might find your bins are collected a bit less frequently than they were in the past, and it's part of a wider problem across the industry of a shortage of drivers, whether that's for bins or restaurants and supermarkets. it's the perfect storm we've been talking about, so less testing through the pandemic, the exodus of eu skills as a result of brexit. we've had this thing which is about tax treatment for the industry. and we also have this ageing workforce of drivers in the uk, which we have known about for some time. but in the uk, every week, 2,000 drivers leave the industry and only 1,000 driversjoin, so we have got a real mismatch. we will talk much more about one of my favourite issues, which is bin collections, because we have talked about this before, but it is something which is so important and one of those industries we absolutely do take for granted. there were also shortages on the forecourt, petrol supplies ran dry. not because of a lack of fuel, but a lack of drivers to deliver it. it meant scenes like this were repeated across the country. shocked, how am i going to get to work? my missus is nine months pregnant and i could actually get stuck somewhere and not be able to get back. i'm on empty now, running on fumes. what are you going to do? hopefully, get home. those shortages were just the first taste of the new challenges as the economy reopens. rising demand, worker shortages, supply issues and soaring energy prices have pushed up prices in supermarkets, forecourts and in factories. shipping costs also hit record highs, as the world reopened to global trade. inflation in the uk hit a ten—year high. and as prices rise, wages aren't keeping pace, and it means a squeeze on already stretched incomes. when we talk about a standard of living and income squeeze, we mean prices are going up faster than wages, and that is what we are. and that can be unpleasant and it will be one of the biggest issues for next year. how does the chancellor respond? he is in a difficult spot because his instincts are to get the public debt down over time, and if you look at the amount of total debt in the uk, it is at £2.2 trillion. to give you an idea how much that is, if you went back to when the pyramids were being built 5,000 years ago and started spending £1 million per day, you would be about two thirds of the way through it by now. so, it's a huge number. it doesn't really matter because usually, you measure debt compared to income, the national income, and the total national debt is equal to our total national income, roughly. and that is the highest it has been for a long time. his instinct is to try and get that down. you can do that in a couple of ways — raise taxes, which he has done, or cut spending, which he has had a hard time doing during a pandemic, so what does he do next? people think, if you're going to tax the economy, you're going to stop it growing as fast. and the other big problem apart from inflation is growth. because nothing is a bigger debt killer than growth. if you haven't got that, you have got a problem, and the most recent forecasts are that the economy is not forecast to grow very fast in the years to come. what has been fascinating about this year is that all of this has happened and then, in the background, we have brexit and that has barely got a look—in, but it has had an impact. if you look back to the beginning of 2021, there was a lot of consternation that because of the new rules coming in and the fact we were not in the customs union, it would be tailbacks for trucks 50 miles long. it did not happen. the worst—case scenario, the armageddon of huge delays at the border did not happen, but having said that, there are some companies who found it much more difficult to export. it takes us to the point of, here we go again. it's all looking horribly familiar. we're sat here in december, 2021, it's very reminiscent of christmas last year. all bets are off for next year. it feels like groundhog day, but we know more than we did this time last year and we have all been through an intensive course of how to deal with a pandemic. the good news is, the economy is still growing, employees are back at work, largely, and we didn't see the massive spike in unemployment we thought we might at the end of the furlough scheme. so those are reasons to be positive. what is difficult for the economy and for the chancellor and businesses, they feel a bit reluctant to invest. am i going to build anotherfactory and hire another 5,000 people, am i going to send them on training? that's important because the higher wage, high skills economy that the government wants and that we all want, relies on business doing a lot of the heavy lifting on that in terms of investment, and business investment is still very very weak. and until we see that coming back, i think we have to be a bit cautious about how confident you are in what is going to happen to the economy. watching the resourcefulness and the resilience of business has been humbling, actually. they have actually pulled it out of the bag. and i think in many ways, business, if you look at what happened, getting food supplies in, business had a pretty good crisis and i think people realised that business was important and that it could be a force for good. and really used its ingenuity and resilience and resourcefulness to fix some problems that were really affecting society. many hoped that 2022 would notjust be a new year, but a new start, that the worst of this pandemic would be over, but the arrival of a new variant has brought new challenges. it's forced business and all of us to think again and to do things differently, but quite what that looks like still isn't clear. it is nearly seven o'clock. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. hello, here are the top stories in in london and the south east this morning. people dealing with domestic abuse over the holidays are being urged not to suffer in silence. charities say around 300 women and children in london are spending the festive season in refuges. last year during the pandemic, domestic abuse increased by 40%, and this was when women and children were locked in with their perpetrators. and it's the same over the christmas period. lockdown gives perpetrators the perfect excuse for controlling behaviour. a driver's in hospital with potentially life—threatening injuries in a two—car crash near westerham. it happened yesterday morning on the a25 in limpsfield, near the golf club between 0xted and westerham. the met police say the force spent £4 million dealing with road—block protests by insulate britain between september and november. £3.1 million went on staffing, 300,000 on overtime bills and 600,000 on deploying vehicles. international flights to and from the uk are down this year by 71% on 2019, according to new data. aviation analytics firm cirium also found domestic flights fell by 60%. gatwick airport, which saw almost 26,000 flights this year, says christmas bookings are up and they're optimistic about adding more routes in 2022. a kent nurse who's vaccinated more than 15,000 people this year is urging more people to come forward for their booster. though 75% of people eligible have had one, there's been a drop in numbers over christmas. lucy le vasseur from ramsgate says there's still plenty of capacity. come forward, come here, it's a great place to be, you will be well looked after, you will be in and out really quickly. things will be really well explained to you. have it. be safe — be safe for your family, and for everyone that you are with as well. and 350 cats in the south east have been adopted this year. the cats protection league says centres like those in eastbourne have helped hundreds of felines find their forever homes. 0ne—eyed kiki was one of the lucky ones. let's get the weather with kate kinsella. good morning. it is a reasonably mild start this morning, but the temperature is set to get milder still over the next few days. now this rain moves from west to east through this morning. it is a warm front. the winds are strengthening behind it, quite a brisk south—westerly. the temperatures exceptionally mild for the time of the year, 15, 16 celsius. 0vernight we'll get some clear spells to start with, but then more cloud moves in. it stays pretty windy overnight. some patchy light rain, but that's about it, the temperature barely dropping. 12 or 13 celsius the minimum temperature. this mild air will stay with us through thursday and towards new year's eve as well. in fact, it stays with us into the first part of 2022. a largely cloudy day for thursday, the odd spot of rain, temperatures, like i say, similar. new year's eve, similar temperatures. even into new year's day, temperatures still in the mid—teens. more from me just before half eight. good morning, welcome to breakfast with katherine downes and dan walker. 0ur headlines today. the scottish parliament is recalled amid record covid infections, but there's no extra restrictions for england before the new year. warnings of a cost of living catastrophe as families face soaring energy bills and tax rises. and in sport, look away, liverpool. the reds slip up in the title race as leicester's ademola lookman hands out a shock defeat. they hands out a shock defeat. say the show must go or many they say the show must go on but for many theatres they have had to close their doors at their busiest time. how is this impacting on the sector? i am in bromley to find out. under clear skies in scotland and northern england a touch of frost. also rain pushing northwards and eastwards and behind it it will turn very mild. all the details throughout the programme. it's wednesday, the 29th of december. our main story. the scottish parliament will be recalled this afternoon as first minister nicola sturgeon delivers an update on rising coronavirus infections. a record number of cases were also recorded in england, but there are still no plans to bring in new restrictions before new year's eve. meanwhile, the uk health security agency has said it has doubled the number of lateral flow tests available, after a group representing thousands of independent pharmacies across the uk claimed the supply was patchy. james reynolds reports. this month in scotland, there have been long queues for booster shots. but the newlyjabbed won't all be able to get together for a post—booster celebration. restrictions on large gatherings are now back in place. we need to do it, but to shut everything down at once is a wee bit hard, as well. we can go out, but not to nightclubs. i feel like now that we've got all of our vaccines, _ there is not actually. another step forward. that's all we can do. across scotland, it is table service only in pubs and bars, and no more than three households in every group. the new set of rules that have come in have just pushed everything a further step backwards. there is so much uncertainty going on. people don't know if they have jobs to come back to, or when we are going to get back to any normality. if these restrictions are to stay in scotland, someone is going to have to find furlough, because that is going to be the only way to protectjobs. we are all going to have desperately uncomfortable conversations if there is not a way of plugging the wage bill gap. wales has also imposed restrictions of its own. events are limited to 30 people indoors, 50 outdoors, and nightclubs have closed. in northern ireland, pubs, cafes and restaurants are providing table service only and no more than six people from different households will be allowed to sit together. by contrast, england has not imposed restrictions. the health secretary said people should be cautious and, if possible, celebrate new year's eve in the open air. earlier this month, the prime minister promised that every adult in england would have the chance to get their booster shot before the new year. the nhs is now messaging hundreds of thousands more people this week, urging them to get their shot and enjoy what officials call a "jabby" new year. james reynolds, bbc news. the uk government says they have doubled funding for scotland, wales and northern ireland to tackle the pandemic. we'll be joined by scotland's deputy first ministerjohn swinney at 7.10. france has reported europe's highest ever number of new daily covid cases, as the 0micron variant continues to spread rapidly. nearly 180,000 infections were reported on tuesday, and france's health minister has warned there could be 250,000 daily cases by the start of january. italy, greece and portugal also reported record rises, as well as the us with more than 440,000 new infections on monday. millions of families are facing a cost of living catastrophe next year because of soaring bills and tax rises — that's the warning from the economic thinktank the resolution foundation. the organisation predicts that from the spring, households could face a hit of £1200 a year to their incomes. we're joined now by political correspondent peter saull. this prediction is likely to put the government under pressure to do something about it. figs government under pressure to do something about it.— something about it. as ever i am here to bring _ something about it. as ever i am here to bring you _ something about it. as ever i am here to bring you festive - something about it. as ever i am here to bring you festive cheer . something about it. as ever i am i here to bring you festive cheer but the cost of living looks set to be a key theme of 2022, so this think—tank has done some sums and come up with a figure of £1200, hit it reckons the average household will have to take next year. there are three factors to this and the first being the ongoing inflationary problems, prices we pay in the shops, and the second is rising energy bills and the third is tax rises on the way, 1.25% in national insurance coming in in april. labour are piling in on this and putting pressure on the government as you say, accusing borisjohnson of a failure to act. the government said it has put an extra £4 billion into poorer households' pockets and cut the taper rate in universal credit. it says it is doing plenty already to help but i suspect we will hear plenty more about this. a merseyside police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct, after it emerged he'd shared racist and homophobic pictures. the guardian, which broke the story, also reports that he took selfies at a murder scene. an anti—corruption inquiry into the behaviour of ryan connolly uncovered several years of misdemeanours. merseyside police said connolly's behaviour was deplorable and his dismissal sent a "clear message" that any abuse of office would not be tolerated. lawyers for prince andrew have filed papers to try to stop a us civil case in which he's accused of sexual assault. the documents question whether the woman making the allegation, virginia giuffre, can bring the case in new york — saying she lives in australia rather than in the united states. prince andrew has denied all the allegations against him. new measures have been announced to try to help autistic people in england, scotland and wales into work. currently, just 22% of autistic adults are in any type of paid employment. as part of the scheme, thousands ofjob centre staff will be given specialist accessibility training, which has been created with the support of the national autistic society. for autistic people, accessibility isn't just one thing. it's about that attitude and approach and understanding of the staff working in job centres. it's about the physical environment, in terms of sensory, being able to make changes to the lights or the noise, to find somewhere quiet that autistic people can be supported in. it's also about understanding the barriers and challenges that autistic people face when they're trying to accessjobs and the jobs market. record amounts of snow has fallen in western and northern japan, blocking roads and railways and disrupting flights. thousands of homes are without power and the situation may get before it gets better, as more snowfall is forecast along the japan sea coast. rupert wingfield—hayes has more. in a normal december, this town in centraljapan might get a sprinkling of snow — a few centimetres at most. but on monday and tuesday, it was blanketed by 68cm of snow. the little town became completely gridlocked. people in this part ofjapan just don't expect this much snow and they are not really prepared for it. further north, in what japanese people call snow country, it's a different story. here, people know all about how to deal with the white stuff. but even so, the amounts that have fallen in the last few days are pretty extreme, especially for december. meteorologists say the huge snowfall has been caused by a large and extremely unstable air mass sitting over the sea ofjapan. they say there is plenty more to come over the new year. that is bad news for those about to hit the roads and railways and planes. japan is about to shut down for its biggest holiday of the year. millions of people will flood out of tokyo and other big cities heading for their ancestral home towns. this year, they may be heading into more big snowstorms, with half a metre or more of snowfall forecast in the next two days over the mountains and along the sea of japan coast. tributes have been paid to the model and transgender activist april ashley who has died at the age of 86. one of the first people in the uk to undergo gender reassignment surgery, she was made an mbe in 2012 for her campaigning work for the transgender community, after her modelling career was cut short when the sunday people outed her in 1961. in 2013, she told breakfast about some of the amazing people she had met in her life. if you go through life and you meet einstein, sirwinston if you go through life and you meet einstein, sir winston churchill, dali wants to paint you, picasso looks you over three or four times. to know all these people was extraordinary. and why i met them i will never know. it is extraordinary. and why i met them i will never know.— that was the model and transgender activist april ashley, who has died at the age of 86. here's carol with a look at this morning's weather. it is looking warm. for that bit between christmas and new year. top of the class. it is quite mild for many. in aviemore, —6. the northern half of the country had clear skies over night which is why temperatures are low. in the southern half, more cloud and rain sweeping north—eastwards and as it does it will turn milder. it is going to be milder. exceptionally mild in the next few days. especially so in england. 17 degrees we could cede today and tomorrow and the average at this stage in december is eight. this is the rain eradicating the clear skies in the north of the country. behind it, there will be cloud around with showers and some scene brightness. the wind will pick up. temperatures above average across—the—board. the average is 6—8 and we are looking at between 7—17. 17 is 63 fahrenheit. 0vernight, the weather front clears and a new one comes to the south—west with rain and another into the north west with rain. a lot of cloud. 0vernight temperatures 7—14. it is very mild again. tomorrow is messy with areas of rain and cloud. it will be breezy. the rain turning heavier through the day and temperatures once again could get up to 17 degrees. we will speak to you again in about half an hour. let's return to our top story, and as scotland reports record daily covid cases, the first minister will give an update when the scottish parliament is recalled this afternoon. nicola sturgeon has warned that cases are likely to increase. so what is the situation in scotland so far? yesterday, provisionalfigures suggested more than 9,000 people tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24—hour period. there are tougher measures in place in scotland compared to england, including one—metre social distancing for large events and hospitality venues, like theatres and museums. and table service is also required where alcohol is being served. we're joined now by scotland's deputy first minister, john swinney. thank you for speaking to us. some of the criticism levelled against the extra restrictions in scotland, you are accused of being out of step, overly cautious about 0micron. would you agree you are taking an overly cautious approach? i would you agree you are taking an overly cautious approach?- would you agree you are taking an overly cautious approach? i think we are takin: overly cautious approach? i think we are taking an — overly cautious approach? i think we are taking an appropriate _ overly cautious approach? i think we are taking an appropriate and - are taking an appropriate and cautious approach. we warned weeks ago the 0micron variant would rise significantly, increasing case numbers in scotland. we have seen rises in the numbers we have not seen before. even in the time between the period just before christmas and just after, although these are provisional figures, christmas and just after, although these are provisionalfigures, we see the average moving from just over 5000 cases a day to about 10,000 a day in the space of a week. that is an alarming increase i believe merits the restrictions we reluctantly had to apply. we believe merits the restrictions we reluctantly had to apply.- reluctantly had to apply. we have seen increased _ reluctantly had to apply. we have seen increased infection - reluctantly had to apply. we have seen increased infection numbers reluctantly had to apply. we have i seen increased infection numbers in england but the westminster government not imposing restrictions. what is it scotland are doing differently than the data that led you to this decision on restrictions? we that led you to this decision on restrictions?