£500,000 after winning the pdc darts championship. good morning. it is a cold start to the day, frosty for some of us, the risk of ice in the northern half of the country, and some snow showers in the west but heavier snow with the potential for drifting and blizzards in the higher rate in northern scotland. it's tuesday the 4th of january. prince andrew's legal team will today try to convince a new yorkjudge to throw out a civil case brought by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. the duke has consistently denied the claims. it follows the release of a document that shows virginia giuffre was paid $500,000 in exchange for committing not to sue anyone connected to the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. here's our legal correspondent dominic casciani. a woman making the gravest of allegations. the unprecedented defendant, a prince of the realm. and now, a day of critical court hearings for both virginia giuffre and the duke of york. she says she was sexually exploited by the man on the right, jeffrey epstein. ms giuffre, then known as roberts, said epstein coerced the then teenager into abuse by prince andrew. alleged events 20 years ago, but today's new york hearing focuses on the 2009 legal document. back then, ms giuffre, seen here at court in new york, accepted $500,000 to end her original case against epstein. in the settlement, virginia giuffre agreed to release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge epstein from further claims. the wording goes on to cover any other person who could have been a potential defendant. it's so wide, she promises not to bring any further case dating from the beginning of the world. prince andrew's lawyers say that means he can't be sued. but one lawyer who's represented some of epstein's alleged victims says it's too vague to be enforceable. this is one of the most bizarre pieces of a settlement agreement i have ever seen. i just cannot believe that a court would say, well, anyone who has wronged virginia, who was associated with epstein, is now released from liability. i mean, that would fly in the face of what our laws are now trying to do, which is open up claims for sexual abuse victims, allow them to come forward even years later, and bring perpetrators to justice. the duke's position remains unchanged since his november 2019 newsnight interview. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her at tramp, or going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? yes, i can absolutely categorically tell you that never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts then or at any other time? none whatsoever. this afternoon, prince andrew's team will ask a new yorkjudge to throw out ms giuffre�*s case. her lawyers say she is confident that won't happen and one way or another, the duke will have to answer her allegations. dominic casciani, bbc news. millions of pupils across the uk are returning from their christmas break today and over the next couple of days, amid concerns about staff shortages caused by the 0micron variant of covid. in england, secondary school students will have to take tests on—site before they return to the classroom, as jayne mccubbin reports. for secondary school children this week, it is back to the classroom. back to masks, and in england at least, it will all kick off with a covid test on arrival in school. for ethan and louis, though, this is one last out before that begins. how are you feeling about it? a bit nervous. in my form, probably about, like, ten kids off at least. what, before christmas? yeah, yeah. how do you feel about wearing the masks again? well, ifeel like now i've gotten used to it, i don't think i'd mind it as much if you have a comfortable mask. it obviously protects other people, doesn't it? you're happy to do it? yeah, yeah. the gates of this school, like all other secondary schools in england, will this week starts to open for mass testing. it's one of ten schools in an academy chain which already has a staffing issue. as of one hour ago, 10% of staff who have tested positive for covid. and that is a big chunk, and you think it's going to rise? it will rise, probably another 5%. in scotland, pupils are being asked to test at home before they return to school and are being urged to then test twice a week. in wales, it's the same, preschool home test. but repeated three times a week. students in northern ireland are being asked to test 2a hours before returning as well. and there, 95% of schools have been provided with c02 monitors to identify poorly ventilated areas. ultimately, the government believes the biggest help anyone could offer is to take up the offer of a vaccine. 0ns figures suggest only 50% of eligible i2 to 15—year—olds have done this. just how this new term in this new year will pan out looks anything but certain. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. let's speak to our chief political correspondent adam fleming now. good morning. so, a big test of government policy this week as schools go back, will there be enough staff in those schools to teach the peoples and crucially to test them?— test them? yes, a big test of the li . uor test them? yes, a big test of the liquor sticks. _ test them? yes, a big test of the liquor sticks. a — test them? yes, a big test of the liquor sticks, a big _ test them? yes, a big test of the liquor sticks, a big operation - test them? yes, a big test of the liquor sticks, a big operation to l liquor sticks, a big operation to get these hundreds and thousands of lateral flow tests to schools in time —— a big test of the logistics. and then the infrastructure to do the testing as the peoples arrive for the first time in 2022. when you get more tests, you will identify more cases so the number of people who have got coronavirus will probably go up as a result of this. and there will be a lot of 0micron around meaning potentially a lot of teachers off sick. what does that mean for classes and schools operating and will there be enough supply teachers and will enough retired teachers have come forward to volunteer to say they can fill in the gaps? that a similar situation we could see in other areas of the economy. not so much safer in a critical sense but still potential for that say ministers are having meetings every day to look at key sectors to work—out how many people are off sick and what the levers can pull in these issues. the are off sick and what the levers can pull in these issues.— pull in these issues. the labour leader is giving _ pull in these issues. the labour leader is giving a _ pull in these issues. the labour leader is giving a speech - pull in these issues. the labour leader is giving a speech in - leader is giving a speech in birmingham today and is setting out his plans if labour get into power in the next election, what are we expecting him to talk about? fitter expecting him to talk about? after all the covid _ expecting him to talk about? after all the covid stuff _ expecting him to talk about? after all the covid stuff it _ expecting him to talk about? after all the covid stuff it is _ expecting him to talk about? he all the covid stuff it is back to politics as normal, how many times have we gone through that cycle? keir starmer doing some normal politics, talking very patch of sickly and making lots of references to the upcoming queen'sjubilee, —— took very patriotically. he will be talking about the euros, he will list lots of odyssey to counter the accusation —— policies to counter the accusation that labour do not have any policies, they actually do have any policies, they actually do have any policies, they actually do have a lot of policies but some of them have gaps in them. and he will have the buzzword of respect, labour recognising that there are some communities who used to vote labour who have not voted labour recently and the country have to —— the party has to reach out to those parts and thatis has to reach out to those parts and that is that buzzword today. a jury in california has found elizabeth holmes, who set up the health technology company "theranos", guilty on four counts of conspiring to defraud investors. ms holmes claimed she'd developed a machine that could diagnose a range of medical conditions with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. she became a billionaire before it emerged that her devices weren't working, and her company collapsed. a fire which swept through south africa's parliament in cape town reignited yesterday, just hours after it was said to be under control. flames were seen billowing from the building's roof on monday, as firefighters tried to put out the blaze. large parts of the building had already been badly damaged. police have arrested a suspect, who will appear in court today on charges of arson, housebreaking and theft. as of today, beijing is just one month away from hosting the winter olympics. but the run—up to the games has been dominated by issues away from sport including how to implement bubbles to try to keep covid away. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell sent us this report from the mountains outside beijing, where access to the olympic region has now been sealed off. when athletes arrive in beijing from overseas, if their events are in the mountains, they'll be able to take a high—speed train there. that's because some of these trains are operating completely within the bubble. ladies and gentlemen, welcome to take this train. and soon, they'll find themselves racing along at 350 kilometres per hour. zooming through beijing's arid north and taking in the views. though freezing cold, this is an area of low winter precipitation, meaning that mountains of artificial snow will be needed for the coming 0lympics. well, this is taizicheng, one of the main stations for the winter olympics. it's cold up here. from today, this entire station is close to the public. the bubble walls are coming up. only those with olympic clearance on special trains can arrive or leave. on arrival, covid test results and travel histories are checked. well, here we are in the heart of chongli, one of the sites for the mountain events for the winter olympics. where are the people? well, the reason that there are no people here is that the local ski resorts have already been closed in preparation for the games which will start in just a month. 