— that led you to this decision on restrictions? we have to take a careful look _ restrictions? we have to take a careful look at _ restrictions? we have to take a careful look at what _ restrictions? we have to take a careful look at what might - restrictions? we have to take a careful look at what might be l restrictions? we have to take a l careful look at what might be the burden and impact on the nhs and that will only become apparent over time. we know there is an increasing number of cases from 0micron and we have to watch carefully the level of hospitalisation that comes from those cases because if that is even a small proportion of very high number of cases, it will put significant pressure on the nhs. we have to makejudgments significant pressure on the nhs. we have to make judgments about what we think is the appropriate course of action. we have come to the conclusion based on evidence presented about rising numbers of cases and the likely significant impact which will arise from those cases that we need to take measures to slow the progress of 0micron. those measures have resulted in changes in arrangements for hospitality with the closure of nightclubs and encouraging people to make sure they get boosted and do that by hogmanay, and to make the progress we need to protect the population against what remains a serious condition. you population against what remains a serious condition.— serious condition. you mentioned businesses. _ serious condition. you mentioned businesses, nightclubs _ serious condition. you mentioned businesses, nightclubs closed, i businesses, nightclubs closed, restricted numbers in restaurants and in bars. we have heard from business owners this morning saying hogmanay is normally such a busy time of year and their businesses will be decimated. will there be support for those businesses? the scottish support for those businesses? tue: scottish government support for those businesses? tte: scottish government put support for those businesses? "tt2 scottish government put in support for those businesses? tt2 scottish government put in place £200 million of resources from within the scottish budget. the uk government contributed 175 million. we have £375 million of support to assist sectors through what i recognised to be a difficult period. hogmanay is an enormous celebration in scotland. we have reluctantly had to take the steps we took to make it impossible for large—scale events to take place like the edinburgh hogmanay celebration on reasonable grounds of public safety. we are putting in place financial support and will have discussions with sectors about how to distribute that to take them through what i recognised to be a difficult period, but we have to take these decisions to protect public health at a challenging moment. you to protect public health at a challenging moment. to protect public health at a challenauin moment. ., ., ., challenging moment. you will have a situation where _ challenging moment. you will have a situation where nightclubs _ challenging moment. you will have a situation where nightclubs in - situation where nightclubs in scotland will be empty and anyone wanting to go out to a nightclub on new year can simply cross the border and head to newcastle or a northern city very easily. will you have anything in place to stop people doing that? t5 anything in place to stop people doing that?— anything in place to stop people doinu that? , ., , , ., doing that? is there anything you can do? peeple _ doing that? is there anything you can do? people have _ doing that? is there anything you can do? people have to - doing that? is there anything you can do? people have to make - doing that? is there anything you i can do? people have to make their choices and follow the advice. we have the power in scotland to put in place restrictions and we have done those in what we consider to be a proportionate basis. i would discourage people doing what you suggested. i do not think it is in the spirit of the rules put forward but people are free to make their ownjudgments. what but people are free to make their own judgments. what we but people are free to make their ownjudgments. what we have but people are free to make their own judgments. what we have to recognise is 0micron is a serious threat to everyone in society and we have to take measures to protect ourselves by limiting social connections and contact and by complying with restrictions. there will be no policing _ complying with restrictions. there will be no policing of _ complying with restrictions. there will be no policing of the - complying with restrictions. there will be no policing of the border, l will be no policing of the border, there is nothing the police can do to stop people leaving scotland to celebrate in england?— celebrate in england? people are free to take _ celebrate in england? people are free to take those _ celebrate in england? people are free to take those decisions - celebrate in england? people are free to take those decisions but l celebrate in england? people are free to take those decisions but i | free to take those decisions but i discourage them, i think it is the wrong course of action to take because we have a serious situation we have to manage and we encourage everyone to play their part in addressing that. the best thing people can do is to limit social connections and to wear face coverings, to get vaccinated, to make sure they get their booster before hogmanay, and with these measures we can make a contribution in ensuring we tackle the issues and serious challenges we face. 2s, in ensuring we tackle the issues and serious challenges we face.- serious challenges we face. a final ruestion serious challenges we face. a final question about _ serious challenges we face. a final question about isolation _ serious challenges we face. a final question about isolation times, . question about isolation times, people in scotland who come into contact with someone who has covid need to isolate ten days. in england it is seven days and in the us they reduced it to five days. is there any indication that length of isolation will be cut in scotland to release the pressure building on the nhs? these huge numbers of staff going off sick we have seen. they have to stay away ten days in scotland. surely reducing the isolation period would reduce that pressure. irate isolation period would reduce that ressure. ~ ., ., , pressure. we have to be careful here. pressure. we have to be careful here- the _ pressure. we have to be careful here. the fundamental - pressure. we have to be careful here. the fundamental point. pressure. we have to be carefulj here. the fundamental point we pressure. we have to be careful - here. the fundamental point we have to address is the need to suppress the circulation of the virus. we have to take care that any steps we make in this respect are consistent with that objective. we have taken the clinical advice available that the clinical advice available that the appropriate period of isolation is ten days because that provides as much insulation as possible to suppress the circulation of the virus. we will look at data from other jurisdictions about other otherjurisdictions about other timescales other jurisdictions about other timescales put in place. i think fundamentally, the issue has to be about do we have the right time constraints in place to suppress the circulation of the virus and that should be the judgment we found decisions upon to ensure we are doing everything we can to interrupt the circulation of the virus and protect public health. john swinney, thank ou. protect public health. john swinney, thank you. scotland's _ protect public health. john swinney, thank you. scotland's deputy - protect public health. john swinney, thank you. scotland's deputy first i thank you. scotland's deputy first minister giving an update on the situation in scotland. it is that time of year when theatre is, if they go ahead, are packed with productions and it is panto season. 0h, season. oh, yes it is. but after concern about cancellations and isolating casts, have panto producers managed to put covid worries behind them? 0ur reporter matt graveling is at a theatre in bromley for us this morning. it is looking festive and showbiz down there. fire it is looking festive and showbiz down there-— it is looking festive and showbiz down there. i am. down there. are you backstage? i am. this is the backstage _ down there. are you backstage? i am. this is the backstage area _ down there. are you backstage? i am. this is the backstage area where - down there. are you backstage? i am. this is the backstage area where the l this is the backstage area where the magic happens. you do not get to see this where people run around having a costume change. what day it? nobody knows the day between christmas and new year but they often come to the pantomime. a british tradition we love and it is important to a sector which has had a couple of difficult years with the pandemic. i can put that into numbers. in 2019, uk arts and culture brought in almost £10.5 billion. christmas accounts for 20% of average annual ticket sales. advanced sales this year were down by more than half compared to 2019. luckily in the churchill theatre in bromley they have not missed too many shows post—christmas but because of the outbreak they had some of their team go off sick and could not do three shows before christmas, but other theatres in the country have been badly hit. leeds playhouse, the edinburgh playhouse, snow white in the newcastle theatre royal, some of those that suffered. when things are going on behind—the—scenes, they do not want you to know about them because the magic happens out there on the stage and we can enter stage right. we will go onto this 700 —ish capacity theatre in bromley. the churchill theatre. we will talk to a theatre producer. it must be amazing to be here under the lights but how hard has it been to get to this point? tt has it been to get to this point? tit is wonderful to be open and have the show running and welcome audiences every night to fabulous shows like classic pantomime at this time of year, but it has been challenging over the past weeks particularly, like other industries, the theatre has been hit with people being off and cast not being able to perform but we have pulled together and worked hard. whether it is former cast members coming in at the last minute, who played the role before, to deliver a fantastic performance for audiences and ensure people have a wonderful festive for audiences and ensure people have a wonderfulfestive night for audiences and ensure people have a wonderful festive night out with the family. a wonderful festive night out with the famil . , , ,, , a wonderful festive night out with thefamil. , , m, , the family. this is sleeping beauty at the churchill. _ the family. this is sleeping beauty at the churchill. there _ the family. this is sleeping beauty at the churchill. there is _ the family. this is sleeping beauty at the churchill. there is only - the family. this is sleeping beauty at the churchill. there is only one | at the churchill. there is only one sleeping beauty. she might have an understudy. if they test positive on any given day, what happens? hagar any given day, what happens? how fraaile our any given day, what happens? time" fragile our performances with that in mind? it is fragile. we have understudies but we cannot understudy the entire cast. if you lose too many people there is a point when the show cannot go on. but what we do in those circumstances is work as hard as we can to bring in new people to make sure wherever possible... the last thing anyone wants to do is close the show. but fortunately, we missed a few shows with this but we managed to get it back up and running and it is the same up and down the country. thank you. we are going inside the enchanted kingdom, the magical kingdom. it looks absolutely phenomenal. lovely pink and glitter. hopefully 700 people in here to watch the next show. i will bring in daniel. i will read you about what the government told us because there has been money given to the sector. they said, a spokesman said an unprecedented £2 billion recovery fund has given out 1.5 billion in grants and loans. do you need more? of course, we do need more as a sector, particularly the commercial theatre sector that employs the majority of people across our industry. it is the lifeblood of communities and regional venues. the other group of people who require more support are freelance people, who keep the show running, whether people putting up the set, the actors, whether it is the people doing the follow spots. they are freelance ares who can cover the cracks and it is responsibility of government to put their money where their mouth is and support these people who have suffered over the past two years. i reiterate my point. the commercial theatre sector really does require more support alongside freelancers.— really does require more support alongside freelancers. thank you. join us later _ alongside freelancers. thank you. join us later because _ alongside freelancers. thank you. join us later because we - alongside freelancers. thank you. join us later because we will- alongside freelancers. thank you. j join us later because we will catch up join us later because we will catch up with prince charming himself, and sleeping beauty, ifi up with prince charming himself, and sleeping beauty, if i can wake her up! you need true love's kiss, is that right? we will leave you to sort that out. maybe not that. you cannot do that with the mask on. time to get the news where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. with christmas seeing a surge in calls from families needing refuge from domestic abuse, charities and police are urging people not to suffer in silence over the holidays. it's estimated around 300 women and children in london are spending the festive season in refuges. last year during the pandemic domestic abuse increased by 40%, and this was when women and children were locked in with their perpetrators. and it's the same over the christmas period. lockdown gives perpetrators the perfect excuse for controlling behaviour. a driver's in hospital with potentially life threatening injuries, after a two—car crash near westerham. it happened yesterday morning on the a25 in limpsfield, near the golf club between 0xted and westerham. the met police say they spent £4 million dealing with protests by insulate britain in three months this year. between september and november, £3.1 million went on staffing, 300,000 on overtime bills, and 600,000 on deploying vehicles. new figures show international flights to and from the uk are down this year by 71% on 2019. aviation analytics firm cirium also found domestic flights fell by 60%. gatwick airport, which saw almost 26,000 flights this year, says christmas bookings are up and they're optimistic about adding more routes in 2022. a nurse from kent who's administered more than 15,000 covid vaccines this year, is urging more people to come forward for their booster. it's after a drop in those getting theirjabs over christmas. 75% of people eligible for a boosterjab have had one, but lucy le vasseur from ramsgate says there's still plenty of capacity. come forward, come here, it's a great place to be, you will be well looked after, you will be in and out really quickly. things will be really well explained to you. have it. be safe — be safe for your family, and for everyone that you are with as well. and hundreds of families across the south east adopted cats this year. cats like one—eyed kiki, who the cats protection league say is among 350 who've found forever homes. let's take a look at the weather now with kate kinsella. good morning. it is a reasonably mild start this morning, but the temperature is set to get milder still over the next few days. now this rain moves from west to east through this morning. it is a warm front. the wind is strengthening behind it, quite a brisk south—westerly. the temperatures exceptionally mild for the time of the year, 15, 16 celsius. 0vernight will get some clear spells to start with, but then more cloud moves in. it stays pretty windy overnight. some patchy light rain, but that's about it, the temperature barely dropping. 12 or 13 celsius the minimum temperature. this mild air will stay with us through thursday and towards new year's eve as well. in fact, it stays with us into the first part of 2022. a largely cloudy day for thursday, the odd spot of rain, temperatures, like i say, similar. new year's eve, similar temperatures. even into new year's day, temperatures still in the mid—teens. that's it from me for now — i will be back with more news good morning, welcome to breakfast with katherine downes and dan walker. the scottish parliament will be recalled this afternoon as first minister nicola sturgeon delivers an update on rising coronavirus infections. meanwhile, the uk health security agency has said it has doubled the number of lateral flow kits available, after a group representing thousands of independent pharmacies across the uk claimed the supply was "patchy" and they were sending people away empty handed. france has reported europe's highest ever number of new daily covid cases, as the 0micron variant continues to spread rapidly. nearly 180—thousand infections were reported on tuesday, and france's health minister has warned there could be 250—thousand daily cases by the start of january. italy, greece and portugal also reported record rises — as well as the us with more than 440—thousand new infections on monday. millions of families in the uk are facing a "cost of living catastrophe" according to a leading think tank. the resolution foundation says stalling wages, rising taxes and soaring energy bills means — from april — households face an increase in their living costs of nearly £1200. the government says it's provided more than four billion pounds worth of support for families. a merseyside police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct, after it emerged he'd shared racist and homophobic pictures. the guardian — which broke the story — also reports that he took selfies at a murder scene. an anti—corruption inquiry into the behaviour of ryan connolly uncovered several years of misdemeanours. merseyside police said connolly's behaviour was "deplorable" — and his dismissal sent a "clear message" that any abuse of office would not be tolerated. lawyers for prince andrew have filed papers to try to stop a us civil case, in which he's accused of sexual assault. the documents question whether the woman making the allegation, virginia giuffre, can bring the case in new york — saying she lives in australia rather than in the united states. prince andrew has denied all the allegations against him. record amounts of snow has fallen in western and northern japan, blocking roads and railways and disrupting flights. thousands of homes are without power, and the situation may get worse before it gets better as plenty more snowfall is forecast along the japan sea coast ahead of the new year. albums by adele, abba and ed sheeran helped vinyl sales in the uk top five million this year for the first time since 1991. abba's �*voyage' was the biggest—seller, after the swedish band took the world by surprise in september by announcing their first album of new material in more than 40 years. is it definitely voyage? i don't know. i remember _ is it definitely voyage? i don't know. i remember a - is it definitely voyage? i don't know. i remember a callum i is it definitely voyage? i don't - know. i remember a callum paterson interview at the time and they called it boy eyes. —— colin patterson. don't bring me into it! i have nothing to do with this. good morning. let's talk about liverpool. a bit of a wobble. it’s let's talk about liverpool. a bit of a wobble. let's talk about liverpool. a bit ofawobble. �*, ., ., a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. juruen a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. jurgen klonp _ a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. jurgen klonp was _ a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. jurgen klopp was very _ a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. jurgen klopp was very outspoken l a bit of a wobble. it's hard to say. - jurgen klopp was very outspoken with the fixture _ jurgen klopp was very outspoken with the fixture congestion, the number of games— the fixture congestion, the number of games played over the festive period. _ of games played over the festive period, especially adding in covid and missing players. ithink he is going to be particularly angry, — he is going to be particularly angry, particularly frustrated that last angry, particularly frustrated that iasi night— angry, particularly frustrated that last night they played leicester, one of— last night they played leicester, one of a — last night they played leicester, one of a number of games in a packed schedule, _ one of a number of games in a packed schedule, and they go and lose. it is such— schedule, and they go and lose. it is such a _ schedule, and they go and lose. it is such a crucial point of the season_ is such a crucial point of the season with matches coming thick and fast. season with matches coming thick and fast then _ season with matches coming thick and fast. then you consider they are going _ fast. then you consider they are going to — fast. then you consider they are going to be using —— losing pace with_ going to be using —— losing pace with manchester city, they are six points _ with manchester city, they are six points behind them. manchester city playing _ points behind them. manchester city playing tonight. it could be nine points — points. everyone is in the points. — everyone is in the saim boat though, surely? everyone is in the saim boat though, surel ? , . , everyone is in the saim boat though, surel ? , ., g ., ,, everyone is in the saim boat though, surel ? ,~ g surely? they are. jurgen klopp was leadin: the surely? they are. jurgen klopp was leading the augment _ surely? they are. jurgen klopp was leading the augment and _ surely? they are. jurgen klopp was leading the augment and they - surely? they are. jurgen klopp was leading the augment and they lose | leading the augment and they lose last night. leading the augment and they lose last niuht. .,, i. leading the augment and they lose last niuht. ,., last night. people say if you start complaining _ last night. people say if you start complaining about _ last night. people say if you start complaining about it, _ last night. people say if you start complaining about it, it - last night. people say if you start| complaining about it, it generates an excuse in the mind of your players. an excuse in the mind of your .la ers. , an excuse in the mind of your laers. , an excuse in the mind of your laers. players. maybe the players are thinkin: players. maybe the players are thinking about _ players. maybe the players are thinking about it. _ players. maybe the players are thinking about it. maybe - players. maybe the players are thinking about it. maybe that l players. maybe the players are i thinking about it. maybe that has become — thinking about it. maybe that has become a — thinking about it. maybe that has become a factor. you will be frustrated. fate conspiring against him and _ frustrated. fate conspiring against him and his team. good morning. it could've been very different for liverpool last night. mo salah — top scorer in the premier league — missing a penalty, and then the follow up. that would've given liverpool the lead. leicester substitute ademola lookman scored the winner, as liverpool lose ground in the title race. so often these boys gave me an opportunity to stand here and say, wow, _ opportunity to stand here and say, wow, what — opportunity to stand here and say, wow, what a game. tonight i say, wow, _ wow, what a game. tonight i say, wow, what— wow, what a game. tonight i say, wow, what a — wow, what a game. tonight i say, wow, what a game, but it's the other way! how— wow, what a game, but it's the other way! how did — wow, what a game, but it's the other way! how did it happen? i will watch it back— way! how did it happen? i will watch it back and _ way! how did it happen? i will watch it back and hopefully understand it slighiiy— it back and hopefully understand it slightly better. but it didn't look good _ slightly better. but it didn't look good it — slightly better. but it didn't look good. it didn't look good. it didn't look like _ good. it didn't look good. it didn't look like us — good. it didn't look good. it didn't look like us. and that is obviously the main — look like us. and that is obviously the main thing we have to think about— the main thing we have to think about and — change immediately. he was very ruick change immediately. he was very . uick to change immediately. he was very quick to congratulate _ change immediately. he was very quick to congratulate lester, - change immediately. he was very quick to congratulate lester, who have had their own issues. west ham were helped by some dire watford defending as they won 4—1. so much space to score as they ended a run of two defeats, and perhaps they can begin to think about champions league qualification again. james ward prowse gave southampton the lead against spurs in the first half. they did though have a player sent off as they gave away a penalty. you know who, none other than harry kane, made no mistake with his penalty, but spurs couldn't force a winner. and norwich remain bottom, beaten 3—0 by crystal palace. jeffrey schlupp finding himself in the right place to get his goal, as they move into the top half of the table. now i said i wasn't going to talk about the ashes. with the series lost and two matches still to play, england hoping now to avoid a whitewash. butjust to illustate how humiliating it's got, australia and david warner have been telling us where it all went wrong. and it all began with the first match in brisbane. we need to remind ourselves of the size and scale of what's played out. it's about, you know, then having to start welt _ it's about, you know, then having to start well. it's like us when we go to england. — start well. it's like us when we go to england, you have to start well. if to england, you have to start well. if you _ to england, you have to start well. if you don't — to england, you have to start well. if you don't start well in the series. _ if you don't start well in the series, you are up against it. that is where _ series, you are up against it. that is where last _ series, you are up against it. that is where last time when we won the first test. _ is where last time when we won the first test, put it in a great position. _ first test, put it in a great position, the confidence, your chest -ets position, the confidence, your chest gets puffed up, you have belief, so it is crucial— gets puffed up, you have belief, so it is crucial you start well. it it is crucial you start well. it didnt— it is crucial you start well. it didn't start well. the middle wasn't so good. nor was the end. we believe that there. england and manchester city footballer, raheem sterling, has said society must never let its guard down over racism in the game. sterling — who's guest editing radio 4's today programme this morning — said the country tended to address racist abuse against black players when it happened, but then "brushed it under the carpet". adam wild reports the summer of sterling continues! they remain some of the defining sporting images of 2021. a cross for sterling! the route to the finals of the euros provoked in english football fans emotions scarcely stirred in a generation. but after such highs, some of the most crushing lows sport could offer. the racist abuse of england players, particularly on social media, prompted a wave of outrage, national soul—searching and calls again for action. people are probably intoxicated a lot of the times, say and do things, just trying to be horrible, because you want to get a reaction out of that person, or you want to get a reaction because you're angry. but at the same time, you know, you being frustrated that shouldn't resort to, you know, negative comments on someone's skin colour. i think what hurt me was that this was a group of players who had brought everybody together for 30 days, or whatever it was, on a brilliant journey. now all of a sudden we're going to allow this division to happen. i wasn't happy about that at all. the racism suffered by gareth southgate's england side was as ugly as it was depressingly familiar. earlier racist incidents, like the one in bulgaria during qualifying, helped to form the decision for players to take the knee before games. a lot of the times when, you know, the racism comes up, or something's happened, we tend to address it for that period, that five days, or that week. and then, we normally brush it up under the carpet, and things are all fine now. and when the next scenario happens, that's when we go again. 0n the whole, we just wanted to keep highlighting that. yes, there's been times that we've sat down and say, "is the message still powerful?" and we've said yes. as a group and as a collective, we try to keep that going. the tournament that began with players taking the knee, ending in vile racist abuse aimed towards them. but even then room for hope. although there was a horrible reaction that night from too many people, but still a minority, i thought there was a brilliant counter reaction, where the majority of the fans and public were saying, "we're not having this. "we're with bukaya and marcus and jadon. "so, everybody else can go and do their thing, really." it's sad we have to live through that, you know, to make it feel that way. as southgate and sterling continue to help redefine what is possible for the england national team, it's clear that for them, those aspirations now extend beyond just success on the pitch. adam wild, bbc news. so there we go. raheem sterling guest editing the today programme. i guess it is another example of him using his platform to kind of bring very important conversations and messages to the fore, to have those conversations. he has been speaking a lot about his charitable foundation, which is working in brent, in manchester and where he was born injamaica as well. the idea is to improve social mobility. he wants to send out a very clear message to young black children who have hopes, have aspirations, have dreams, that they can achieve their goals. that is the key thing. the big thing for him and gareth southgate, he sees southgate as a mentor. that is key to it. having aspirationalfigures mentor. that is key to it. having aspirational figures that you can speak with, who can help you, guide you. it'sjust really speak with, who can help you, guide you. it's just really interestingly he continues to use his platform to platform to try to bring about some good. i remember speaking to him a few years ago at an fa cup final and interviewing him pitch side, because he grew up in the shadow of wembley and that inspired him as a kid, and there were some schoolchildren who had been given tickets by his foundation to come to the game for the first time. you know how footballers can glaze over when you ask them questions. when he spoke about those next generation of fans being at wembley, watching somebody who had come from where they had come from, then play for his team and his country, he came to life, because that is so important to him. to make sure people see a pathway into the game. role models. footballers are often so removed and protected and packaged that you can't get close to them. historically they have been discouraged to speak out. they should — discouraged to speak out. they should concentrate on playing football. he is absolutely bucking that trend. he has faced a lot of stinging — that trend. he has faced a lot of stinging criticism in the past. you 'ust stinging criticism in the past. you just have — stinging criticism in the past. you just have to— stinging criticism in the past. you just have to sort of take your hat off to _ just have to sort of take your hat off to him. — just have to sort of take your hat off to him, huge credit to what he's doing _ off to him, huge credit to what he's doing and _ off to him, huge credit to what he's doing and continues to do. i doing and continues to do. i have _ doing and continues to do. i have still not forgiven you for talking the cricket. t’m i have still not forgiven you for talking the cricket.— talking the cricket. i'm sorry. please forgive _ talking the cricket. i'm sorry. please forgive me. _ talking the cricket. i'm sorry. please forgive me. thank- talking the cricket. i'm sorry. | please forgive me. thank you. in the uk there are more than 1.3 million people living with brain injuries, those who've survived accidents, strokes, or sports injuries. the lake district is host to a brain rehabilitation centre, which uses outdoor activities like canoeing and fell climbing to help people recover. it's the first of its kind in the uk, and megan paterson has been to visit those it helps. a morning paddle. roger and his friends come from different parts of the uk. a few months ago they had never met, but they have all suffered significant brain injuries and they are in the lake district rebuilding their lives together. t rebuilding their lives together. i had a hip replacement, then i came home, i was walking after that. then i got upstairs at home and i had a stroke whilst i was upstairs and my wife called the ambulance. i wanted to get better quicker and i thought, i will get better quicker here. i had a serious motorcycle accident involving — had a serious motorcycle accident involving my bike and a fire engine. and at— involving my bike and a fire engine. and at last! — involving my bike and a fire engine. and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed _ and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on _ and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on the — and at last! so, yeah. —— that last! bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look— bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look at — bleed on the brain. i'm still here. i look at what i am doing? according to data, i look at what i am doing? according to data. every _ i look at what i am doing? according to data. every 90 — i look at what i am doing? according to data, every 90 seconds _ i look at what i am doing? according to data, every 90 seconds someone | i look at what i am doing? according i to data, every 90 seconds someone is admitted to hospital with a brain injury. many of those people will need some form of rehabilitation. the focus here is using the spectacular landscape to help people with brain recovery, and to help them find lost confidence. we all know that being _ them find lost confidence. we all know that being out _ them find lost confidence. we all know that being out in _ them find lost confidence. we all know that being out in that - them find lost confidence. we all| know that being out in that green space, in the fresh air, just really helps lift the mood and has a positive impact on their mental health. the culvert ethos is that nothing is impossible. we can get you out on a canoe, despite mobility issues, or cognitive issues, orany of the above. and to see those expressions on people's faces when they make it in the canoe for the first time, or complete the first summit of a file, there is nothing like it. ., , ., like it. that is evident on the water. like it. that is evident on the water- it _ like it. that is evident on the water. it has _ like it. that is evident on the water. it has really _ like it. that is evident on the water. it has really picked i like it. that is evident on the | water. it has really picked my mental health _ water. it has really picked my mental health up _ water. it has really picked my mental health up a _ water. it has really picked my mental health up a lot. - water. it has really picked my mental health up a lot. it's i water. it has really picked my . mental health up a lot. it's really good _ mental health up a lot. it's really good i'm — mental health up a lot. it's really good. i'm enjoying it. did mental health up a lot. it's really good. i'm enjoying it.— good. i'm en'oying it. did you exect good. i'm en'oying it. did you expect you — good. i'm enjoying it. did you expect you would _ good. i'm enjoying it. did you expect you would be - good. i'm enjoying it. did you expect you would be able - good. i'm enjoying it. did you expect you would be able to i good. i'm enjoying it. did you i expect you would be able to do good. i'm enjoying it. did you - expect you would be able to do this sort of thing? trio. expect you would be able to do this sort of thing?— sort of thing? no. i've proved m self sort of thing? no. i've proved myself wrong- _ sort of thing? no. i've proved myself wrong. it _ sort of thing? no. i've proved myself wrong. it is _ sort of thing? no. i've proved myself wrong. it is a - sort of thing? no. i've proved myself wrong. it is a matter i sort of thing? no. i've proved| myself wrong. it is a matter of caettin myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit- _ myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit- it _ myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit. it is _ myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit. it is all _ myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit. it is all part - myself wrong. it is a matter of getting fit. it is all part of- myself wrong. it is a matter of| getting fit. it is all part of that. are you paddling back now? banter is good. it'sjust beautiful are you paddling back now? banter is good. it's just beautiful being outdoors a lot of the time. it's like a whole new family. it's only in the deepest darkness you see all these dining —— shining stars. the these dining -- shining stars. the residential— these dining —— shining stars. the residential centre, uk first, can residential centre, ukfirst, can offerten residential centre, ukfirst, can offer ten people up to 24 weeks of rehab. 0pening was postponed due to the pandemic, but already in the first six months they have seen positive results.— first six months they have seen positive results. seeing our first participants _ positive results. seeing our first participants come _ positive results. seeing our first participants come through - positive results. seeing our first participants come through the i positive results. seeing our first - participants come through the door, for everyone involved, has been absolutely incredible. b5 for everyone involved, has been absolutely incredible.— for everyone involved, has been absolutely incredible. as well as outdoor therapy _ absolutely incredible. as well as outdoor therapy and _ absolutely incredible. as well as outdoor therapy and clinical - outdoor therapy and clinical assessments, a big part of the process is forming relationships and relearning skills like cooking, shopping and socialising. skills which help people return to independent living. brute which help people return to independent living. we have had . uestions independent living. we have had questions like, _ independent living. we have had questions like, where _ independent living. we have had questions like, where is - independent living. we have had questions like, where is your - independent living. we have had i questions like, where is your physio gym? the rehab itself, people have said, and does the rehab start? because they are just seeing this as really enjoyable. it's not until you remind them of what they have achieved in the last three weeks that they recognise, this is rehab, but in a completed different way. calvert re—connections accepts referrals from all over the country. a supporter of the new acquired brain injury bill which aims to improve care and treatment on offer, the charity hopes it can play a part in changing the national strategy on brain rehabilitation, giving more people this unique life changing treatment. it people this unique life changing treatment. . , , treatment. it has turned my life u side treatment. it has turned my life upside down. — treatment. it has turned my life upside down, it _ treatment. it has turned my life upside down, it really _ treatment. it has turned my life upside down, it really has, i treatment. it has turned my life upside down, it really has, in i treatment. it has turned my life upside down, it really has, in a| upside down, it really has, in a good _ upside down, it really has, in a good way, _ upside down, it really has, in a good way, obviously. yeah, ijust feeltitter— good way, obviously. yeah, ijust feel fitter mentally and physically. with all— feel fitter mentally and physically. with all the activities, it's great. trott, _ with all the activities, it's great. trott, trott, trott! the best thing ever— trott, trott, trott! the best thing ever done — trott, trott, trott! the best thing ever done i— trott, trott, trott! the best thing ever done. i willjust go home and live a _ ever done. i willjust go home and live a better— ever done. i willjust go home and live a better life. ever done. i will 'ust go home and live a better life.