0ver behind where that big green screen is, that's where the medals will be awarded for the events in this area. but there won't be any general admission tickets available, it seems. they haven't gone on sale yet and they probably won't. so the spectators in the stands are likely to be from government organisations or the army or something along those lines. the challenge for games organisers, though, will be to host an event which can overcome the controversy which has surrounded this 0lympics following the allegations made by former chinese 0lympian and tennis star peng shuai, in relation to the relationships she had with a former chinese leader. there's been a lot of pressure on the beijing olympics because of these allegations, but the organisers will be hoping that once the sport starts that it will take over, and they can still host a successful games here. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell with that report. it isa it is a little warmer closer to home than those pictures. i’m it is a little warmer closer to home than those pictures.— than those pictures. i'm not so sure, actually! _ than those pictures. i'm not so sure, actually! carroll- than those pictures. i'm not so sure, actually! carroll has - than those pictures. i'm not so sure, actually! carroll has the l sure, actually! carroll has the details, sure, actually! carroll has the details. good _ sure, actually! carroll has the details, good morning. - sure, actually! carroll has the details, good morning. good| sure, actually! carroll has the - details, good morning. good morning, a cold start today. _ the forecast is for snow and gales for some of us especially in the northern half of the country. snow showers through the night, so with temperatures below freezing in the northern half of the country, there is the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. furthersnow is the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. further snow today, is the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. furthersnow today, gales in the far north of scotland, surveyor, that combination meaning that we could have issues with blizzards and drifting. if anything, there is the potential across 0rkney and caithness to have wind speeds by lunchtime of 80 miles an hour, there is a damaging wind speeds. we have the rain pushing away from the south—east slowly, in between dry weather. brisk wind, these represent the average speeds. further showers blowing in from the west and some of those will be wintry especially in the hills. these are the temperature is we will see on your thermometers, three in aberdeen to eight in cardiff. as you add on the strength of the wind, it will feel cold, more like —3 in aberdeen and plus five in cardiff. it is a day for wrapping up. up to 15 centimetres of snow on the high routes in scotland. further snow tonight, some heavier bursts will bring some to lower levels. we are looking at an over widespread frost. i told you it was cold! technically i told you it was cold! technically i was right. _ i told you it was cold! technically i was right, not _ i told you it was cold! technically i was right, not quite _ i told you it was cold! technically i was right, not quite as - i told you it was cold! technically i was right, not quite as cold, - i told you it was cold! technically | i was right, not quite as cold, but it is quite a change. and that snow coming in, we saw the big rain band coming in, we saw the big rain band coming in, we saw the big rain band coming in, and there is snow in front of it, so does it turn into sleet? . , front of it, so does it turn into sleet? ., , ., , , front of it, so does it turn into sleet? ., , sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no. because — sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no. because as _ sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, because as it _ sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, because as it comes _ sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, because as it comes in, - sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, because as it comes in, and - sleet? that is on thursday. yes and no, because as it comes in, and i i no, because as it comes in, and i will tell you in half an hour, as the rain are pumped into the cold air, there will be snow, and then some milder air comes in it will turn back to rain, so then cold air follows on, but i will explain all that in half an hour. i follows on, but i will explain all that in half an hour.— that in half an hour. i will look forward to _ that in half an hour. i will look forward to it! _ that in half an hour. i will look forward to it! will— that in half an hour. i will look forward to it! will be - that in half an hour. i will look forward to it! will be paying i forward to it! will be paying attention. _ forward to it! will be paying attention, carol? _ forward to it! will be paying attention, carol? she - forward to it! will be paying | attention, carol? she knows everything, ask her anything. we have everything, ask her anything. - have had a bit of everything this last week. �* . , have had a bit of everything this last week. �* ., , ., , last week. and a bit of everything to come as _ last week. and a bit of everything to come as well. _ a ban on most single—use plastics will come into effect in scotland from june. the legislation will ban the use of plastic cutlery, drink stirrers and food containers made from expanded polystyrene. campaigners welcome the move, but some say it doesn't go far enough. here's more from our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon. the evidence of our throwaway culture. this plastic is recyclable, but its estimated that around half of all the plastic products produced are not. so in scotland, hundreds of millions of items of polluting plastic that can only be used once are about to be banned for good. it's really important to take this step, not only to prevent all this litter on our beaches and in our parks. i talked to kids during cop26 this year who said that they can't play safely in their parks because it's covered in litter and they don't feel like it's a good place to play. so this is something we can all do. it also reduces our carbon footprint. it's estimated that every year in scotland, 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery and 66 million polystyrene food containers are thrown away. these are the items that would be banned by the new legislation. can i get a double scoop of salted caramel and a mint chocolate chip? i'm going to get a tub today. some businesses, like this one in portobello, have already switched to plant—based packaging. they are also urging customers to bring reusable containers instead. it's going to be a bit of a culture change for people generally, you know. we are very used to using plastics, particularly since the pandemic, i think. the takeaway sector has become a much larger part of the industry. sojune, the government is wanting businesses to completely eliminate single use plastics. we have tried to do that already, we're trying to be ahead of the curve. what we are trying to implement now is a culture change amongst our customers. change, too, in other areas. after callum, who is seven, worked out that the weight of bottles that his school throws out every year was equivalent to that of a giant panda at edinburgh zoo. i would like metal water bottles for every school child in scotland. friday mornings for lessons about the environment, and a giant, and to make a giant scotland wide schools eco—group. some campaigners, while welcoming the move to ban most single use plastics, say it doesn't go far enough. is it a good thing? any bit of plastic which is stopped from being wasted or used is a good thing. every single minute a truckload of plastic is ending up in the ocean, and that's not going anywhere anytime fast. and what we get from government and big business is really mixed messages on this. we've just seen recently a delay to deposit return scheme which is a really simple way of claiming back plastic. that national deposit return scheme for bottles and cans delayed for now. but the ban on most single use plastic which comes into force injune will lead to many millions of pieces of plastic being removed from scotland's environment, helping to clean up its beaches and protect its natural beauty. lorna gordon, bbc news. looks beautiful there. let's take a look at today's papers. the guardian reports on the deal that virginia giuffre, who has accused prince andrew of sexual assault, struck with the convicted paedophilejeffrey epstein. it says prince andrew, who denies the allegations, hopes the settlement will cause the civil case against him to collapse. the times focuses on borisjohnson's warning that hospitals in england will still face "considerable" pressure over the next few weeks. however, it quotes a government minister as saying london, the centre of the uk's 0micron outbreak, may already be past the peak of its wave. the i leads with how covid is affecting the nhs, reporting that organisations representing medics are warning of a growing staffing crisis and calling for a more cautious approach on restrictions in england. the scottish daily mail asks: "will covid rules get even tougher" after more than 20,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported yesterday. the paper quotes public health experts who say that the increase in cases, coupled with schools returning this week, means it's all change for scotland. let's have a look at the inside pages. i have a couple. i am going to start with something i think you are going to like dinosaurs story. i'm interested already. this are going to like dinosaurs story. i'm interested already.— i'm interested already. this is about the _ i'm interested already. this is about the retired _ i'm interested already. this is about the retired gp - i'm interested already. this is about the retired gp who - i'm interested already. this is about the retired gp who has| i'm interested already. this is - about the retired gp who has helped find two new species of dinosaur during lockdown where we were all just... during lockdown where we were all 'ust. .. . , during lockdown where we were all 'ust. .. ., ., during lockdown where we were all 'ust. .. ._ ., ,., ., during lockdown where we were all just- - -_ yes. i just... laying on the sofa. yes, watching _ just... laying on the sofa. yes, watching box — just... laying on the sofa. yes, watching box sets. _ just... laying on the sofa. yes, watching box sets. he - just... laying on the sofa. yes, watching box sets. he went - just... laying on the sofa. yes, j watching box sets. he went out just... laying on the sofa. yes, i watching box sets. he went out at the age of 64, jeremy lockwood, a retired gp turned palaeontologist. two different times of dinosaur. he retired seven years ago, and he has discovered one dinosaur which has been reported and has had a massive report written up about it. the second species he has nicknamed, this is my favourite name ever, it is now known as the horned crocodile faced hell heron. i can only imagine what it looks like!