— ever done. i will 'ust go home and live a better life. megan patterson, bbc news. it is amazing what difference that kind of thing can make to everyone, getting out and doing fun stuff. carol has the weather. in parts of the uk, some mild tempered just for this time of the year? that's right. the next few days for all of the uk, temperatures will be above average. a frosty start in parts of scotland and also northern england. temperatures in aviemore sitting at —6. but we do have some rain crossing from the south—west, pushing north—east was. so for the rest of the country it is a mild start. in fact, rest of the country it is a mild start. infact, in rest of the country it is a mild start. in fact, in newquay it is still 13 degrees. this is the track that the rain has been taking, coming in from the south—west, moving north eastwards. currently some heavy bursts moving across the north channel and into south—west scotland. this will continue to move northwards for the day. behind it, things were brighten up. still areas of cloud and some showers. the wind is picking up. coming from the south—west, a mild direction. temperatures seven to 17 degrees somewhere in the south—eastern quarter. the average at this time of the north to south is six to eight. in the next few days, somewhere in england, but especially somewhere in the south—east, it is likely to hit 17, the average being about eight. through this evening and overnight we say goodbye to this band of rain. it clears the northern isles. a new one coming across north—west scotland and another one across south—west and on. a lot of cloud around. fairly breezy. look at the temperatures. a degrees in lerwick to 14 in southern england and south wales. —— 8 degrees. these would be high temperatures for daytime at this time of the year. as we head through tomorrow, we have got the rain moving eastwards across scotland, then petering out across england and wales, but for the next band,it england and wales, but for the next band, it comes from the south—west. a weather front is moving in bringing rain across parts of wales and north—west england. again, tomorrow, nine to potentially 17 degrees. way above average. that leads us into new year's eve, or hogmanay, depending on where you are from. it will be exceptionally mild. some patchy rain. this is new year's eve morning. some overnight heavy rain, which will cross northern ireland, southern scotland and northern ended. slow to clear south—east england. cloud in the north, brighterskies south—east england. cloud in the north, brighter skies in the south. still high temperatures for the time of year. if are going out in the evening, this is what you can expect towards the midnight hour. a lot of cloud, patchy rain from the west. that takes us to midnight. for the rest of the day, we have got the first band of rain crossing us. patchy rain falling behind. some brightness. breezy, particularly so in the north—west, where we'll see gales. still it is mild. gales. stillitismild. ., ~ gales. stillit is mild. ., ., ., still it is mild. thank you, carol. see ou still it is mild. thank you, carol. see you just _ still it is mild. thank you, carol. see you just after— still it is mild. thank you, carol. see you just after eight - still it is mild. thank you, carol. see you just after eight o'clock. | mild and muddy. fed up with the mud. specialist training is to be offered tojob centre staff to help more people with autism find and retain work. figures show thatjust 22 per cent of adults with the disability are in any kind of employment — and it's hoped the new scheme will help to break down barriers and create better opportunities. we're joined now by chloe smith, the minister for disabled people, health and work. good morning. give us an idea how the hunt for a job, that experience, will be different for an autistic person with this scheme? good morninu. person with this scheme? good morning. thank _ person with this scheme? good morning. thank you _ person with this scheme? good morning. thank you for - person with this scheme? good morning. thank you for having me on. this is— morning. thank you for having me on. this is a _ morning. thank you for having me on. this is a really— morning. thank you for having me on. this is a really important topic to talk about, — this is a really important topic to talk about, actually, because we know _ talk about, actually, because we know many disabled people would like to be able _ know many disabled people would like to be able to be in work and we know that even— to be able to be in work and we know that even whilst those records, vacancies— that even whilst those records, vacancies out there and prospects in the economy, we want to make sure everybody _ the economy, we want to make sure everybody is — the economy, we want to make sure everybody is part of that. it is a real passion to make sure more disabled — real passion to make sure more disabled people can be in work and to close _ disabled people can be in work and to close the gap as well between the employment of disabled people and others _ employment of disabled people and others. so we know there are particular— others. so we know there are particular things that autistic people — particular things that autistic people might be able to benefit from. _ people might be able to benefit from, both injob centres, where they— from, both injob centres, where they get— from, both injob centres, where they get support from my department, but also _ they get support from my department, but also in _ they get support from my department, but also in the workplace. that is things— but also in the workplace. that is things like — but also in the workplace. that is things like making sure that there is a quieter environment, or one with— is a quieter environment, or one with less — is a quieter environment, or one with less bright lights, for example. we work really closely with the national autistic society to understand these things and put in place _ understand these things and put in place a _ understand these things and put in place a framework for training and support— place a framework for training and support that is going through out 'ob support that is going through out job centres, and that goes hand in hand _ job centres, and that goes hand in hand with — job centres, and that goes hand in hand with what we are doing with employers, encouraging employers to take on— employers, encouraging employers to take on workers with disabilities. | take on workers with disabilities. i was take on workers with disabilities. was going take on workers with disabilities. i was going to ask you about the employment issue. we mentioned in the introduction, 22% of autistic people are currently in employment, according to the office of national statistics. we have spoken to many on this programme before, and many of them say it is a lack of understanding for what employers appreciate and what they expect from autistic people. this doesn't actually address that, does it? well, yes it does. we've worked closely— well, yes it does. we've worked closely with the national autistic society _ closely with the national autistic society to make sure that the insight — society to make sure that the insight that is needed is reflected insight that is needed is reflected in the _ insight that is needed is reflected in the framework that we are making sure applies throughout ourjob centres. — sure applies throughout ourjob centres, and then in the information and support— centres, and then in the information and support we can give to employers to help _ and support we can give to employers to help them adjust their environment as well, to be suitable for people — environment as well, to be suitable for people with autism. so, really do think— for people with autism. so, really do think this will make a difference. and it goes on top, of course, _ difference. and it goes on top, of course, as— difference. and it goes on top, of course, as i— difference. and it goes on top, of course, as i say, of huge amounts of training _ course, as i say, of huge amounts of training in_ course, as i say, of huge amounts of training in our— course, as i say, of huge amounts of training in ourjob centres, staff helping — training in ourjob centres, staff helping those disabled job—seekers, but also _ helping those disabled job—seekers, but also goes on top of the disability confident campaign that has been running for some years. and indeed _ has been running for some years. and indeed there _ has been running for some years. and indeed there is more as well. the national— indeed there is more as well. the national autism strategy goes beyond early employment into education, the need for— early employment into education, the need for early diagnosis and the right— need for early diagnosis and the right support throughout life. your -icture right support throughout life. your icture 'ust right support throughout life. your picture just froze _ right support throughout life. gm;- picture just froze there for a moment, chloe smith. we will continue the interview. we can hear you find. i wanted to talk to you a bit about more general issues. we were speaking tojohn swinney in scotland this morning and he has been talking about why there is still a ten day isolation period in scotland, which in england has been cut down to seven days. in the us it is five days for those with covid. what is the current thinking around reducing that isolation period in england, and how that would affect areas like the nhs, where there are areas like the nhs, where there are a lot of people currently off work because they are self isolating? there are no current plans in england _ there are no current plans in england to change that period. of course, _ england to change that period. of course, we — england to change that period. of course, we have only recently taken down _ course, we have only recently taken down from — course, we have only recently taken down from ten to seven, and we want to look— down from ten to seven, and we want to look at— down from ten to seven, and we want to look at that. we want to make sure _ to look at that. we want to make sure that — to look at that. we want to make sure that that is working as we believe — sure that that is working as we believe it— sure that that is working as we believe it or ought to. we believe the current— believe it or ought to. we believe the current period is the right one. we haven't— the current period is the right one. we haven't any plans to change that. will that _ we haven't any plans to change that. will that continue to be looked at? there are figures today saying 4000 nhs staff were absent because of covid last week. the total number of health workers isolating in england has risen from just over 12,000 to nearly 19,000 in the space of a week. whenever we have spoken to the government in recent months, it has always been about pressure on the health service. it would appear there is increasing pressure on the health service and not necessarily because the people who are being treated for covid, but because of staff members isolating? i do understand — staff members isolating? i do understand the _ staff members isolating? i do understand the argument, but as i said, _ understand the argument, but as i said. we _ understand the argument, but as i said, we believe it is the right thing — said, we believe it is the right thing to— said, we believe it is the right thing to do at present, to stick with— thing to do at present, to stick with the — thing to do at present, to stick with the south isolation period as it currently is, so that is seven days — it currently is, so that is seven days we _ it currently is, so that is seven days. we have only made the change to bring _ days. we have only made the change to bring it _ days. we have only made the change to bring it down from time. so we wanted _ to bring it down from time. so we wanted to— to bring it down from time. so we wanted to make sure that is working as we _ wanted to make sure that is working as we were — wanted to make sure that is working as we were expected to be. the key point _ as we were expected to be. the key point to— as we were expected to be. the key point to relieve stress here is to encourage — point to relieve stress here is to encourage everybody to get their booster— encourage everybody to get their boosterjabs. that is the main widespread way that we are going to be able _ widespread way that we are going to be able to— widespread way that we are going to be able to get through this. as i understand it, over32.5 million people — understand it, over32.5 million people are _ understand it, over32.5 million people are their booster, which is great _ people are their booster, which is great progress. so, more of that will help— great progress. so, more of that will help us see our way through these _ will help us see our way through these problems.— these problems. testing is, of course, essential— these problems. testing is, of course, essential to _ these problems. testing is, of course, essential to the i these problems. testing is, of- course, essential to the government response, in line with the booster programme. ijust wonderthis programme. i just wonder this morning, programme. ijust wonderthis morning, the association of pharmacies has told us they are having to send people away. they have talked about a party supply of lateral flow tests. what are the government are doing to make sure that testing supply remains fit for purpose, isuppose, at that testing supply remains fit for purpose, i suppose, at a time when it's so important that people are able to do these tests?- it's so important that people are able to do these tests? yes, this is able to do these tests? yes, this is a very important — able to do these tests? yes, this is a very important moment. - able to do these tests? yes, this is a very important moment. what i able to do these tests? yes, this is| a very important moment. what we able to do these tests? yes, this is i a very important moment. what we are seeing _ a very important moment. what we are seeing is _ a very important moment. what we are seeing is increased demand for testing. — seeing is increased demand for testing, which is good. it is sensible _ testing, which is good. it is sensible. that is part of people having — sensible. that is part of people having been cautious, i think, sensible. that is part of people having been cautious, ithink, and being _ having been cautious, ithink, and being sensible around christmas and around _ being sensible around christmas and around new year. we are seeing spikes— around new year. we are seeing spikes of— around new year. we are seeing spikes of demand. what we have done in response _ spikes of demand. what we have done in response to that is double the delivery— in response to that is double the delivery capacity, so we have taken action— delivery capacity, so we have taken action to _ delivery capacity, so we have taken action to make sure that people can -et action to make sure that people can get a _ action to make sure that people can get a testing kits delivered to them at home _ get a testing kits delivered to them at home. an additional method to that, _ at home. an additional method to that, of— at home. an additional method to that, of course, is going to the pharmacy _ that, of course, is going to the pharmacy. i quite understand that people _ pharmacy. i quite understand that people will be want to make sure the testing _ people will be want to make sure the testing kits— people will be want to make sure the testing kits are there, that follows on from _ testing kits are there, that follows on from people doing the right thing in being _ on from people doing the right thing in being cautious and in wanted to be tested, — in being cautious and in wanted to be tested, perhaps before big events or family— be tested, perhaps before big events or family gatherings. so, what i would _ or family gatherings. so, what i would say— or family gatherings. so, what i would say is to please persevere with either making use of your friendly— with either making use of your friendly local pharmacy, or using the delivery method on the government website. even whilst there _ government website. even whilst there have been periods of great demand — there have been periods of great demand and that, and so often we've had to— demand and that, and so often we've had to replenish the means behind the scenes— had to replenish the means behind the scenes there, that is happening and the _ the scenes there, that is happening and the delivery is occurring. chloe smith, appreciate _ and the delivery is occurring. chloe smith, appreciate your— and the delivery is occurring. chloe smith, appreciate your time. i and the delivery is occurring. (tirs smith, appreciate your time. thank you very much. have you ever been a victim of "porch piracy"? that's when a package you've had delivered is stolen from outside your home. i think somebody has been nabbed. i have. i lost a set of shelves. they were left on my porch. the guy delivered it, took a picture, said, i have left it on your porch. the picture, and when i got home there was no parcel. well, it's happened to the radio 2 presenterjeremy vine. he shared a video on twitter this week showing a thief stealing one of his parcels. you'll seejeremy�*s put his own funny words on the video. let's have a look. you can see the courier arrives and puts the package in the grey box as he's supposed to. but half an hour later, a thief arrives on his bike. he takes the parcel out of the box. he goes to the safe space. this is whatjeremy wishes he had put in the box, but he didn't. this is the master stroke, stealing of gift. he then goes to the door pretending he is delivering it. nobody answers, so he leaves with the package. if someone had opened the door, he would have said, hi, iam someone had opened the door, he would have said, hi, i am delivering a package, but since nobody comes to the door, he makes off with it instead. ., ., . . ., ., the door, he makes off with it instead. ., ., , ., . instead. yeah, according to research from citizens — instead. yeah, according to research from citizens advice, _ instead. yeah, according to research from citizens advice, germany i instead. yeah, according to research from citizens advice, germany is i instead. yeah, according to researchj from citizens advice, germany is not the only one. more than 5.5 million people across the country have had parcels lost or stolen in the last year. joining us now is anna pardoe from citizens advice. good morning. we are both very keen to speak to you this morning. i fight to speak to you this morning. i want to speak to you this morning. i want to know what _ to speak to you this morning. i want to know what i _ to speak to you this morning. i want to know what i could _ to speak to you this morning. i want to know what i could have _ to speak to you this morning. i want to know what i could have done! i to speak to you this morning. i want| to know what i could have done! you have done some research into this and it is not an uncommon problem? absolutely. sometimes it can be difficult — absolutely. sometimes it can be difficult for people to know when a parcel _ difficult for people to know when a parcel doesn't turn up, whether it has been — parcel doesn't turn up, whether it has been not delivered at all, or whether— has been not delivered at all, or whether it — has been not delivered at all, or whether it has been stolen. unless you have _ whether it has been stolen. unless you have got a camera like jeremy vine does. — you have got a camera like jeremy vine does, but we certainly know that parcel— vine does, but we certainly know that parcel is going missing is a rcatty— that parcel is going missing is a really big — that parcel is going missing is a really big problem for people. just this month we have had one person visit our— this month we have had one person visit our web — this month we have had one person visit our web page on what to do if a parcel— visit our web page on what to do if a parcel hasn't turned up once every 80 seconds — a parcel hasn't turned up once every 80 seconds. that is up 15% on last year~ _ 80 seconds. that is up 15% on last year~ it— 80 seconds. that is up15% on last year~ it is— 80 seconds. that is up 15% on last year~ it is a — 80 seconds. that is up 15% on last year. it is a big problem and one that is— year. it is a big problem and one that is growing. so year. it is a big problem and one that is growing.— year. it is a big problem and one that is growing. so what should i have done _ that is growing. so what should i have done when _ that is growing. so what should i have done when somebody i that is growing. so what should i l have done when somebody nicked that is growing. so what should i i have done when somebody nicked my parcel from my porch? it wasn't an expensive parcel. and i could easily replace itjust by going back online and clicking. what should i have reported it to the courier, or should i have reported it to the shop that i bought it from? and would i be able to get a replacement set of many shelves, which is what i had ordered and had pinched? what could i have done? in the end i did nothing and ordered another set. i think if a parcel doesn't turn up, the easiest— think if a parcel doesn't turn up, the easiest thing to do in the first instinct— the easiest thing to do in the first instinct is— the easiest thing to do in the first instinct is to contact the courier company— instinct is to contact the courier company because it mightjust be a simple _ company because it mightjust be a simple problem to resolve, the driver— simple problem to resolve, the driver is — simple problem to resolve, the driver is running late, they say it has been — driver is running late, they say it has been delivered but it hasn't yet. has been delivered but it hasn't yet but— has been delivered but it hasn't yet but if— has been delivered but it hasn't yet. but if you have any difficulty at all. _ yet. but if you have any difficulty at all, which we know it can take up to two— at all, which we know it can take up to two hours— at all, which we know it can take up to two hours to resolve a parcel problem. — to two hours to resolve a parcel problem. if _ to two hours to resolve a parcel problem, if you have any issues at all, problem, if you have any issues at all. contact— problem, if you have any issues at all, contact the retailer, because ultimately— all, contact the retailer, because ultimately it is their responsibility to make sure that you either— responsibility to make sure that you either get _ responsibility to make sure that you either get a repair ora either get a repair or a replacement. either get a repair ora replacement. what are your rights are, where — replacement. what are your rights are, where the parcel goes missing, are, where the parcel goes missing, a little _ are, where the parcel goes missing, a little bit _ are, where the parcel goes missing, a little bit complicated. it depends a little bit complicated. it depends a little _ a little bit complicated. it depends a little bit — a little bit complicated. it depends a little bit on who delivered it and also, _ a little bit on who delivered it and also, kind — a little bit on who delivered it and also, kind of the circumstances in which _ also, kind of the circumstances in which the — also, kind of the circumstances in which the parcel went missing. if you want— which the parcel went missing. if you want kind of bespoke advice, there _ you want kind of bespoke advice, there is— you want kind of bespoke advice, there is a — you want kind of bespoke advice, there is a lot of advice on the citizens— there is a lot of advice on the citizens advice website, or you can contact _ citizens advice website, or you can contact our — citizens advice website, or you can contact our consumer helpline. somebody will talk you through that. it somebody will talk you through that. it does _ somebody will talk you through that. it does feel there is regulation looming because of the pandemic and various other issues, there is a lot more ordering online going on. this is certainly an area where i would imagine criminals have been exploiting things?