— what it looks like! scary, does what it sa s on what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the _ what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the tin! _ what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the tin! in _ what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the tin! in two _ what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the tin! in two years, - what it looks like! scary, does what it says on the tin! in two years, hel it says on the tin! in two years, he immersed — it says on the tin! in two years, he immersed himself _ it says on the tin! in two years, he immersed himself in _ it says on the tin! in two years, he immersed himself in fossil- it says on the tin! in two years, he| immersed himself in fossil hunting on the isle of wight. hour immersed himself in fossil hunting on the isle of wight.— on the isle of wight. how does he know that they — on the isle of wight. how does he know that they are _ on the isle of wight. how does he know that they are new? - on the isle of wight. how does he know that they are new? he - on the isle of wight. how does he know that they are new? he has l on the isle of wight. how does he i know that they are new? he has had them checked _ know that they are new? he has had them checked by _ know that they are new? he has had them checked by experts _ know that they are new? he has had them checked by experts and - know that they are new? he has had them checked by experts and he - know that they are new? he has had them checked by experts and he is l know that they are new? he has had l them checked by experts and he is an expert himself. he examined many hundreds of bones in the natural history museum and identified a clear outlay with an enormous bulbous nose. i clear outlay with an enormous bulbous nose.— clear outlay with an enormous bulbous nose. ., , ., bulbous nose. i wondered where you are auoin bulbous nose. i wondered where you are going there- _ bulbous nose. i wondered where you are going there. good _ bulbous nose. i wondered where you are going there. good on _ bulbous nose. i wondered where you are going there. good on him. - bulbous nose. i wondered where you are going there. good on him. what| bulbous nose. i wondered where you| are going there. good on him. what a good way to spend lockdown. some of the music theme to the newspaper this morning. we will talk about this morning. we will talk about this later, david bowie has sold his entire back catalogue for 100 and £85 million. the first artist to have done it, but down the bottom —— not the first artist to have done it. madonna's son has painted... we think, it is a secret exhibit, but the giveaway is that madonna attended the exhibition of this unknown artist. a lot of speculation that this is some of his work, and it is flying off the walls. impressionist painting inspired by picasso. music also in the headlines elsewhere. this year's charts dominated by british artists, but not many of them particularly new. so, cream, eltonjohn, adele, ed sheeran, at the top of the uk streaming charts —— and cleaner. there is a lot of concern in the papers about how much the artists are getting paid. streaming is rising to a new high, we are all streaming rather than buying cds or vinyl. artists complaining that they are not making enough money from it. and the streaming companies are keeping too much of the cash. people at the to - keeping too much of the cash. people at the top of — keeping too much of the cash. people at the top of the _ keeping too much of the cash. people at the top of the pile _ keeping too much of the cash. people at the top of the pile are _ keeping too much of the cash. people at the top of the pile are making - at the top of the pile are making quite a lot?— at the top of the pile are making uuitealot? ,, _ ., , quite a lot? quite possibly, that is often how it _ quite a lot? quite possibly, that is often how it works. _ quite a lot? quite possibly, that is often how it works. interesting. i he's lived alone, off—grid, in a remote part of scotland for almost 40 years, but we're now getting an insight into the life of a man called ken smith, thanks to a new bbc iplayer documentary. the 74—year—old, who's originally from derbyshire lives in a log cabin on the shores of loch treig. it's a place so remote he has to walk for two hours to reach the nearest road. but as iain macinnes reports, ken has no plans to give up his reclusive lifestyle. it is certainly some folks' idea of paradise. foraging, fishing, free from the rigours of life. but what led ken smith eventually here to the shores of a remote loch was an attack on him at the age ofjust 26. there was about eight of them. they came charging at me and kicked my head in. eventually, my head, it's like you can hardly ever imagine. it was like it was going to explode. after suffering a brain haemorrhage, he was told he would never speak or walk again. but he did. that's when i decided to never live on anyone's terms but my own. he spent time in the wilderness of canada before walking the length of britain until he found what he now calls home. i thought this is the most isolated place in britain. hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of miles of nothingness. his home — a hand—built log cabin two miles from the nearest road. i will have a job to get up. visitors are a rare sight. the documentary maker lizzie has built up a relationship with ken over a number of years. it took time to get him comfortable with being filmed. and our friendship took a long time to develop. but i was taken straightaway by his sparkly eyes and his zest for life and joie de vivre. he is cheeky, he is funny. he doesn't suffer fools. but he is alsojust charming. just days after one of lizzie's visits, ken suffered a stroke and had to be airlifted to safety, spending weeks in hospital. and despite his rehabilitation, just a year later, he was injured again after a pile of logs fell on him. but he has no plans to leave his life of solitude. i have had lots of incidents and i seem to have survived them all. i know one thing for sure, no matter what, i am bound to go ill again sometime. something will happen to me that will take me away one day. as it does for everybody else. but i'm hoping i will get to 102. i love that last shot. he looks in the best place. _ i love that last shot. he looks in the best place. i _ i love that last shot. he looks in the best place. i am _ i love that last shot. he looks in the best place. i am quite - i love that last shot. he looks in i the best place. i am quite envious. that was iain macinnes reporting. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. around 100 firefighters have been battling a major blaze in east london overnight. 15 fire engines were sent to the incident at an industrial dry cleaning unit on raven road in south woodford. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the inquest into the deaths of two women who died from herpes at two hospitals in kent is due to formally open today. kim sampson and samantha mulcahy died just weeks apart after their babies were delivered by caesarean section at different hospitals run by the east kent hospitals trust. theirfamilies have campaigned for answers as to whether they contracted the infection from their surgeon. a bbc investigation found the women were treated by the same person. figures compiled by the bbc show that 28,431 crossed the chanel that 28,431 migrants crossed the chanel from france to kent and sussex in 2021 by small boats. that's more than triple the number for the previous year. the dangers of making the journey were highlighted in november following the deaths of 27 people. a home office minister said the government is reforming its approach to asylum through its new plan for immigration. schools across london and the south east are reopening this week, with some going back today. under current guidance, schools are expected to offer in—person teaching to all age groups this term. but any post—christmas increase in 0micron cases among pupils and staff has left some in the sector wondering whether they'll be able to remain fully open. we want uninterrupted education. if you want your child to be in school, and you want them to be learning and all the other benefits school brings — socialisation, benefits for children's mental health. if you want them to be in school, then the best way of doing that is ensuring they take lateral flow tests and that they are vaccinated. a kent zoo has welcomed the birth of a rare porcupine. the baby known as a porcupette was born on christmas day at the hemsley conservation centre at fairseat, near brands hatch. prehensile—tailed porcupines originate in south america and face pressure from habitat loss. and now with a look at today's weather here's sara thornton. good morning to you. a really different feel to the weather from today onwards. much colder. we start this morning with cloud and outbreaks of rain that have come towards us from the north overnight, continuing to track their way southwards across london and the south—east in the coming hours. eventually we will get some sunshine, but it is colder air behind all of that that you will notice today. temperatures are really struggling — in some spots in mid—single figures. 0vernight tonight, with clear skies, and that cold north—westerly wind still feeding in much colder air, the temperatures are really going to fall away. we are looking at a frost in many places into tomorrow the day tomorrow largely dry with some good spells of sunshine. but it will feel pretty chilly. through thursday, after another very cold start, we will see rain pushing in. that's it from us. now back to ben and sally. hello this is breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. coming up on breakfast this morning. it's a testing time for schools — as millions of children head back to class this week. we'll be live with pupils and teachers at one secondary, as they prepare to take on a new term. the wild woman of the wye will tell us how river pollution is spoiling one of britain's loveliest beauty spots. and we'll be getting the latest on the sale of david bowie's entire back catalogue of songs in a deal reported to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. apologies already. his song will be in your head all day. we're talking unsuitable gifts this morning. a lot of you may have received presents this christmas that were not quite right for you. i can't believe we are asking this question. would you take them back and get a refund or replacement? i am getting lots of people do. it is always tricky. it is never tricky. you just do not. a book or gadget you will not use, what will you do with them? i've got some consumer tips coming up, especially if you don't have the receipt. research from the online payments company worldpay, suggests one in four gifts are returned every christmas. but it's not always straight forward, it often depends on the returns policy of each retailer. so have a listen to the experiences of these breakfast viewers. my brother bought me some slippers on christmas day. they are two sizes too big, despite the fact that the average woman's size is a size six, my brother thought that large, 7—8, might be suitable. so now i need to take the slippers back to the shop they came from. absolutely lovely, fluffy dressing gown. beautiful. really, it feels great on the skin and all of that. but i have plenty of dressing gowns, like, plenty. so i looked at it and i was like... i absolutely think it's ok to take |things back if you get a gift thatj doesn't work for you. that might be because it is something you don't like, i or have a duplicate of. i think it absolutely i is the right thing to do to exchange it if you can. because we don't need more stuff. so what exactly are the rules? under the consumer rights act an item must be of satisfactory quality, as described on the label and fit for purpose. so if it's not and it's faulty, then you should get a full refund. but, if you just don't like the gift or it doesn't suit you, they aren't obliged to give you a refund, it up to the individual retailer. you're more likely to get an exchange or credit note. but don't leave it too long. you've usually got 28 days to return things. around christmas, most retailers give you some extra time. atjohn lewis, for example, you have until the end of january to return things bought from october. now if your gift was purchased online or over the phone, then it's the person who bought it that has the return rights. they can send it back within 14 days without giving a reason. bear in mind, any refund would go to the original payment card. any exchanged item would probably be delivered to the same address. then there's the knotty problem of the receipt. if you want to return a gift and you have a gift receipt, then things are pretty straightforward. just contact the shop, usually you'll be able to get in exchange, a voucher or sometimes even a cash refund, depending on the shop's policy. if you don't have a receipt and you don't want to notify the person who has gifted you the present, then get in touch with a customer service team at the retailer first. they may have a little bit more leeway to accept things like a photograph of the item in packaging, which you are going to struggle with if you just go straight down to the high street. so you might have to fess up and tell them you don't like their present. also remember if you are eligible for a return, they may only give you the current price, so if it's on sale, that's the price you'll get refunded. and there are other alternatives of course. you could donate the items to charity for example, or re—gift them to someone else. that is passing on an unwanted present to a friend or family member someone who will appreciate. i'm not suggesting _ someone who will appreciate. i'm not suggesting we — someone who will appreciate. i'm not suggesting we off—load _ someone who will appreciate. i'm not suggesting we off—load christmas- suggesting we off—load christmas taps to— suggesting we off—load christmas taps to other _ suggesting we off—load christmas taps to other people _ suggesting we off—load christmas taps to other people but - suggesting we off—load christmas taps to other people but it - suggesting we off—load christmas taps to other people but it is - suggesting we off—load christmas. taps to other people but it is about passing _ taps to other people but it is about passing it— taps to other people but it is about passing it on— taps to other people but it is about passing it on so— taps to other people but it is about passing it on so it _ taps to other people but it is about passing it on so it does _ taps to other people but it is about passing it on so it does not - taps to other people but it is about passing it on so it does not go - taps to other people but it is about passing it on so it does not go to. passing it on so it does not go to waste _ passing it on so it does not go to waste and — passing it on so it does not go to waste and gather— passing it on so it does not go to waste and gather dust _ passing it on so it does not go to waste and gather dust in- passing it on so it does not go to waste and gather dust in your. waste and gather dust in your cupboard _ waste and gather dust in your cupboard i— waste and gather dust in your cupboard-— waste and gather dust in your cuboard. ., ., ., . ,, cupboard. i thought one of the clips was pertinent- _ cupboard. i thought one of the clips was pertinent. you _ cupboard. i thought one of the clips was pertinent. you might _ cupboard. i thought one of the clips was pertinent. you might get - was pertinent. you might get something, you like it, but you have a few of them already. you are not saying you do not wanted it is just that you already have it, so why let it clutter up the house? some people do not feel comfortable regifting because a loved one has taken time and spent money to pick something out and passing it on feels a bit wrong. 0ther something out and passing it on feels a bit wrong. other people say it should not go to waste so let's share it. regifting. there is a thing. and it is a big cast for retailers to deal with returns. a lot of people buying online, they might buy different sizes and colours and work out what fits them and send the rest back which is expensive for firms. retailers are facing a flood of returns. 0n retailers are facing a flood of returns. on average it costs businesses around £20 per return. that is because if you think of the shipping, processing, repackaging, it comes at a cost. we are increasingly seeing retailers introducing return fees to recoup the money. i want to hear all about everybody who has been regifting christmas presents. i am sure it happens a lot. chocolates, assortment boxes, i regift them to the newsroom because i cannot eat them all. where are they? i did not see them this morning. we finished them earlier! letters know what you have been doing with unwanted christmas presents. you can send an e—mail and share thoughts with viewers on the facebook page. you can tweet about that and other stories this morning using the hashtag bbc breakfast, orfollow stories this morning using the hashtag bbc breakfast, or follow us on the twitter. back to our top story now and as we've been reporting, prince andrew's legal team will today urge a new yorkjudge to throw out a civil case brought by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. it follows the release of a documen that contains details about a half—million—dollar settlement between virginia giuffre and the sex offender jeffrey epstein in which ms giuffre agreed not to take legal action against anyone connected to epstein. it makes no specific mention of the duke, who has consistently denied the claims. joining us now from florida is former federal prosecutor david weinstein, who has been following the case. good morning. what could this 2009 document mean for the civil case? having reviewed the document itself and the non—prosecution agreement that includes within it very little for prince andrew. it is an agreement entered into between virginia giuffre and epstein and anyone else who could have been a potential defendant in her case against him. so while i understand the reason that the prince is using this document, i believe it will get little traction from the district courtjudge. i5 little traction from the district court judge-— little traction from the district court 'ude. , ., , , court 'udge. is there a possibility the courtjudge. is there a possibility the document _ courtjudge. is there a possibility the document could _ courtjudge. is there a possibility the document could be _ courtjudge. is there a possibility the document could be thrown i courtjudge. is there a possibility. the document could be thrown out courtjudge. is there a possibility i the document could be thrown out in the document could be thrown out in the uk or in the us? the the document could be thrown out in the uk or in the us?— the uk or in the us? the document exists between _ the uk or in the us? the document exists between virginia _ the uk or in the us? the document exists between virginia giuffre i the uk or in the us? the document exists between virginia giuffre and | exists between virginia giuffre and jeffrey epstein. the reality is it will be little use in the case in the us and certainly of little to no use in any case filed in the uk. it is not binding on any of the courts across the pond. mit? is not binding on any of the courts across the pond.— across the pond. why was it put to . ether. across the pond. why was it put together- why _ across the pond. why was it put together. why was _ across the pond. why was it put together. why was this i across the pond. why was it put i together. why was this document so important if you say at this point in proceedings it is probably no use. what was the point of it in the first place? it use. what was the point of it in the first place?— first place? it was very important in the lawsuit _ first place? it was very important in the lawsuit filed _ first place? it was very important in the lawsuit filed between i in the lawsuit filed between virginia giuffre and jeffrey epstein at that time in 2009, as well as the non—prosecution agreement epstein entered into with federal prosecutors in south florida. that agreement allowed victims to sue him and make a recovery. so it was important to epstein to settle his case that had been filed at that time against him by virginia giuffre. in that case it was important because it bound epstein and any of his heirs or assigns and allowed him to give finality to the lawsuit virginia giuffre had filed against him so that was important. but whether it is others, those people are not mentioned in this settlement agreement. they were not thought of in this settlement agreement, so they are grasping at straws, trying to get a benefit from a document entered into between people. j a document entered into between --eole. , . , people. iwill 'ust correctly, i think you — people. iwill 'ust correctly, i think you are i people. iwilljust correctly, i think you are talking i people. iwilljust correctly, i think you are talking about i people. iwilljust correctly, i. think you are talking about prince andrew. that is correct. this document mentions first parties and other possible defendants. what do those terms mean and who else could they be describing? it those terms mean and who else could they be describing?