— imagine criminals have been exploiting things? yeah, we have been actually _ exploiting things? yeah, we have been actually calling _ exploiting things? yeah, we have been actually calling for- exploiting things? yeah, we have been actually calling for more i been actually calling for more regulation from the regulator for a number— regulation from the regulator for a number of— regulation from the regulator for a number of years now, because, as you say, these _ number of years now, because, as you say, these issues are on the rise. parcel— say, these issues are on the rise. parcel delivery is more important than it— parcel delivery is more important than it has— parcel delivery is more important than it has ever been. of these are long—standing issues that it we have been raising for a while. the been raising fora while. the regulator— been raising for a while. the regulator has now said they are proposing — regulator has now said they are proposing to strengthen people's rights _ proposing to strengthen people's rights and the complaints processes, the parcel— rights and the complaints processes, the parcel delivery companies, which should _ the parcel delivery companies, which should in_ the parcel delivery companies, which should in theory make it easier for people _ should in theory make it easier for people to — should in theory make it easier for people to get those problems solved. but they— people to get those problems solved. but they have missed a bit of an opportunity. we wanted them to issue harsher— opportunity. we wanted them to issue harsher penalties, but delivery companies for lost and damaged parcels. — companies for lost and damaged parcels, but they have decided not to do— parcels, but they have decided not to do that — parcels, but they have decided not to do that at the moment. a bit— to do that at the moment. a bit of— to do that at the moment. a bit of a _ to do that at the moment. a bit of a mixed picture. anna, thank you- _ a bit of a mixed picture. anna, thank you. principal _ a bit of a mixed picture. anna, thank you. principal police i a bit of a mixed picture. anna, i thank you. principal police manager for the citizens advice bureau. speaking to us about porch piracy. did you get your many shelves? i have and they are very useful. just to put onions on and things like that. specific onion self. stay with us, headlines coming up. good morning, welcome to breakfast with katherine downes and dan walker. 0ur headlines today. the scottish parliament is recalled amid record covid infections, but there's no extra restrictions for england before the new year. warnings of a "cost of living catastrophe" as families face soaring energy bills and tax rises. in sport, look away, liverpool. the reds slip up in the title race as leicester's ademola lookman hands out a shock defeat. it isa it is a christmas tradition but sadly because of rising covid cases many theatres and pantomimes had to close their doors. this many theatres and pantomimes had to close their doors.— close their doors. this one in ibromley _ close their doors. this one in ibromley is — close their doors. this one in bromley is going _ close their doors. this one in bromley is going ahead. i i close their doors. this one in | bromley is going ahead. i am close their doors. this one in i bromley is going ahead. i am here close their doors. this one in - bromley is going ahead. i am here to find out the impact it has had on the industry. under clear skies a cold night in parts of scotland and northern england. we have rain moving north—eastwards. behind it some cloud and some seeing brightness. the wind picking up. exceptionally mild. all the details later. it's wednesday, the 29th of december. our main story. the scottish parliament will be recalled this afternoon as first minister nicola sturgeon delivers an update on rising coronavirus infections. a record number of cases were also recorded in england, but there are still no plans to bring in new restrictions before new year's eve. meanwhile, the uk health security agency has said it has doubled the number of lateral flow tests available, after a group representing thousands of independent pharmacies across the uk claimed the supply was patchy. james reynolds reports. this month in scotland, there have been long queues for booster shots. but the newlyjabbed won't all be able to get together for a post—booster celebration. restrictions on large gatherings are now back in place. we need to do it, but to shut everything down at once is a wee bit hard, as well. we can go out, but not to nightclubs. i feel like now that we've got all of our vaccines, _ there is not actually. another step forward. that's all we can do. across scotland, it is table service only in pubs and bars, and no more than three households in every group. although they are provisional figures we see the average going from 5000 cases a day to 10,000 cases a day in the space of the week, an alarming increase which i believe merits the restrictions we reluctantly had to apply.- reluctantly had to apply. these restrictions _ reluctantly had to apply. these restrictions are _ reluctantly had to apply. these restrictions are to _ reluctantly had to apply. these restrictions are to stay - reluctantly had to apply. these restrictions are to stay in i restrictions are to stay in scotland. someone will have to find furlough _ scotland. someone will have to find furlough. that will be the only way to protect — furlough. that will be the only way to protectjobs. we will furlough. that will be the only way to protect jobs. we will have desperately uncomfortable conversations if there is not a way of plugging the wage bill gap. wales has also imposed restrictions of its own. events are limited to 30 people indoors, or 50 outdoors, and nightclubs have closed. in northern ireland, pubs, cafes and restaurants are providing table service only and no more than six people from different households will be allowed to sit together. by contrast, england has not imposed restrictions. the health secretary said people should be cautious and, if possible, celebrate new year's eve in the open air. earlier this month, the prime minister promised that every adult in england would have the chance to get their booster shot before the new year. the nhs is now messaging hundreds of thousands more people this week, urging them to get their shot and enjoy what officials call a "jabby" new year. james reynolds, bbc news. we're joined now by our scotland political correspondent david wallace lockhart. david, what will we expect to hear from the first minister today? we have seen record covid case numbers in scotland in the past days, peking on boxing day with over 11,000 positive cases. you have been speaking to the deputy first ministerjohn swinney who described the numbers as alarming. that being said, restrictions to stem transmissions in scotland only came into force on boxing day which means nightclubs are closed, table service only in hospitality if alcohol is served, and it means no big street parties for hogmanay because there are restrictions on large gatherings. i suspect rather than introduce new restrictions ministers would like to see how these restrictions that came in this weak feed into the data before making further changes although they say they are taking things day by day. one change could be on 0ne change could be on self—isolation. if you test positive in scotland you isolate ten days, as does your household. it is stricter than roles in england. nicola sturgeon has suggested she will make changes to these requirements to ease the burden on the economy so we could get an update on her thinking here when the scottish parliament is virtually recalled at tpm. == here when the scottish parliament is virtually recalled at tpm.— virtually recalled at tpm. -- at tpm this afternoon. _ france has reported europe's highest ever number of new daily covid cases, as the 0micron variant continues to spread rapidly. nearly 180,000 infections were reported on tuesday, and france's health minister has warned there could be 250,000 daily cases by the start of january. italy, greece and portugal also reported record rises, as well as the us with more than 440,000 new infections on monday. millions of families are facing a "cost of living catastrophe" next year because of soaring bills and tax rises — that's the warning from the economic think tank the resolution foundation. the organisation predicts that from the spring, households could face a hit of £1200 a year to their incomes. we're joined now by our political correspondent peter saull. peter, this prediction is likely put the government under pressure to act? the that is right and as you expect labour coming in on this with jonathan ashwood accusing boris johnson for failing to act with the catastrophe of cost of living on its way in the new year according to the labour party but the foundation did its sums and came up with the figure of £1200 as the average hit to households next year and a triple whammy is causing this, the ongoing inflationary pressure, so prices we pay in the shops. energy prices continue to go up. the energy price cap is due to go up in the new year. and there are tax rises on the way. national insurance due to go up by 1.25% largely to pay for extra services in the nhs in the short—term and ultimately pay for the government's long—term plan for social care. likely to be council tax rises on the way. it does point to a difficult few months ahead, particularly for struggling households. the government said it has put £4 billion of support in place and it cut universal credit taper rate but certainly the cost of living will be a theme in 2022. a merseyside police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after it emerged he'd shared racist and homophobic pictures. the guardian, which broke the story, also reports that he took selfies at a murder scene. an anti—corruption inquiry into the behaviour of ryan connolly uncovered several years of misdemeanours. merseyside police said connolly's behaviour was deplorable — and his dismissal sent a "clear message" that any abuse of office would not be tolerated. lawyers for prince andrew have filed papers to try to stop a us civil case in which he's accused of sexual assault. the documents question whether the woman making the allegation, virginia giuffre, can bring the case in new york — saying she lives in australia rather than in the united states. prince andrew has denied all the allegations against him. a memorial service will be held in the city of cape town later, in honour of archbishop desmond tutu, who died on boxing day. it's one of a series to take place ahead of the archbishop's funeral on saturday. 0ur south africa correspondent nomsa maseko is outside desmond tutu's home in cape town. nomsa, what can we expect to see today? the week of commemorative events in honour of desmond tutu continues and todayis honour of desmond tutu continues and today is day three of seven. we are outside the home of the archbishop where mourners continued to come in to pay respects to the man who was much loved here in south africa. at midday in soweto, there will be prayers outside his house and then here in cape town this evening, there will be an interfaith memorial service held in his honour. after that there will be an event in which desmond tutu's remains will lie in state at saint georges cathedral ahead of the saturday funeral service. . ~ ahead of the saturday funeral service. ., ,, , ., record amounts of snow has fallen in western and northern japan, blocking roads and railways and disrupting flights. thousands of homes are without power — and the situation may get worse before it gets better as plenty more snowfall is forecast along the japan sea coast ahead of the new year. no snow in great britain. in fact, anything but. it is going to be quite balmy. this morning has been cold as you can see. now we have rain pushing northwards, temperatures are slowly rising and even in aviemore it is —5 now instead of —6. rain moves north—eastwards and behind it cloud. also showers. some seeing brightness and the wind picking up. temperatures range from 7—17 today. all of us having above average temperatures which are normally 6—8 north to south in december. tonight we say goodbye to the rain clearing the northern isles and a new band sweeps into the north—west and another comes into the south—west. a lot of cloud, breezy night, very mild. 8 degrees, 10 degrees in stornoway. 14 in plymouth. these temperatures will be high and the maximum temperatures by day much less. today we start with rain in eastern scotland. it will brighten up eastern scotland. it will brighten up for you. brightening up in northern ireland. in the south, we have rain pushing northwards across wales and north—west england and again, unseasonably mild. we will see you again in half an hour, thank you. one more slice. never too much consumption over christmas. for many years, schoolchildren have had lessons on the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. now, increasing numbers of pupils are also being taught about the dangers of compulsive gambling. a group of families who lost relatives to suicide have devised a hard—hitting education programme, which they say will save lives. you may find some of this report from our ireland correspondent chris page to be upsetting. it's notjust the damage that this does to the person who has the addiction, it's the damage it does to all the family. anniversaries, birthdays, christmas, family gatherings — when he should be there, he is not. lewis keogh was a passionate sportsperson, but he kept his gambling a secret from his team—mates, friends and family. when he was 34, he took his own life. he says, "every day is a struggle. all i want is a bit of peace. please understand addiction is cruel." and that's his exact words. deep down, when he left that note for us, it really was a cry for help for others. the fact that he couldn't get this illness of his highlighted. that thought has driven pete and sadie and other bereaved families to design a ground—breaking education programme. you're going to love this place, man. i it's easy money. the charity gambling with lives plans to take the project to schools across the uk after it is piloted in northern ireland. it is an addiction that impacts a lot of people. the sessions have made a strong impression on these pupils in east belfast. i wasn't really sure about gambling and how addictive it could be, but now i understand that it is a really bad problem. it helps maybe in the future, in case someone is going through it, and you can help them. it is on your phones, on sports, everywhere you look. _ gambling is there. and their teacher thinks the topic should be a bigger part of the curriculum. it is something they were aware of as such, but not to the extent of the harm it can cause. addiction has always been covered within the pastoral curriculum, but a gambling addiction is definitely going to have to be more at the forefront. it is estimated that around 340,000 adults in great britain have a harmful gambling habit. so, too, do about 55,000 young people aged 16 and under. here in northern ireland, more than one in 50 adults has a gambling problem. that is four times the rate in the rest of the uk. the industry group the betting and gaming council says it has brought in measures to tackle addiction and protect children. families who have suffered the most believe their work in schools will prevent suicides. we didn't know about this. and we are going to make sure everybody does. had lewis had the education at school, i think there is a strong chance we would still have lewis with us. i am very hopeful we are going to provide something that will save lives, it is as simple as that. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page with that report. and with us now to talk more about this is stacey goodwin, who started gambling when she was 18. and matt gaskell, who is the clinical lead for the nhs northern gambling service. stacy, watching that report, you started gambling at 18, when you left school, but you said when you were at school you have no clue what it was about. were at school you have no clue what it was about-— it was about. absolutely nothing. i not m it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first _ it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first job — it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first job at _ it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first job at 18, _ it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first job at 18, looking i it was about. absolutely nothing. i got my first job at 18, looking for. got my firstjob at 18, looking for extra money to go out and have fun and that is where my firstjob in the bookies' and i did not know about gambling and i was launched into that environment and very quickly it turned wrong.- into that environment and very quickly it turned wrong. when you sa turned quickly it turned wrong. when you say turned wrong, _ quickly it turned wrong. when you say turned wrong, what _ quickly it turned wrong. when you say turned wrong, what was i quickly it turned wrong. when you say turned wrong, what was the i quickly it turned wrong. when you i say turned wrong, what was the time and how did you find your way out? i remembera few weeks in and how did you find your way out? i remember a few weeks in i saw people with problems. i thought £1 won't hurt on the machine. i went to another shop and won, unfortunately, on the first £1. within a few weeks i was consumed. it moved quickly from in the bookies to online, where i was able to deposit more and the next eight years i deposited everything i had. bit next eight years i deposited everything i had.— next eight years i deposited everything i had. next eight years i deposited eve hinu ihad. �* ., everything i had. at what point did ou realise everything i had. at what point did you realise you — everything i had. at what point did you realise you had _ everything i had. at what point did you realise you had a _ everything i had. at what point did you realise you had a problem i everything i had. at what point did you realise you had a problem and i you realise you had a problem and needed help, and did you feel you could talk about it? i felt especially _ could talk about it? i felt especially as _ could talk about it? i felt especially as a _ could talk about it? i felt especially as a young i could talk about it? i felt i especially as a young person could talk about it? i felt - especially as a young person and a young woman, i hid it for 5—6 years and i was in a complete mess. the first time i knew i had a problem was the first time i could not pay my bills, the first time i went into a pot of money i promised i would not, and lost my home and everything. i tried a number of things to get better. it was after a loss of 50,001 go i realised it had nothing to do with money and that is when i took this step. xtoll nothing to do with money and that is when i took this step.— when i took this step. you said you started gambling _ when i took this step. you said you started gambling at _ when i took this step. you said you started gambling at 18. _ when i took this step. you said you started gambling at 18. would i when i took this step. you said you started gambling at 18. would an i started gambling at 18. would an education programme we were looking at, in school, would it have helped you? at, in school, would it have helped ou? �* , , ., , at, in school, would it have helped you? absolutely. i was aware of the dancers you? absolutely. i was aware of the dan . ers of you? absolutely. i was aware of the dangers of drugs — you? absolutely. i was aware of the dangers of drugs and _ you? absolutely. i was aware of the dangers of drugs and alcohol - you? absolutely. i was aware of the dangers of drugs and alcohol and i dangers of drugs and alcohol and quite a conscious person. i knew what that could lead to but i was never told of the dangers of gambling and if i was more aware, i might not have gone the way i had. matt, the story we are hearing from stacey, do you find it is common, young people are coming out of school and are unaware of the dangers? it school and are unaware of the dancers? , ., ., ., . ., dangers? it is, i am afraid. we are deafinu dangers? it is, i am afraid. we are dealing with _ dangers? it is, i am afraid. we are dealing with environments - dangers? it is, i am afraid. we are dealing with environments and i dealing with environments and products— dealing with environments and products designed to exploit vulnerabilities. young people and parents _ vulnerabilities. young people and parents are not aware of them, the commercial— parents are not aware of them, the commercial gambling environment. it is important that this ground—breaking education programme is done _ ground—breaking education programme is done in _ ground—breaking education programme is done in conjunction with stricter controls _ is done in conjunction with stricter controls and reforms from the government, and it is great in northern— government, and it is great in northern ireland and on the mainland we are _ northern ireland and on the mainland we are looking closely at gambling laws and _ we are looking closely at gambling laws and regulation. it is important the education provision is done independent of any gambling industry influence. _ independent of any gambling industry influence, orthe independent of any gambling industry influence, or the perception of it. at the _ influence, or the perception of it. at the moment the gambling industry can influence and decide how much to fund and _ can influence and decide how much to fund and which providers they want to choose _ fund and which providers they want to choose which can lead to the suspicion — to choose which can lead to the suspicion of a vested interest. we need _ suspicion of a vested interest. we need greater public confidence in what _ need greater public confidence in what is _ need greater public confidence in what is provided in terms of education in schools.- what is provided in terms of education in schools. those people who are against _ education in schools. those people who are against gambling - education in schools. those people who are against gambling talk- education in schools. those people. who are against gambling talk about the fact they feel it is becoming normalised and children particularly, not necessarily targeted, but exposed to things younger and younger. that targeted, but exposed to things younger and younger.— targeted, but exposed to things younger and younger. that is right. i think younger and younger. that is right. i think that — younger and younger. that is right. i think that is _ younger and younger. that is right. i think that is the _ younger and younger. that is right. i think that is the key _ younger and younger. that is right. i think that is the key point, - younger and younger. that is right. i think that is the key point, the i i think that is the key point, the normalisation of what is a harmful environment. the 2005 gambling act was, environment. the 2005 gambling act was. in _ environment. the 2005 gambling act was, in hindsight, a mistake, and errorto— was, in hindsight, a mistake, and error to expand the provision of gambling — error to expand the provision of gambling and expose children and young _ gambling and expose children and young people to what is currently a harmful— young people to what is currently a harmful environment aspect of the gambling _ harmful environment aspect of the gambling industry, high—risk and harmful. — gambling industry, high—risk and harmful. we would like a variety of reforms _ harmful. we would like a variety of reforms to — harmful. we would like a variety of reforms to better protect young people — reforms to better protect young people particularly and the online space. _ people particularly and the online space, particularly around advertising. the way it is put across— advertising. the way it is put across is— advertising. the way it is put across is exciting, as fun, without risk. _ across is exciting, as fun, without risk. in _ across is exciting, as fun, without risk. in a — across is exciting, as fun, without risk, in a sense, endorsed often by celebrities. — risk, in a sense, endorsed often by celebrities. i— risk, in a sense, endorsed often by celebrities. i am afraid the other side celebrities. ! am afraid the other side of— celebrities. i am afraid the other side of that are millions who are affected — side of that are millions who are affected up and down the country, whose _ affected up and down the country, whose lives have collapsed around them. _ whose lives have collapsed around them. and — whose lives have collapsed around them. and as was said in your video, it is not— them. and as was said in your video, it is notjust — them. and as was said in your video, it is notjust the individual concerned but the system and network around _ concerned but the system and network around the _ concerned but the system and network around the individual whose lives are reflected in the long—term. stacey, — are reflected in the long—term. stacey. as _ are reflected in the long—term. stacey, as a recovering gambling addict, how do you find working your way through daily life and constantly seeing online, when you watch tv, particularly sport, gambling is such an insidious part of our daily lives. how do you negotiate that, knowing what you have been through? i negotiate that, knowing what you have been through?— have been through? i think it is bein: so have been through? i think it is being so aware _ have been through? i think it is being so aware of— have been through? i think it is being so aware of it, _ have been through? i think it is being so aware of it, aware i have been through? i think it is| being so aware of it, aware that have been through? i think it is i being so aware of it, aware that on tv every other advert has some form of gambling in it, and aware that if i go to a football match, i will see adverts there. being aware of that and having the right tools in place and having the right tools in place and being strong enough to say i cannot be in that environment, i might have to turn off the tv or might have to turn off the tv or might not go to that match, but it is difficult to get through when there is so much of it bombarded at you. there is so much of it bombarded at ou. �* there is so much of it bombarded at ou. ~ ., there is so much of it bombarded at ou. �* ., ., ., ~ there is so much of it bombarded at ou. ~ ., ., ., ~ , you. and on a morning like this, lots of people — you. and on a morning like this, lots of people will _ you. and on a morning like this, lots of people will be _ you. and on a morning like this, lots of people will be watching i you. and on a morning like this, i lots of people will be watching and wondering if they have a family member in that situation or maybe themselves. member in that situation or maybe themselves-— themselves. what would you say? absolutely. _ themselves. what would you say? absolutely. as _ themselves. what would you say? absolutely, as we _ themselves. what would you say? absolutely, as we say, _ themselves. what would you say? absolutely, as we say, education | themselves. what would you say? l absolutely, as we say, education is key. it can go wrong and does. it is having confidence to say yes, i think potentially there is a problem here and feeling open to speak about it and know there is help out there that will make the difference. matt. that will make the difference. matt, the government _ that will make the difference. matt, the government due _ that will make the difference. matt, the government due to _ that will make the difference. matt, the government due to look- that will make the difference. matt, the government due to look again at gambling laws. what do you think are the key points they should focus on to give people support? advertising, marketin: , to give people support? advertising, marketing, sponsorship. _ to give people support? advertising, marketing, sponsorship. the - to give people support? advertising, i marketing, sponsorship. the exposure and normalisation to young people, preventing unaffordable losses. it is not ok when you have such a harmful and addictive environment that we turn the other way and allow people to reach such a desperate point. and third, restrictions and reform of the more high—risk environments and products, particularly the casino online environment. i think i want particularly the government to focus on. . ~' particularly the government to focus on. . ~ , ., particularly the government to focus on. ., ~ ,~. ., particularly the government to focus on. ., ~ ., ., on. thank you. clinical lead and consultant _ on. thank you. clinical lead and consultant psychologist - on. thank you. clinical lead and consultant psychologist for i on. thank you. clinical lead and consultant psychologist for the | on. thank you. clinical lead and i consultant psychologist for the nhs north and gambling service and stacey, thank you for talking about your experiences. if you have been affected by any of the issues discussed, please visit bbc action line for support by searching bbc.co.uk/actionline. a woman who has been named as the uk's best bus driver says she used her experiences of family tragedy as a means to support her passengers. karen miles was crowned bus driver of the year in the uk bus and coach awards for her work during the pandemic. the 53—year—old from derbyshire says her compassion for people was prompted by the loss of her son. i lost my eldest son five years ago. he took his life. and, absolutely devastated. until then, i had never really had to deal with anything like that — i was quite fortunate. it absolutely knocked my legs from underneath me. so for me to now be able to turn that into a positive and help other people is what it's about. but we won't go there because i'm going to cry. i actually thought i had been pranked, because i knew i had been nominated, but i had not heard anything. so it was a bit of a shock. i'm checking my headlights are on, i'm checking my indicators are on. it must be such a horrible thing not to have anybody to talk to, so if i have to say hello and say goodbye and have a little conversation with them, if that makes them feel better, then so be it. it's not a price to pay, is it, really? thank you. thank you, sweetheart, have a good day. and you. ijust do myjob and i try to support my colleagues, because i have done mental health awareness training. so there has been quite a lot of that, recently. obviously, if people are feeling anxious, problems at home. it does build up. sometimes people want to just chat, or they want further help, so i can signpost them to where they need to go. it is just making everything all right for everybody else. sometimes when you come in, they don't ask you how you do, don't ask you how you are doing. it is just very much a transaction. but when you get on the bus with karen, you feel like it is more of an interaction than a transaction. when they get on and they are loaded up with shopping i am like, "are you ready for a sit down? i actually worked in an office and the people i worked with were lovely, but i couldn't see out the window and i actually fancied an office with a view. and each day it's a different view, so there we go. i did well on that one. i worked through covid. 0bviously on the red arrows, getting people back and forth, and i did quite a bit of union work, as well, making sure the drivers were safe, that we got ppe, hand sanitisers, the bus was clean, and, obviously, i got mentioned in the queen's birthday honours list. it is an honour, really is an honour. i've obviously done something right, but i don't know what. thank you to karen for sharing her story with us and congratulations on being named the uk's best bus driver. she looks like a superstar. i really lovely story. well done to herfor i really lovely story. well done to her for using i really lovely story. well done to herfor using her energy i really lovely story. well done to her for using her energy in that way. a big smile when you get on the bus... a moody bus driver causes issues. big smiles, come on, everybody. time to get the news where you are. hello, here are the top stories in in london and the south east this morning. people dealing with domestic abuse over the holidays are being urged not to suffer in silence. charities say around three hundred women and children in london are spending the festive season in refuges. last year during the pandemic, domestic abuse increased by 40%, and this was when women and children were locked in with their perpetrators. and it's the same over the christmas period. lockdown gives perpetrators the perfect excuse for controlling behaviour. a driver's in hospital with potentially life threatening injuries, after a two—car crash near westerham. it happened yesterday morning on the a25 in limpsfield, near the golf club between 0xted and westerham. the met police say the force spent £4 million dealing with road—block protests by insulate britain between september and november. £3.1 million went on staffing, 300,000 on overtime bills and 600,000 on deploying vehicles. international flights to and from the uk are down this year by 71% on 2019, according to new data. aviation analytics firm cirium also found domestic flights fell by 60%. gatwick airport, which saw almost 26,000 flights this year, says christmas bookings are up and they're optimistic about adding more routes in 2022. a kent nurse who's vaccinated more than 15,000 people this year, is urging more people to come forward for their booster. though 75% of people eligible have had one, there's been a drop in numbers over christmas. lucy le vasseur from ramsgate says there's still plenty of capacity. come forward, come here, it is a great place to be, you will be well looked after. things will be really well explained to you. have it. be safe for your family and everyone you are with. and 350 cats in the south east have been adopted this year. the cats protection league says centres like those in eastbourne have helped hundreds of felines find their forever homes. 0ne eyed kiki was one of the lucky ones. let's get the weather with kate kinsella. good morning. it is a reasonably mild start this morning, but the temperature is set to get milder still over the next few days. now this rain moves from west to east through this morning. it is a warm front. to east through this morning. the winds are strengthening behind it, quite a brisk south—westerly. the temperatures exceptionally mild for the time of the year, 15, 16 celsius. 0vernight we'll get some clear spells to start with, but then more cloud moves in. it stays pretty windy overnight. some patchy light rain, but that's about it, the temperature barely dropping. 12 or 13 celsius the minimum temperature. this mild air will stay with us through thursday and towards new year's eve as well. in fact, it stays with us into the first part of 2022. a largely cloudy day for thursday, the odd spot of rain, temperatures, like i say, similar. new year's eve, similar temperatures. even into new year's day, temperatures still in the mid—teens. that's it from me for now. i'm back with the lunchtime news at 1:30. hello, this is breakfast with katherine downes and dan walker. as new year approaches, the government has said people should celebrate and enjoy themselves but be cautious, and take a lateral flow test before going out. so how else can we stay safe as we head into 2022? let's speak one of our regular gps now, dr mohit mandiratta. good morning. i hope you have had a nice few days over christmas and heading into the new year. we had a jingle jabs last week. now we have got chabbey new year. 0h, jingle jabs last week. now we have got chabbey new year. oh, i think the picture is frozen! it is a very nice picture but i'm afraid we can't speak to the doctor at the moment. we will try to get him back later on. they have tried to make the booster programme as appealing as possible. booster programme as appealing as ossible. ,., , booster programme as appealing as ossible. , booster programme as appealing as ossible. ., booster programme as appealing as tossible. , ., possible. somebody has had some time in the ress possible. somebody has had some time in the press room _ possible. somebody has had some time in the press room to _ possible. somebody has had some time in the press room to come _ possible. somebody has had some time in the press room to come up _ possible. somebody has had some time in the press room to come up with i in the press room to come up with that. jabby new year. something else we have been talking about, squirrel attacks. before we came on air at six o'clock this morning... i came on air at six o'clock this morning- - -— came on air at six o'clock this morning... i thought this might a- eal to morning... i thought this might appeal to yom _ morning... i thought this might appeal to you. the _ morning... i thought this might appeal to you. the inside - morning... i thought this might| appealto you. the inside pages morning... i thought this might i appeal to you. the inside pages of the daily mail, a vicious rampage of the daily mail, a vicious rampage of the squirrel that went nuts. 21 injured by crazed grey that bit of the hand that fed it. we have been laughing. but 21 people have been, they have had severe bites. mrs harry is one such victim, a 54—year—old care home worker, who was leaving 29—year—old chloe's, in—bok lee when the squirrel pounced. that is in north wales. the squirrel has been euthanised, unfortunately, for him.- squirrel has been euthanised, unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now— unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now safe _ unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now safe to _ unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now safe to go _ unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now safe to go back - unfortunately, for him. sorry about that. it is now safe to go back into| that. it is now safe to go back into the garden. i'm glad we managed to bring you that's great news. we have re—established contact with the doctor. lovely to see you. hopefully the picture won't freeze again. we were talking about the booster programme and the wayjingle jabs has become chabbey new year. it does seem to be making a difference? good morninu. seem to be making a difference? good morning- sorry — seem to be making a difference? good morning. sorry about _ seem to be making a difference? good morning. sorry about the connection problems _ morning. sorry about the connection problems i— morning. sorry about the connection problems. i think the uptake of the booster_ problems. i think the uptake of the booster programme has been fantastic. the messages that have been _ fantastic. the messages that have been sent— fantastic. the messages that have been sent over the christmas period and leading it to you have really made _ and leading it to you have really made an— and leading it to you have really made an impact. equally, i have been really— made an impact. equally, i have been really pleased to see that alongside the booster programme we have had upsurge _ the booster programme we have had upsurge in _ the booster programme we have had upsurge in people getting first and second _ upsurge in people getting first and second doses. it is important not to forget _ second doses. it is important not to forget those people. there is no judgment, there is no stigma. if you hevent— judgment, there is no stigma. if you haven't had — judgment, there is no stigma. if you haven't had your vaccine yet, please come _ haven't had your vaccine yet, please come forward. everybody is now aware about _ come forward. everybody is now aware about the _ come forward. everybody is now aware about the vaccination programme, how to get— about the vaccination programme, how to get a _ about the vaccination programme, how to get a vaccine. you can call 119, where _ to get a vaccine. you can call 119, where there — to get a vaccine. you can call 119, where there are 200 languages, and there _ where there are 200 languages, and there is— where there are 200 languages, and there is a _ where there are 200 languages, and there is a national booking service through— there is a national booking service through the nhs website. please come forward _ through the nhs website. please come forward. but through the nhs website. please come forward. �* ., , ., ., , forward. but generally going really well. forward. but generally going really well- there — forward. but generally going really well. there are _ forward. but generally going really well. there are some _ forward. but generally going really well. there are some issues - forward. but generally going really well. there are some issues with l forward. but generally going really l well. there are some issues with the testing programme. we talked today to an mp about the shortage of lateral flow tests. some to an mp about the shortage of lateralflow tests. some pharmacies talking about that. quite a few people getting in contact with the people getting in contact with the people saying they can't book a pcr test in england at the moment. these sort of blockages in the testing system, i suppose it is a sign that it is being used, but if this is one of the most important tools in battling the larry's —— latest variant, it has to work more smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould auree smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould a . ree with smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould agree with that. _ smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould agree with that. the _ smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould agree with that. the uk _ smoothly, doesn't it? yeah, iwould agree with that. the uk health - agree with that. the uk health agency— agree with that. the uk health agency has apologised and are working — agency has apologised and are working to increase capacity for the testing _ working to increase capacity for the testing it — working to increase capacity for the testing. it is exactly as you said. the fact— testing. it is exactly as you said. the fact there has been a surge in demand _ the fact there has been a surge in demand for— the fact there has been a surge in demand for these lateral flow test is a reflection that people are doing — is a reflection that people are doing the right thing at this time. they— doing the right