— they be describing? it mentions first parties _ they be describing? it mentions first parties and _ they be describing? it mentions first parties and second i they be describing? it mentions first parties and second parties. first party is virginia giuffre and anyone connected with her. second parties are epstein and anyone directly connected with him and by the terms of this document, any party who could have been a defendant in the lawsuit against epstein. at the time, there was no mention of any other defendants in that lawsuit and the only defendants in the federal case mentioned against him do not include prince william. prince andrew. i am sorry. the duke of york. let's go with that. prince andrew, the duke of york. it does not mention him, it does not mention anything connected to the duke of york. so he is attempting to shoehorn himself into this agreement entered into between virginia giuffre and epstein by saying he somehow could have been another defendant. nobody had thought of including him in a defendant —— as a defendant in that lawsuit at that time. defendant -- as a defendant in that lawsuit at that time.— lawsuit at that time. what can we exect to lawsuit at that time. what can we exoect to hear — lawsuit at that time. what can we expect to hear in _ lawsuit at that time. what can we expect to hear in legal _ lawsuit at that time. what can we j expect to hear in legal arguments lawsuit at that time. what can we i expect to hear in legal arguments in new york later? i expect to hear in legal arguments in new york later?— new york later? i think we will hear from the duke _ new york later? i think we will hear from the duke of— new york later? i think we will hear from the duke of york _ new york later? i think we will hear from the duke of york and - new york later? i think we will hear from the duke of york and his i new york later? i think we will hear from the duke of york and his legal| from the duke of york and his legal team, i think what we will hear from them is the document was so broadly written with the use of other defendants, it could have included anyone who had not been named. and for virginia giuffre's legal team, we have heard this document was crafted to speak to epstein and two people employed by him, who worked for him, people like ghislaine maxwell, who could have been included as a defendant in the lawsuit. and it will then be up to thejudge to decide lawsuit. and it will then be up to the judge to decide whether this document has a bearing on anyone outside of epstein and those people directly connected to him. rgreat outside of epstein and those people directly connected to him.— directly connected to him. great to talk to you- — directly connected to him. great to talk to you. thank _ directly connected to him. great to talk to you. thank you _ directly connected to him. great to talk to you. thank you very i directly connected to him. great to talk to you. thank you very much. | talk to you. thank you very much. the former us attorney for south florida. john, it is all about this hairdo. new year, new look, perhaps? do you fancy it? apparently it takes four and a half hours. there is a lot of hairspray. brightening up alexandra palace. peter wright winning the darts championship. the face says it all. delighted to get his hands on the trophy. we will talk more about the her later. he is an unmistakable character and it was a thrilling final. and it was a thrilling final against michael "the bully boy" smith. the lead kept changing hands and wright was actually surprised to win it. his experience allowed him to take advantage of some costly mistakes by his opponent, who was devastated. wright said smith would definitely be winning world titles soon. and that bumper cheque, a nice little new year treat. not the best of starts to the year for manchester united who've lost their unbeaten run under new manager ralf rangnick, beaten 1—0 by wolves at old trafford. joe lynskey reports. at manchester united, the new year felt like old times. for the first time since 2008, cristiano ronaldo was captain, and for the first time in two years, here was philjones. the former england defender�*s last first—team match was in january 2020. his job was to keep out wolves, who last won at old trafford in 1980. but here they sensed a chance. commentator: that's one of the saves of the season. | david de gea was at full stretch to stop a wolves opener. united's aim this year is to climb back up the table, but even with a new coach, they're still out of sorts. bruno fernandes missed a chance you'd expect him to score. and when ronaldo did find the net, he'd mistimed his run. he's offside! no goal given. and while it was 0—0, wolves still were in it. they knew for a first win in four decades, they mightjust need one chance. moutinho! here was their portuguese veteran stealing the spotlight. not ronaldo but moutinho — wolves' 35—year—old midfielder. united would get time for one last shot, but this was wolves' night. it may be the new year, but manchester united can't shake the recent gloom. joe lynskey, bbc news. a 21—point deduction for various financial problems means derby county are rooted to the bottom of the championship, but they're now unbeaten in four games. curtis davies' injury time equaliser earned wayne rooney's side a 2—2 draw at fellow strugglers reading. derby are now 11 points from safety. talking of turning things around. that's what stuart broad, recalled to the england side for tonight's fourth ashes test, and ben stokes, who's had a frustrating tour so far, will attempt to do when they head out at the sydney cricket ground later. according to assistant coach graham thorpe they're ready to restore some pride. are looking forward to it. a couple of caged tigers. i they might all be in that state of mind. there has been frustration. i hope they can channel that for tomorrow. if you're feeling the chill at the moment, you may enjoy these pictures from the deserts of saudi arabia where britain's sam sunderland has moved into the lead of the dakar rally motorbke section — he finished second on stage two, overtaking daniel sanders, who lost his way in the dunes. the nine—time world rally champion sebastian loeb came out on top in the car category but he's more than nine minutes behind the leader after a really close stage. great pictures, caged tigers, snake bites. peter snakebite wright. his opponent, bully boy worked on a cattle farm and was bullied by cattle farm and was bullied by cattle and that is how he got his nickname. key moments within one's life that contributes to your darts nickname. you need to work on your hair and a potential nickname. i have been sitting here trying to think what carol's nickname would be. carol the killer? she loves it. good morning. this morning we have a contrast in temperatures. at the moment in shap -6. temperatures. at the moment in shap —6. and in the south a difference of 10 degrees. this weather front is pushed southwards and behind it cold air has filtered him. we have had snow showers in the northern half of the country. where it is coldest, risk of ice on untreated surfaces. in the northern half of scotland in particular gales, and far north, severe gales and later in 0rkney and caithness wind speed is potentially up caithness wind speed is potentially up to 80 mph. those are damaging gusts. plus we will have the snow falling. drifting and potentially blizzards on higher roots. as we come further south, we say goodbye to the weather front. a lot of dry weather. 0n the brisk wind, showers blowing in from the west. some of those could be wintry. heavier showers, they could be sleet and rain and snow at lower levels. it should not last. these are the gust strengths. by 3pm this is roughly what you can expect. the strongest in the northern half of the country. temperatures, three in aberdeen and nine in london. when you add on the strength of the wind, the wind chill, this is how it will feel. more like —3 in aberdeen and plus seven in london. 0vernight we hang onto snow showers. windy in scotland. the winds brisk across england, wales, northern ireland, blowing in showers perhaps as far south as the north and west midlands. some of those could be wintry even at low levels. these are overnight temperatures. a widespread frost. and again the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. we start tomorrow on a windy note. high pressure builds in. still some showers down the north sea coast. and some coming in on the brisk wind in western areas and some of those will be wintry. a lot of us will have a dry day and there will be some sunshine. temperatures closer to where they should be injanuary. heading into wednesday, high pressure is pushed away. we have a warm front with mild air behind it. and then a cold front so we see a return to colder air. as the rain bumps into the cold air initially, snow on the leading—edge even at low levels. the temperature rises and we go back to rain. behind the cold front, temperatures will start to fall slowly and then we see a return to wintry showers. a quick look at what is happening at the end of the week shows further wintry showers coming in from the west but equally a lot of dry weather. but no heat wave in prospect. these are the average temperatures. 3—8. for some, they are below average for this time of year which is five in the north, eight in the of year which is five in the north, eight in the south. thank you. we will see you again in half an hour. the parents of an autistic teenager who was stabbed to death over a row on social media say they're determined to stop children murdering children. 0lly stephens was lured to a field by a girl he knew, before being ambushed by two 14—year—old boys and killed. a year on, 0lly�*s mum and dad have been speaking to our correspondent nikki mitchell. this video, caught on a neighbour's door bell camera, is thought to be the last footage of 0lly stephens alive. within minutes, he had been stabbed. passers—by tried frantically to save him, but, by the time his mum and dad got there, he was lifeless. 