thing at this time. they are — doing the right thing at this time. they are trying to test before they see family, loved ones, whether that is over— see family, loved ones, whether that is over christmas or leaving it to the new— is over christmas or leaving it to the new year. personally i managed to book— the new year. personally i managed to book myself some lateral flow tests _ to book myself some lateral flow tests yesterday, to collect from our pharmacy~ — tests yesterday, to collect from our pharmacy. if you weren't able to get it first _ pharmacy. if you weren't able to get it first time, — pharmacy. if you weren't able to get it first time, log back in later and try to _ it first time, log back in later and try to get — it first time, log back in later and try to get that book. equally with pcr tests, most result should come through— pcr tests, most result should come through within 48 hours. i appreciate it is frustrating for everybody because they have to isolate — everybody because they have to isolate until the results come through. _ isolate until the results come through, but it is important to say if you _ through, but it is important to say if you have — through, but it is important to say if you have symptoms, you should have _ if you have symptoms, you should have a _ if you have symptoms, you should have a pcr — if you have symptoms, you should have a pcr rather than lateral flow test, _ have a pcr rather than lateral flow test. which — have a pcr rather than lateral flow test, which is for those who don't have _ test, which is for those who don't have symptoms related to covid. i am hoping _ have symptoms related to covid. i am hoping work— have symptoms related to covid. i am hoping work goes on behind the scenes— hoping work goes on behind the scenes to — hoping work goes on behind the scenes to match the demand that is there _ scenes to match the demand that is there with— scenes to match the demand that is there. with the number of omicron cases. _ there. with the number of omicron cases. more — there. with the number of omicron cases, more people are testing. how do ou cases, more people are testing. how do you feel — cases, more people are testing. how do you feel about _ cases, more people are testing. hmr do you feel about the number of days that people should be spending in isolation? in the us it is five, it isolation? in the us it is five, it is seven in england, it is still ten in scotland. i am asking you particularly with reference to nhs workers, where the number of health workers, where the number of health workers self isolating in england has gone from 12,000 to nearly 19,000 in a week. and that seems to be what is having the biggest impact on the service at the moment? oh, he has frozen again. it's very disappointing. i wanted to ask about the taj mahal in the background. i didn't know whether it was lego, a christmas present, or whether he has built it himself. i have so many questions! we will try to solve that next time. i'm sure we will get back to him at some stage, maybe not today. john, we are coming to you early today. i'm surejurgen today. i'm sure jurgen klopp today. i'm surejurgen klopp has some i'm sure jurgen klopp has some questions — i'm sure jurgen klopp has some questions you would like answered. i think he _ questions you would like answered. i think he probably knows the answer. they lost _ think he probably knows the answer. they lost to — think he probably knows the answer. they lost to leicester last night. he would — they lost to leicester last night. he would say the problem is the number— he would say the problem is the number of— he would say the problem is the number of games they have had an initial— number of games they have had an initial period of time on the issues that covid — initial period of time on the issues that covid has presented. i think he knows _ that covid has presented. i think he knows the _ that covid has presented. i think he knows the answer it is all going potentially wrong for him. they have lost ground — potentially wrong for him. they have lost ground on manchester city. six points _ lost ground on manchester city. six points it _ lost ground on manchester city. six points. it could be nine tonight, with— points. it could be nine tonight, with manchester city in action. it could've been very different for liverpool last night. mo salah — top scorer in the premier league — missing a penalty, and then the follow up. that would've given liverpool the lead. leicester substitute ademola lookman scored what would be the winner, as liverpool lose ground in the title race. so often these boys gave me the opportunity to stand here and say, wow, what a game. i thought wow, what a game, but it was the other way! how did that happen? i will watch it back and hopefully understand it slightly better. but it didn't look good, didn't look good, it didn't look like us. and thatis good, it didn't look like us. and that is obviously the main thing we have to think about and change immediately. west ham were helped by some dire watford defending, as they won 4—1. so much space to score, as they ended a run of two defeats. and perhaps they can begin to think about champions league qualification again. james ward prowse gave southampton the lead against spurs in the first half. they did though have a player sent off as they gave away a penalty. harry kane made no mistake with his penalty, but spurs couldn't force a winner. and norwich remain bottom, beaten 3—0 by crystal palace. jeffrey schlupp, finding himself in the right place to get his goal, as they move into the top half of the table. leicester tigers may be top of rugby union's premiership, with 10 wins from 10 games, but there could be trouble behind the scenes. they've confirmed that they're being investigated for a possible breach of salary cap rules. the allegations surround historical payments for image rights, to a company that's since been shut down. leicester are co—operating with the investigation. two years ago, saracens were effectively relegated from the top flight for salary cap breaches. naomi osaka's break from tennis is over — she's arrived in melbourne to defend her australian open title. four months ago, after she was beaten in the third round of the us open, she said she was stepping away from the sport indefinitely, to focus on her mental health. the first grand slam of the season begins injust under three weeks. i have broken my promise already. i said i_ i have broken my promise already. i said i would — i have broken my promise already. i said i would not refer to the ashes, but i _ said i would not refer to the ashes, but i am _ said i would not refer to the ashes, but i am going to. just to illustrate how bad it has got. engtand _ illustrate how bad it has got. england are surrendering their ashes hopes— england are surrendering their ashes hopes yesterday. 3—0 down with two matches _ hopes yesterday. 3—0 down with two matches remaining. they are hoping to avoid _ matches remaining. they are hoping to avoid a _ matches remaining. they are hoping to avoid a whitewash. now they are getting _ to avoid a whitewash. now they are getting advice on where it has all gone _ getting advice on where it has all gone wrong from australia and david warner, _ gone wrong from australia and david warner, who says it all began with that terrible performance in the first match in brisbane. it is about them having to start well. when we go to england, you have to start well. if you don't, you are up against it. that is where it last time we won the first test, put it in a great position, confidence, your chest gets puffed out and you have that belief. it is crucial you start well. no doubt his chest is pumped out at the moment. he's the rest of the australian— the moment. he's the rest of the australian team and most of the australian— australian team and most of the australian nation, really. helpful advice _ australian nation, really. helpful advice from david warner. i don't think— advice from david warner. i don't thinkjoe — advice from david warner. i don't thinkjoe root is listening. he is probably— thinkjoe root is listening. he is probably sitting in a dark room. bolt one — probably sitting in a dark room. bolt one of day one is where it went wrong. == bolt one of day one is where it went wronu. ., , bolt one of day one is where it went wron. ., , wrong. -- ball one. it is about auoin wrong. -- ball one. it is about going out _ wrong. -- ball one. it is about going out putting _ wrong. -- ball one. it is about going out putting on _ wrong. -- ball one. it is about going out putting on a - wrong. -- ball one. it is about going out putting on a decent| going out putting on a decent performance, clinging to the positive, _ performance, clinging to the positive, showing some codified. you have been positive, showing some codified. gm. have been listening to those coaches saying there were positives to take. i mean, where? irate saying there were positives to take. i mean. where?— i mean, where? we will find some. here is a positive. _ i mean, where? we will find some. here is a positive. we _ i mean, where? we will find some. here is a positive. we were - i mean, where? we will find some. here is a positive. we were talking | here is a positive. we were talking to dr moore had before. it is a lego taj mahal. he did build it himself. he is currently working on the home alone house. he is currently working on the home alone house-— alone house. there's been this amazin: alone house. there's been this amazing thing _ alone house. there's been this amazing thing with _ alone house. there's been this amazing thing with lego. - alone house. there's been this amazing thing with lego. the i alone house. there's been this - amazing thing with lego. the people are upping _ amazing thing with lego. the people are upping the anti doing bigger things~ — are upping the anti doing bigger things. we are upping the anti doing bigger thins. ~ ., ., ., ., things. we got hour max on the infinity thing — things. we got hour max on the infinity thing from _ things. we got hour max on the infinity thing from the _ things. we got hour max on the infinity thing from the marvel i infinity thing from the marvel movies. —— oursong. iwas infinity thing from the marvel movies. —— our song. i was listening to your sport. you can get the coliseum. it is 450 quid. i5 to your sport. you can get the coliseum. it is 450 quid. is he makin: coliseum. it is 450 quid. is he making the — coliseum. it is 450 quid. is he making the home _ coliseum. it is 450 quid. is he making the home alone - coliseum. it is 450 quid. is hej making the home alone house coliseum. it is 450 quid. is is: making the home alone house from a kit? , , , . , , . kit? yes. it must be massive. where do ou kit? yes. it must be massive. where do you put — kit? yes. it must be massive. where do you put these _ kit? yes. it must be massive. where do you put these things? _ kit? yes. it must be massive. where do you put these things? your - kit? yes. it must be massive. where do you put these things? your lego l do you put these things? your lego room~ _ do you put these things? your lego room. ., . , ., do you put these things? your lego room. ., . i. . . room. you wait until you are a national tv — room. you wait until you are a national tv and _ room. you wait until you are a national tv and you _ room. you wait until you are a national tv and you put - room. you wait until you are a national tv and you put it - room. you wait until you are a i national tv and you put it behind you! mr; national tv and you put it behind ou! y national tv and you put it behind ou! ~ , , ., . , national tv and you put it behind ou! g , national tv and you put it behind ou! you! my son has gutted proudly by the siaht you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of _ you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his _ you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his bed. _ you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his bed. -- _ you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his bed. -- got - you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his bed. -- got it. - you! my son has gutted proudly by the sight of his bed. -- got it. we| the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made _ the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made a _ the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made a camper— the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made a camper van - the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made a camper van out - the sight of his bed. -- got it. we have made a camper van out of. the sight of his bed. -- got it. we - have made a camper van out of lego. we are going to talk now about space. 2021 was a big year for space. from missions to mars, to a new era in space tourism, and a plan to knock an asteroid off course — the frontiers kept being pushed back. our science editor rebecca morelle takes a look back at some of the biggest stories. in 2021, the red planet was the destination for a trio of missions, starting with the united arab emirates making history by becoming the first arab nation to put a spacecraft into orbit around mars. it is like a weight of seven years has been lifted from my shoulders on arriving to mars. i am truly looking forward to the scientific discoveries and it is really hoped this mission will impact an entire generation to strive to things that are even bigger. there was a first for china, too, who set a rover down on the martian terrain. nasa filmed its own dramatic landing, capturing an out of this world view of mars as its rover, called perseverance, made it to the surface. safely on the surface of mars. we cannot test it on earth. this is the first time we have had a chance, as engineers, to actually see what we designed. it is hard for me to expressjust how emotional it was and how exciting it was. this mission is all about finding signs of ancient life, but new tech is being tested, too. this is footage of a mini mars helicopter making the first powered flight on another planet. helicopters can cover more ground, can act as scout vehicles, can go into different areas the rover can't go to and then they can do coordinated data, future manned missions to mars can utilise a drone helicopter. so there is a lot of opportunity. back on earth, in february, a flash of light filled the skies as a meteorite hurtled in from space. some of it ended up burnt into the wilcock family's driveway in gloucestershire. the space rock is so rare, some of it was put on display at the natural history museum in london. it is mind—blowing. it's in the natural history museum in london. i can't describe it. and now we have lots of people who will be able to come and see it, so it isjust wonderful. why did it [and on our drive? it could have landed a few metres away and landed in the hedge - and we would never have seen it. this summer took us from space rocks to space tourism. richard branson took his virgin galactic rocket plane to the edge of space. with tickets costing around a quarter of a million dollars, passengers get to experience weightlessness and taking the view. i have done some ridiculous things in my lifetime, truly, truly ridiculous. i just can't wait to experience it. it is an experience of a lifetime. billionairejeff bezos also launched his tourist rocket, new shepherd, and, on board, heading to the final frontier, the star trek actor william shatner. at 90, he became the oldest person to reach space. the most profound experience. i am so filled with emotion about what just happened. it is extraordinary. these flights are opening a new era in space tourism, but with hefty price tags, for now, they remain the preserve of the super—rich. in november, nasa embarked on a mission like no other — to see if it is possible to defend the planet. the dart spacecraft is heading for an asteroid to crash into it and knock it off course. this rock doesn't pose any danger to earth, but the mission could help with any future threats. the reason we are doing this is in case we ever discover an asteroid actually headed towards earth. we want to know we can use technique to change its orbit so it does not impact earth. the spacecraft has a 7 million mile journey ahead and should reach the asteroid next autumn. and lift off. and, finally, the year ended with a spectacular launch as the james webb space telescope blasted off. the start of the most ambitious astronomy mission ever attempted. the telescope has taken 30 years to develop and has cost $10 billion. it is so big, it had to be folded up to fit inside the rocket. now it is in space, it is starting the fiendishly difficult process of unfurling. if anything goes wrong, it's game over. the telescope is too far away to be fixed. but if it works, by next summer, we will see its first images. scientists say they could transform our understanding of the universe. it is a dazzling finale, but an amazing year in space, and one that promises so much more to come. it has been quite a year. it has been a fascinating year. what are the standouts for you this morning?— are the standouts for you this morninu? ~ , , morning? merry christmas as well. merry christmas _ morning? merry christmas as well. merry christmas to _ morning? merry christmas as well. merry christmas to you _ morning? merry christmas as well. merry christmas to you both. - morning? merry christmas as well. merry christmas to you both. it - morning? merry christmas as well. j merry christmas to you both. it has been _ merry christmas to you both. it has been a _ merry christmas to you both. it has been a fantastic year. i think now there _ been a fantastic year. i think now there has— been a fantastic year. i think now there has never been a better time to be _ there has never been a better time to be an _ there has never been a better time to be an astrophysicist, a space scientist, — to be an astrophysicist, a space scientist, an engineer ora scientist, an engineer or a technician. scientist, an engineer ora technician. this is 30 years of thousands— technician. this is 30 years of thousands of people's lives to get at the _ thousands of people's lives to get at the james webb telescope to launch— at the james webb telescope to launch on christmas day. of all days _ launch on christmas day. of all days and — launch on christmas day. of all days. and of course that mission is now travelling on its way out to its destination, which is! million destination, which isi million miles— destination, which is! million miles away from earth. for me as an astrophysicist, that was a fantastic culmination of so many years of effort _ culmination of so many years of effort and — culmination of so many years of effort and so many people. and my group _ effort and so many people. and my group in _ effort and so many people. and my group in bath, my collaborators around — group in bath, my collaborators around the world, will be looking coming _ around the world, will be looking coming next few months, to take data and answer— coming next few months, to take data and answer some of the questions about— and answer some of the questions about the — and answer some of the questions about the formation of galaxies, stars _ about the formation of galaxies, stars systems, and ultimately life in the _ stars systems, and ultimately life in the universe and where we originated from. for me i think as a scientist _ originated from. for me i think as a scientist that was a high point. looking — scientist that was a high point. looking at the huge feat of engineering, it was huge to achieve that _ engineering, it was huge to achieve that the _ engineering, it was huge to achieve that. the fact that we as a species can conceptualise the universe, can discover— can conceptualise the universe, can discover the — can conceptualise the universe, can discover the mathematics that describes the laws of physics and devise _ describes the laws of physics and devise these experiments, and invent the engineering and realise them. it's absolutely incredible. for many of these _ it's absolutely incredible. for many of these missions, as you had already. — of these missions, as you had already, you can't test these. you are iooking — already, you can't test these. you are looking at the james webb telescope, it will have to unfurl like a _ telescope, it will have to unfurl like a butterfly! million miles away— like a butterfly! million miles away from earth. every day the engineering team are testing part of the system. it was so exciting on christmas — the system. it was so exciting on christmas day to see that work well, the solar— christmas day to see that work well, the solar panels folding, you see the solar panels folding, you see the glint— the solar panels folding, you see the glint of sunlight on the telescope. that is the last site humanity— telescope. that is the last site humanity will have a third telescope before _ humanity will have a third telescope before it _ humanity will have a third telescope before it goes into space. there have _ before it goes into space. there have been— before it goes into space. there have been many high points. there are different ways to think about space _ are different ways to think about space we — are different ways to think about space. we have missions that we fly out and _ space. we have missions that we fly out and we — space. we have missions that we fly out and we look outwards into the universe — out and we look outwards into the universe. we have got a suite of telescopes — universe. we have got a suite of telescopes and satellite in orbit around — telescopes and satellite