12 months on, they are still in shock. oh, it has been a living nightmare. yeah, it's horrific. horrific. i still expect him to walk through the front door, or hear him up in his bedroom. he was such massive part of our entertainment. he always had us laughing. when you come home, it's the quiet and the silence and the sadness, and everything's painful because of the memory and everything. and even though it is a year, ifeel like i'm looking onto life rather than i'm living it. ifeel removed... yeah, just getting through it. you are in pain all the time. you feel so sad. it's painful. at some point in the day, it's a memory, music, anything. ijust woke up on christmas morning and just cried and cried. the same on christmas eve. it's joyless, isn't it? this is one of 0lly�*s killers showing off his knives. the images on their phones revealed an obsession with blades and gangland culture. what started as a childish social media squabble escalated into a preplanned murderous ambush. it was here in this beauty spot in berkshire, just a few hundred yards from where he lived, that 0lly was killed. he came here to meet a girl he knew, but she tricked him and set him up. she was there when he was attacked by the boys at the top of the hill and stabbed twice with a vegetable knife. the two boys who killed him were 13 and 14 years old. 0n the first anniversary of his death yesterday, a memorial service to remember 0lly paused in silence at 14 minutes to four in the afternoon, the time he died. the service was played out on loudspeakers for those who could not fit into the church. afterwards, candles were lit. 0lly will always be my best boy, my only boy, and he will always be with me. thank you for all your love for 0lly. it will keep him alive for ever in all our hearts and minds. 0lly�*s parents want the whole community here and communities right across the country to work together against knife crime. children murdering children, they say, has to stop. 0lly was lured and set up and murdered by children. and that in itself... by someone he trusted. the whole social media thing with the whole — the snapchats. there were 11 platforms involved in his murder. nobody warned him — that we are aware of. nobody said to him they are planning this, this is going to happen. we had 0lly on that morning and looked at his phone and didn't understand a thing that was on it. we didn't see any of the evidence that we saw in court on his phone, because he learned to hide it. how can he do that? and that's where i think, as parents, we feel very powerless. in 0lly�*s name, stuart and amanda have now started lobbying mps to support the 0nline safety bill. it aims to hold tech giants to account for exposing people to harmful material. i wrote an e—mail and i was quite frank in what i said. i wanted it to be hard—hitting. i wanted every politician to read it. all parties, everybody. because you've all got children. and i've had some very positive replies. and hopefully, with the online harms bill, we can start making these companies accountable. they make millions and millions of dollars from these apps and, as parents, we have no protection from them. stuart has been a victim of online abuse himself. the videos and messages he has been sent mocking 0lly�*s death are appallingly offensive. so shocking, we can't show any of them. there is this glorification around knives. you can die from a wound anywhere in your body if you were stabbed. because of the bleeding, the blood loss. what is happening in the uk now with knife crime is big, really, really big. we know how painful this is and if we can try and stop it for anybody else, that is what we would like to do. stuart and amanda make the short walk to the fields where 0lly died almost daily. they have planted a tree there in his memory. here we can come out as often as we want to and have some time by the tree. where the tree is is pretty much where the attack took place. that was a tree 0lly had seen grow from an acorn in our back garden. a squirrel had planted it in an old pot. i didn't have the heart to throw it away, because i always tell him, you know, from tiny acorns grow mighty oaks. you know, small things can start massive movements. i am a great believer that people don't die if they are remembered and they are kept in your heart and they are kept in your mind. we want to start a momentum that we hope will carry on, so that 0lly will never be forgotten. i think he has become a figurehead for all knife crime victims. we are just one family. this has affected so many other families. and a lot of those families are not in a position we are in with our friends and neighbours and local community. they are going through the same feelings we are without support. so we want to raise awareness for them as well. distressing topic to talk about, knife crime, but if we get this wrong now, where are we going to be in ten, 15 years' time? the girl who lured 0lly to his death and the boys who killed him are all serving prison sentences. that was stewart and amanda stephens talking about their son. the headlines coming up in a couple of minutes. time to get the news where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. around 100 firefighters have been battling a major blaze in east london overnight. fifteen fire engines were sent to the incident at an industrial dry cleaning unit on raven road in south woodford. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the inquest into the deaths of two women who died from herpes at two hospitals in kent is due to formally open today. kim sampson and samantha mulcahy died just weeks apart after their babies were delivered by caesarean section at different hospitals run by the east kent hospitals trust. theirfamilies have campaigned for answers as to whether they contracted the infection from their surgeon. a bbc investigation found the women were treated by the same person. figures compiled by the bbc show that 28,431 migrants crossed the chanel from france to kent and sussex in 2021 by small boats. that's more than triple the number for the previous year. the dangers of making the journey were highlighted in november following the deaths of 27 people. a home office minister said the government is "reforming" its approach to asylum through its new plan for immigration. schools across london and the south—east are re—opening this week, with some going back today. under current guidance, schools are expected to offer in—person teaching to all age groups this term. but any post—christmas increase in 0micron cases among pupils and staff has left some in the sector wondering whether they'll be able to remain fully open. we want uninterrupted education. if you want your child to be in school, and you want them to be learning and all the other benefits school brings — socialisation, benefits for children's mental health. if you want them to be in school, then the best way of doing that is ensuring they take lateral flow tests and that they are vaccinated. a kent zoo has welcomed the birth of a rare porcupine. the baby known as a porcupette was born on christmas day at the hemsley conservation centre at fairseat, near brands hatch. prehensile tailed porcupines originate in south america and face pressure from habitat loss. and now with a look at today's weather, here's sara thornton. good morning to you. a really different feel to the weather from today onwards. much colder. we start this morning with cloud and outbreaks of rain that have come towards us from the north overnight, continuing to track their way southwards across london and the south—east in the coming hours. eventually we will get some sunshine, but it is colder air behind all of that that you will notice today. temperatures are really struggling — in some spots in mid—single figures. 0vernight tonight, with clear skies, and that cold north—westerly wind still feeding in much colder air, the temperatures are really going to fall away. we are looking at a frost in many places into tomorrow the day tomorrow largely dry with some good spells of sunshine. but it will feel pretty chilly. through thursday, after another very cold start, we will see rain pushing in. that's it from us. good morning, welcome to breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. 0ur headlines today. a day of critical court hearings for prince andrew and virginia guiffre. his lawyers in new york will argue that her civil case, alleging sexual assault, should be dismissed. it's back to school after the christmas break for millions of pupils, with face coverings now required in the classroom in england's secondary schools. iam i am with lily and bethany, some of the very first children coming back into secondary schools in england. they are coming back with masks and in—school which the staff are getting ready to carry out. we will hear more from them in the next half hour. it's all wright on the night for peter 'snakebite' wright who banks half a million pounds after winning the pdc darts championship. the scourge of water pollution in one of britain's most beautiful rivers. we'll get an eyewitness account from the wild woman of the wye. this river, which are supposed to be the nation's favourite river, is literally being used as an open sewer. good morning. a cold start to the day, some frost and icy spells, especially in the northern half of the country. but we will have some snow and strong winds there. further south, rain clearing with some sunshine and a brisk wind. although the details throughout the programme. it's tuesday the 4th of january. our main story. prince andrew's legal team will today try to convince a new yorkjudge to throw out a civil case brought by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. the duke has consistently denied the claims. it follows the release of a document that shows virginia giuffre was paid $500,000 in exchange for committing not to sue anyone connected to the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. here's our legal correspondent dominic casciani. a woman making the gravest of allegations. the unprecedented defendant, a prince of the realm. and now, a day of critical court hearings for both virginia giuffre and the duke of york. she says she was sexually exploited by the man on the right, jeffrey epstein. ms giuffre, then known as roberts, said epstein coerced the then teenager into abuse by prince andrew. alleged events 20 years ago, but today's new york hearing focuses on the 2009 legal document. back then, ms giuffre, seen here at court in new york, accepted $500,000 to end her original case against epstein. in the settlement, virginia giuffre agreed to release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge epstein from further claims. the wording goes on to cover any other person who could have been a potential defendant. it's so wide, she promises not to bring any further case dating from the beginning of the world. prince andrew's lawyers say that means he can't be sued. but one lawyer who's represented some of epstein's alleged victims says it's too vague to be enforceable. this is one of the most bizarre pieces of a settlement agreement i have ever seen. i just cannot believe that a court would say, well, anyone who has wronged virginia, who was associated with epstein, is now released from liability. i mean, that would fly in the face of what our laws are now trying to do, which is open up claims for sexual abuse victims, allow them to come forward even years later, and bring perpetrators to justice. the duke's position remains unchanged since his november 2019 newsnight interview. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her at tramp, or going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? yes, i can absolutely categorically tell you that never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts then or at any other time? none whatsoever. this afternoon, prince andrew's team will ask a new yorkjudge to throw out ms giuffre's case. her lawyers say she is confident that won't happen and one way or another, the duke will have to answer her allegations. dominic casciani, bbc news. 0ur royal correspondentjonny dymond joins us now from london. good morning. prince andrew has always denied the claims made against him. how do you think his lawyers think the deal revealed yesterday will help his case? thea;r yesterday will help his case? they sa that yesterday will help his case? they say that he _ yesterday will help his case? they say that he is _ yesterday will help his case? they say that he is covered _ yesterday will help his case? he say that he is covered by yesterday will help his case? tie: say that he is covered by the yesterday will help his case? tiez1 say that he is covered by the deal. not because he is necessarily a potential defendant, although that is the language of the deal, but because ms giuffre had mentioned royalty in her claim againstjeffrey epstein. the claim that was then dealt with the deal, that was dealt with by the deal that was released yesterday. and so they say that he is directly covered by this deal. if the judge agrees is directly covered by this deal. if thejudge agrees in is directly covered by this deal. if the judge agrees in the hearing that comes out later today, then this is over. and this part of the allegations that have swirled around prince andrew now already quite a few years, this part is lifted. however, virginia giuffre's team have had sight of this deal all the time that this has been going on, ever since this civil claim against prince andrew for sexual assault has been made. so they must have some confidence that they have a case worth making is that this case will go ahead. worth making is that this case will no ahead. ~ . .., worth making is that this case will . ahead. . ., , . ., go ahead. what can we expect from toda 's go ahead. what can we expect from today's hearing? — go ahead. what can we expect from today's hearing? both _ go ahead. what can we expect from today's hearing? both sides i go ahead. what can we expect from today's hearing? both sides will i go ahead. what can we expect from today's hearing? both sides will put their cases. — today's hearing? both sides will put their cases, both _ today's hearing? both sides will put their cases, both sides _ today's hearing? both sides will put their cases, both sides will i today's hearing? both sides will put their cases, both sides will try i today's hearing? both sides will put their cases, both sides will try and i their cases, both sides will try and explain their version of what they understand that 2009 deal to be. it may be that the judge makes an immediate decision as to whether or not this case goes ahead but every likelihood is that he will go away, have a think about it and then come up have a think about it and then come up with the ruling and then prince andrew will know, has he won the stage, dismissed this civil case, or is it going to continue with public legal wrangling, is it going to continue with public legalwrangling, public is it going to continue with public legal wrangling, public exchanges of documents, and a demand at the end of it, sometimes towards the end of the year, that he appear in a courtroom in new york? this is what will be decided today in court. thank you very much indeed. millions of pupils across the uk are returning from their christmas break today and, over the next couple of days, amid concerns about staff shortages caused by the 0micron variant of covid. let's speak to our chief political correspondent adam fleming. a big test for government policy encouraging children back to school, but questions over testing and the availability of staff? first but questions over testing and the availability of staff?— availability of staff? first of all, it is a big logistical— availability of staff? first of all, it is a big logistical operation i it is a big logistical operation making sure the schools have got all of these tests in the first place and having the infrastructure at the school gates or in the playground or whatever to test all of those pupils arriving at once, or staggered throughout the first day back. where you have more tests, you find more cases which means the number of 0micron cases is probably going to shoot up as a result of this. it will notjust be amongst peoples, probably amongst teachers as well. that raises the prospect of there being not enough teachers to teach the classes and then it will be a question of, are there enough supply teachers, can you merge classes to cope with that or have iran —— have enough retired teachers come forward to fill the gaps? that she will be replicated potentially in other sectors of the economy, the government is keeping a close eye on that. the ministers meeting regularly to stop any flashpoints. there was a back—up plan in a filing cabinet in whitehall to prioritise access to testing, but that will not be the key workers are some people think, that will be for vulnerable people. that is in testing gets even more screeds on a national level. tomorrow —— that is encase testing gets even more squeezed. tomorrow plan b measures will be reviewed by parliament and it is looking obvious they will continue for a few weeks. keir starmer will be speaking in birmingham laying out plans for labour if they get into power, what are we expecting him to say? politics going back to normal after being dominated by covid after a couple of weeks although how many times has that cycle repeated and reversed itself? we will get a proper political speech from keir starmer today, trying to sound very patriotic, talking about the commonwealth games and the queens jubilee this year and looking very proud to be british. something his predecessorjeremy corbyn was sometimes accused of being not too enthusiastic about. there will be lots of policies because the labour leader thinks he is unfairly accused of not having enough ideas of what he would do as prime minister. labour say they have loads of policies, although it is fair to say they have not all exactly landed in they have not all exactly landed in the public�*s mind yet. there are still quite a few gaps. keir starmer thinks he will have to get to move on because he thinks there will be an election in 2023 and labour party rules means that the outlines of the manifesto have to be agreed by the party this year. politics is back! i know you will keep a close eye on that, thank you, adam. a jury in california has found elizabeth holmes, who set up the health technology company "theranos", guilty on four counts of conspiring to defraud investors. ms holmes claimed she'd developed a machine that could diagnose a range of medical conditions with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. she became a billionaire before it emerged that her devices weren't working, and her company collapsed. it's hasn't exactly been a wintry feel to christmas here but in the united states, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have lost power, and flights have been cancelled, as snow storms hit large parts of the country. a foot of snow fell in northern virginia, with almost as much recorded in washington, central tennessee and northern alabama. mark lobel reports. one of america's most famous memorials, nestled in the seat of us power. now a winter wonderland. heavy snowfall that left over 200,000 without power in northern virginia. in delaware, a snow blanket meant treacherous conditions for cars. as the storm landed, hundreds of flights were cancelled and passengers delayed. no exception, it seems, for the president either, asjoe biden was stuck on air force one for a while before braving wild winds, having to improvise with a different type of facemask. as the white house, well, got whiter, the surrounding area soon got chillier. we did not prepare for this, however, we were not supposed to be in dc originally. yeah, that's why we don't have the right clothes! and everything is closed around here to buy anything. with government offices and schools temporarily shut down, spirits briefly lifted along washington's national mall. and close by at the smithsonian national zoo, where these giant panda cubs warmly embraced it too. following this snowstorm, wintry weather is expected to continue. freezing caused by low temperatures may cause further disruption. with some more snow predicted for later this week. mark lobel, bbc news. it looks pretty, but it isn't always the best thing ever in the world. i felt a lot of sympathy with the people trying to get around and do anything with that sort of snow. there is a little bit of snow in the forecast here, but carol can explain that it will be nowhere near as bad, hopefully! it that it will be nowhere near as bad, hoefull ! , ., �* that it will be nowhere near as bad, hoefull! , ., �* , that it will be nowhere near as bad, hoefull ! , ., �* , hopefully! it shouldn't be, good morninu. having said that, part of higher routes in scotland could have up to 15 centimetres of snow by tomorrow morning. there is snow in the forecast for some, cold they had and a pretty windy one. —— a cold day ahead. a weather front is sinking southwards, cold air behind and where we have had the wintry showers by night, there is a risk of ice on untreated surfaces. further snow to fall across scotland today, especially on higher ground. windy, even severe gales across parts of the exposed north and if anything, the exposed north and if anything, the wind could pick up by lunchtime, potentially blowing to about 75 to 80 miles an hour across 0rkney and caithness, damaging gusts. blissett on the higher routes and lizards drifting as well. —— blizzards on the higher routes. there will be showers in western areas, some will be wintry with a mix of rain, sleet and snow, even at lower levels temporarily in the heavy bursts. these other temperatures, two in aberdeen, seven in cardiff, are the early temperatures, —— the hourly to at threepea, but if you had —— add on the wind