in orbit around the earth and look down on the earth, — around the earth and look down on the earth, that hope is to study ciimate. — the earth, that hope is to study climate, study weather and help us to do— climate, study weather and help us to do disaster mitigation, monitoring hurricanes, looking to see if— monitoring hurricanes, looking to see if they— monitoring hurricanes, looking to see if they make landfall. there is help for— see if they make landfall. there is help for humanity on earth. then there _ help for humanity on earth. then there are — help for humanity on earth. then there are those missions that go out to somewhere else like mars or asteroids — to somewhere else like mars or asteroids. currently robotic missions, but ultimately they will be humour missions in the future. -- human missions. what did you make of jeff bezos and richard branson taking off into space on their own tourist flights? lots of criticism for them. a big vanity project. they should be spending their money elsewhere, to help people on earth, rather than to put rich people into space. what do you make of that? do you think that the criticism is deserved, or do you think there are positives that can be taken from the fact that billionaires are now taking on the final frontier? i think what i would say, william shatner— think what i would say, william shatner was very eloquent with his experience and the wonderment of iooking _ experience and the wonderment of iooking at— experience and the wonderment of looking at the beauty of our planet. if it helps _ looking at the beauty of our planet. if it helps those billionaires to articulate why it is so important to protect— articulate why it is so important to protect our— articulate why it is so important to protect our planet, which is ultimately our life—support system. you can _ ultimately our life—support system. you can see — ultimately our life—support system. you can see how very thin our atmosphere is. we tend not to think of space _ atmosphere is. we tend not to think of space as — atmosphere is. we tend not to think of space as a — atmosphere is. we tend not to think of space as a rare resource, as a sustainable — of space as a rare resource, as a sustainable resource that we need to protect. _ sustainable resource that we need to protect, but there are many satellites above earth and we have a problem _ satellites above earth and we have a problem with space debris. if a nation — problem with space debris. if a nation state launches a missile and explodes _ nation state launches a missile and explodes satellite test destruction, if you _ explodes satellite test destruction, if you launch... you actually produce _ if you launch... you actually produce a _ if you launch... you actually produce a huge number of bits of 'unk produce a huge number of bits of junk that — produce a huge number of bits of junk that then continue in orbit and they cause — junk that then continue in orbit and they cause a risk for other satellites because you have accidental collisions between satellites. so the united nations come _ satellites. so the united nations come together globally to discuss how to _ come together globally to discuss how to keep that environment safer. it's a _ how to keep that environment safer. it's a risky— how to keep that environment safer. it's a risky environment anyway. but of course _ it's a risky environment anyway. but of course as— it's a risky environment anyway. but of course as we start to pollute the atmosphere with man—made debris, that then _ atmosphere with man—made debris, that then put at risk many of our space _ that then put at risk many of our space programmes and ultimately will put humans lives at risk when astronauts need to travel to other solar— astronauts need to travel to other solar system bodies. if those billionaires can come back and user experience — billionaires can come back and user experience to say, we have a planet we have _ experience to say, we have a planet we have to — experience to say, we have a planet we have to protect. we had cop26 in giasgow— we have to protect. we had cop26 in glasgow this year. we are looking at catastrophic, existential climate crisis _ catastrophic, existential climate crisis if— catastrophic, existential climate crisis. if we look at how beautiful and delicate our planet is, and look at how— and delicate our planet is, and look at how hostile planets like mars, mars _ at how hostile planets like mars, mars used — at how hostile planets like mars, mars used to have an atmosphere, it may have _ mars used to have an atmosphere, it may have been a bit like earth, i think— may have been a bit like earth, i think hopefully that will help them to articulate how important it is that we — to articulate how important it is that we work very hard to protect pianet _ that we work very hard to protect planet earth as a life—support system — planet earth as a life—support system and protect the other species that we _ system and protect the other species that we share this incredible space with _ with. carol, really with. — carol, really good to talk to you. thank you very much. professor of extragalactic astronomy and head of astrophysics at the university of bath. we need another carol at this time of the year. good morning. good morning. the temperatures this morning have been pretty low across parts of northern england and scotland. but in the south they have been really mild to start with. that's because we have had cloud and rain spilling in from the south—west. it has been progressively moving north—east was, not quite in aviemore yet. for you it is still —5. the rain is coming. it is knocking on your doorstep. you can see the track from this radar picture that it has been taking. some of it has been heavy, particularly across the north channel heading towards argyll and bute, and it will continue to journey northwards and eastwards through the morning, eventually clearing most of england, wales and northern ireland, it should brighten up, we will see some sunshine, there will still be areas of cloud with the odd shower. winds picking up with temperatures above average across the board. 70 potentially 17 degrees. the average north to south is six to 8 degrees. it is notjust today. in england we could hit 17 celsius in the south—eastern quarter. the average is eight. that is a huge difference. through this evening and overnight we say goodbye to that band of rain as it clears the northern ads. a new one comes on across north—west scotland. another one across south—west england. it will still be breezy, it will still be cloudy. overnight temperatures, eight to 14 degrees. at this date in december that is really overnight low temperatures. as we head on through tomorrow, we still have the rain in the far north of scotland. eventually it moves away. it would brighten up behind it. rain petering out across england and wales. we developed a wave on the front. it would bring in more rain in wales and north—west england. another mild day, 90 potentially 17 degrees. that leads us into new year's eve. no surprise it is going to be still exceptionally mild, still patchy rain. the overnight rain that has moved out of northern ireland will still be across central and southern scotland, and northern england. eventually that will clear from the south east of scotland and also north ended. leaving behind its own cloud, brighter skies in the south and these are the maximum temperatures 3pm. seven to 16 degrees. if you are going out in the evening of new year's eve into new year's day, this is what you can expect. through the evening there will be a fair bit of cloud. then we have got a system coming in from the west, introducing some rain. this is the midnight hour. as we move from midnight through the course of the rest of new year's day, our rain crosses from the west towards the east. forthe crosses from the west towards the east. for the show is behind it. a lot of dry weather. it is going to be blustery. potential gales lot of dry weather. it is going to be blustery. potential gates in the west. still exceptionally mild for this stage in december and the beginning ofjanuary. beginning of january. have a beginning ofjanuary. have a lovely new year. see the other side of it and enjoyed the rest of your wednesday as well. thank you. you too. i rest of your wednesday as well. thank you. you too.— rest of your wednesday as well. thank you. you too. i didn't panto. i had to look— thank you. you too. i didn't panto. i had to look after _ thank you. you too. i didn't panto. i had to look after my _ thank you. you too. i didn't panto. l i had to look after my two-year-old. i had to look after my two—year—old. my i had to look after my two—year—old. my six—year—old has. i}!(. i had to look after my two-year-old. my six-year-old has.— my six-year-old has. ok. i haven't. normally we _ my six-year-old has. ok. i haven't. normally we are _ my six-year-old has. ok. i haven't. normally we are panto _ my six-year-old has. ok. i haven't. normally we are panto growers. - normally we are panto growers. cancellations, isolating, all the same things that are affecting businesses across the country have panto produces very worried indeed. have they got on stage? let's speed to match grey fling at a theatre in bromley. will the curtain go up? not only will it go up tonight, it is aiready— not only will it go up tonight, it is already up. here we are on stage. they— is already up. here we are on stage. they know— is already up. here we are on stage. they know how lucky they are to have this performance on because so many other— this performance on because so many other theatres across the country, due to _ other theatres across the country, due to the — other theatres across the country, due to the covid pandemic, have had to close _ due to the covid pandemic, have had to close their doors. edinburgh, leeds, — to close their doors. edinburgh, leeds, newcastle, for performances like leeds, newcastle, for performances iike bed _ leeds, newcastle, for performances like bed knobs and broomsticks, white _ like bed knobs and broomsticks, white christmas, snow white, they have aii— white christmas, snow white, they have all had to cancel at least a few shillings. but not here for sleeping — few shillings. but not here for sleeping beauty, which, as you can see, _ sleeping beauty, which, as you can see, has— sleeping beauty, which, as you can see, has got— sleeping beauty, which, as you can see, has got an absolutely beautiful set. probably should speak to some of the _ set. probably should speak to some of the cast. — set. probably should speak to some of the cast, although ten minutes to nine, _ of the cast, although ten minutes to nine, stiii— of the cast, although ten minutes to nine, stillasleep, unbelievable. nine, still asleep, unbelievable. this is— nine, still asleep, unbelievable. this is the — nine, stillasleep, unbelievable. this is the best i could do for a this is the best i could do fora wander— this is the best i could do for a wander at _ this is the best i could do for a wander at this time of the morning. abracadabra... good morning! good morninu . abracadabra... good morning! good morning- you _ abracadabra... good morning! good morning. you are _ abracadabra... good morning! good morning. you are sleeping - abracadabra... good morning! good morning. you are sleeping beauty. i morning. you are sleeping beauty. her has been _ morning. you are sleeping beauty. her has been preparing _ morning. you are sleeping beauty. her has been preparing for- morning. you are sleeping beauty. her has been preparing for this - her has been preparing for this during — her has been preparing for this during the pandemic? it her has been preparing for this during the pandemic?- her has been preparing for this during the pandemic? it has been intense but _ during the pandemic? it has been intense but a _ during the pandemic? it has been intense but a wonderful— during the pandemic? it has been intense but a wonderful intense. l during the pandemic? it has been i intense but a wonderful intense. for all of— intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us _ intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us to— intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us to come _ intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us to come together, - intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us to come together, to - intense but a wonderful intense. for all of us to come together, to bringl all of us to come together, to bring the magic— all of us to come together, to bring the magic during _ all of us to come together, to bring the magic during the _ all of us to come together, to bring the magic during the season, - all of us to come together, to bring the magic during the season, has i the magic during the season, has been _ the magic during the season, has been wonderful. _ the magic during the season, has been wonderful. of— the magic during the season, has been wonderful.— the magic during the season, has been wonderful. of course, you get uuite been wonderful. of course, you get quite intimate _ been wonderful. of course, you get quite intimate with _ been wonderful. of course, you get quite intimate with prince - been wonderful. of course, you get| quite intimate with prince charming. two metre _ quite intimate with prince charming. two metre distancing etc. what measures — two metre distancing etc. what measures are in place? lots two metre distancing etc. what measures are in place?- measures are in place? lots of measures- _ measures are in place? lots of measures. before _ measures are in place? lots of measures. before we - measures are in place? lots of measures. before we come - measures are in place? lots of| measures. before we come into rehearsal, — measures. before we come into rehearsal, when _ measures. before we come into rehearsal, when we _ measures. before we come into rehearsal, when we are - measures. before we come into i rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come _ rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come before — rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come before coming _ rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come before coming into - rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come before coming into the... . rehearsal, when we are rehearsing come before coming into the... ii come before coming into the... i can't _ come before coming into the... i can't talk— come before coming into the... i can't taik this _ come before coming into the... i can't talk this morning! - come before coming into the... i can't talk this morning! before i can't talk this morning! before coming — can't talk this morning! before coming into— can't talk this morning! before coming into the _ can't talk this morning! before coming into the theatre - can't talk this morning! before coming into the theatre we - can't talk this morning! before i coming into the theatre we have can't talk this morning! before - coming into the theatre we have to test every — coming into the theatre we have to test every day, _ coming into the theatre we have to test every day, just _ coming into the theatre we have to test every day, just to _ coming into the theatre we have to test every day, just to make - coming into the theatre we have to test every day, just to make sure l test every day, just to make sure that we _ test every day, just to make sure that we are — test every day, just to make sure that we are all _ test every day, just to make sure that we are all clear— test every day, just to make sure that we are all clear and... - test every day, just to make sure that we are all clear and... we i test every day, just to make sure i that we are all clear and... we are all back— that we are all clear and... we are all back finally— that we are all clear and... we are all back finally together. _ that we are all clear and... we are all back finally together. it - that we are all clear and... we are all back finally together. it has i all back finally together. it has been _ all back finally together. it has been wonderful. _ all back finally together. it has been wonderful.— all back finally together. it has been wonderful. . . , . . ~' , ., been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much- — been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much- i — been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much- i can _ been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much. i can tell— been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much. i can tell you _ been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much. i can tell you that - been wonderful. fantastic. thank you very much. i can tell you that in i very much. i can tell you that in 2019. _ very much. i can tell you that in 2019. over— very much. i can tell you that in 2019, over £10.5 billion, the arts and culture — 2019, over £10.5 billion, the arts and culture industry brought into the uk — and culture industry brought into the uk. very important of these shows— the uk. very important of these shows keep going. let's bring in prince _ shows keep going. let's bring in prince charming, lee mead, no stranger— prince charming, lee mead, no stranger to— prince charming, lee mead, no stranger to the theatre. this is not 'ust stranger to the theatre. this is not just about — stranger to the theatre. this is not just about the stars. only people does _ just about the stars. only people does it— just about the stars. only people does it take to this happen? quite a few hundred — does it take to this happen? quite a few hundred people. _ does it take to this happen? quite a few hundred people. all _ does it take to this happen? quite a few hundred people. all the - few hundred people. all the wardrobe. _ few hundred people. all the wardrobe, the _ few hundred people. all the wardrobe, the sound, - few hundred people. all the wardrobe, the sound, the i few hundred people. all the i wardrobe, the sound, the crew, few hundred people. all the - wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, — wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, hundreds _ wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, hundreds of _ wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, hundreds ofjobs - wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, hundreds ofjobs to i wardrobe, the sound, the crew, the carpenters, hundreds ofjobs to put| carpenters, hundreds ofjobs to put one show— carpenters, hundreds ofjobs to put one show on — carpenters, hundreds ofjobs to put one show on. still— carpenters, hundreds of 'obs to put show o— one show on. still tickets left for toda , one show on. still tickets left for today. one _ one show on. still tickets left for today, one o'clock— one show on. still tickets left for today, one o'clock and _ one show on. still tickets left for today, one o'clock and five i one show on. still tickets left for i today, one o'clock and five o'clock? that is _ today, one o'clock and five o'clock? that is very — today, one o'clock and five o'clock? that is very true. one o'clock today and a _ that is very true. one o'clock today and a five _ that is very true. one o'clock today and a five o'clock— that is very true. one o'clock today and a five o'clock show— that is very true. one o'clock today and a five o'clock show tonight. i that is very true. one o'clock today and a five o'clock show tonight. wej and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight— and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight shows _ and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight shows left. _ and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight shows left. it _ and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight shows left. it has- and a five o'clock show tonight. we have eight shows left. it has been. have eight shows left. it has been great _ have eight shows left. it has been great to— have eight shows left. it has been great to be — have eight shows left. it has been great to be back _ have eight shows left. it has been great to be back doing _ have eight shows left. it has been great to be back doing it. - great to be back doing it. briiiiant~ _ great to be back doing it. brilliant. there _ great to be back doing it. brilliant. there you i great to be back doing it. brilliant. there you go. if great to be back doing it. i brilliant. there you go. if you fancy— brilliant. there you go. if you fancy seeing claude delia and lee, come _ fancy seeing claude delia and lee, come down here to bromley. a fantastic— come down here to bromley. a fantastic set. support culture and the arts— fantastic set. support culture and the arts at— fantastic set. support culture and the arts at a time when they really needed _ thank you. it has been lovely. not enou:h thank you. it has been lovely. iifrit enough thigh slapping for me. you're watching bbc breakfast. it's 8.59. this is bbc news. the headlines... the scottish parliament is recalled amid record numbers of covid infections. the issue has to be about do we have the right time constraints in place to suppress the circulation of the virus? borisjohnson is under pressure to follow the united states and halve the covid self—isolation period from ten days to five. the us and several european countries including france, italy and portugal record their highest daily rises in covid infections since the pandemic began. soaring energy bills, rising taxes and stagnant wages will leave millions of families struggling in 2022, according to a leading think tank. sterling! england and manchester city footballer raheem sterling says