strength, it will feel a lot colder. the temperature is slipping away, a cold day in prospect. slipping away, a cold day in prospect-— slipping away, a cold day in --rosect. ~ .,, , ., ~ prospect. we will wrap up, thank ou, prospect. we will wrap up, thank you. carol- _ for most parts of the uk, the festive period was spent living under new restrictions that were put in place amid concerns over 0micron. in some areas, christmas and new year have seen coronavirus cases hit record levels. let's take a look at some of the current restrictions in place. in northern ireland, nightclubs are currently closed, the rule of six is back in pubs and restaurants, and people are being advised to limit mixing in homes to three households. the northern ireland executive says the measures are under regular review. in scotland, there are limits on the size of public events, nightclubs are closed, and there's table service only in hospitality. the scottish government says the restrictions will be reviewed a week today. wales introduced measures on boxing day, closing nightclubs, reintroducing the rule of six, and people must work from home when it is possible to do so. the welsh government says restrictions are being reviewed on a weekly basis. and in england, face coverings are required in most public venues, and people are being advised to work from home when they can. the government will next review the data tomorrow, but the prime minister says as it stands no further restrictions will be put in place. we're joined now by professor tom solomon, director of the uk's emerging infections research unit, based at the university of liverpool. nice to see you, welcome. i know we don't really have a complete picture of infection levels because there is a delay and the like and if figures but give us your assessment of where we are right now. but give us your assessment of where we are right now-— we are right now. clearly, omicron is havin: we are right now. clearly, omicron is having a — we are right now. clearly, omicron is having a big _ we are right now. clearly, omicron is having a big effect _ we are right now. clearly, omicron is having a big effect and _ is having a big effect and continuing to do so in terms of number of infections, which is going up, we had 190,000 across the uk a few days ago, 20,000 in scotland yesterday, its highest number. the critical thing is how many of these infections are translating into hospital admissions. and yesterday, i think it was 13,000 people in hospital in total, that is the number i would keep an eye on. that's the thing which is going to guide us as to whether we need a further restriction. that guide us as to whether we need a further restriction.— guide us as to whether we need a further restriction. that was going to be my next _ further restriction. that was going to be my next question, _ further restriction. that was going to be my next question, at i further restriction. that was going to be my next question, at what l to be my next question, at what point does that level become a serious concern when it comes to bringing in new restrictions? you have to bringing in new restrictions? gm, have to remember this time last year, we had 40,000 people in hospital with covid total, so we are not at that level yet. we are still at a stage in this 0micron variant where the number of people with the infection was doubling every few days, a couple of weeks ago. which means that the hospital admissions are now at that stage as well where they are doubling perhaps every week or so. they are doubling perhaps every week orso. it they are doubling perhaps every week or so. it willjust be a matter of seeing how long that continues and when that starts to peek and come down again. the when that starts to peek and come down again-— when that starts to peek and come down again. the issue for the nhs, that is a measure _ down again. the issue for the nhs, that is a measure that _ down again. the issue for the nhs, that is a measure that the i that is a measure that the government is taking in terms of the pressure put on the nhs, that it comes from both sides. it's about the staff who would be working in the staff who would be working in the nhs having to isolate getting ill themselves, and then increased admissions. those two together could cause a crunch point. that admissions. those two together could cause a crunch point.— cause a crunch point. that is a bi aer cause a crunch point. that is a bigger problem _ cause a crunch point. that is a bigger problem with _ cause a crunch point. that is a bigger problem with omicron l cause a crunch point. that is a i bigger problem with omicron that it bigger problem with 0micron that it was with the previous variants because 0micron causes so many infections but they are not severe. that means that so many people are off work particularly in the nhs, about 10% in some places, that is likely to go up. so it is being squeezed from both ends. iltrui’hgt likely to go up. so it is being squeezed from both ends. what is the reali of squeezed from both ends. what is the reality of that — squeezed from both ends. what is the reality of that look _ squeezed from both ends. what is the reality of that look like? _ squeezed from both ends. what is the reality of that look like? what i squeezed from both ends. what is the reality of that look like? what are i reality of that look like? what are the sort of decisions that staff might be having to make? brute the sort of decisions that staff might be having to make? we see in some hospitals _ might be having to make? we see in some hospitals they _ might be having to make? we see in some hospitals they have _ might be having to make? we see inj some hospitals they have announced critical incidents which means they have to cut back on some of the routine things that they provide, so that they can continue to support people with severe covid disease. one of the encouraging things is that even when people are being admitted with the 0micron variant, they aren't in hospital for so long as they wear with the delta variant or with other variants. probably because so many people have some antibodies from the vaccine. the critical thing is that we continue to push the vaccine. brute critical thing is that we continue to push the vaccine.— critical thing is that we continue to push the vaccine. we have been talkin: to push the vaccine. we have been talking about _ to push the vaccine. we have been talking about schools _ to push the vaccine. we have been talking about schools returning i to push the vaccine. we have been| talking about schools returning this morning so there will be a lot more testing as pupils return, and one would expect that the number infections goes out partly because of that testing but also because people are vexing again. add into that —— mixing again. add into that what transmission might have happened over the christmas break which we start to see now, it feels like a crunch point to this week stop. like a crunch point to this week sto -. . ., , ., stop. there could be older generations _ stop. there could be older generations getting i stop. there could be older. generations getting omicron stop. there could be older- generations getting omicron now generations getting 0micron now because they mix over christmas, and with more older people they are more likely to be hospitalised and longer in hospital so that is one side of it. as you said, in schools, testing is going to be happening. my feeling is going to be happening. my feeling is there is going to be a real push to try to keep schools open this time. as the pandemic has gone on, it is clear that younger people have really suffered, and they are not gonna get these years of education back. so it feels like they are going to be a push to keep schools open even if there are large groups of kids in classes. we open even if there are large groups of kids in classes.— of kids in classes. we have got a mask wearing — of kids in classes. we have got a mask wearing all _ of kids in classes. we have got a mask wearing all the _ of kids in classes. we have got a mask wearing all the way i of kids in classes. we have got a| mask wearing all the way through of kids in classes. we have got a i mask wearing all the way through the day in england, how important is that and the other mitigating factors? a r' that and the other mitigating factors? a, w ., , that and the other mitigating factors? ., , ., factors? mask wearing is important, where kids can. _ factors? mask wearing is important, where kids can, they _ factors? mask wearing is important, where kids can, they are _ factors? mask wearing is important, where kids can, they are now- factors? mask wearing is important, where kids can, they are now being | where kids can, they are now being told to wear them in the classrooms. the other thing which is important is keeping the windows open and having some airflow in the classroom. telling everyone to put an extra jumper on or where their coats. i don't know about you guys are over christmas, we managed to keep things going, we had our band together, we had the windows open and you can feel the air flowing. we had a c02 monitor and we could see the effect of that. just by keeping the effect of that. just by keeping the windows open, we could keep the airflow and luckily nobody got sick. a quick word on testing. schools will now be testing as pupils return. forthe will now be testing as pupils return. for the rest of the population, we know there was concern about a lack of lateral flow tests, a lack of availability of pcr tests, a lack of availability of pcr tests in some parts of the country. how damaging is that in trying to keep a lid on the outbreak? it hasn't been helpful because the public have really got their heads around some important aspect of this outbreak. i think one of the reasons why we have not so far needed further lockdowns beyond what we have had is because people who are doing it anyway, mixing a lot less, getting testing before they go out. so obviously not being able to test over this critical period has not been helpful. it looks like that should be righted over the next few days. if you think about it, if everybody did a lateral flow test everybody did a lateral flow test every day, not that that is being recommended, but that would be a very good way of keeping things under control.— very good way of keeping things under control. ., ,, , ., , . under control. thank you very much indeed, professor _ under control. thank you very much indeed, professor tom _ under control. thank you very much indeed, professor tom solomon. i when it comes to schools, secondary pupils will have to be tested and wear masks to help prevent the spread of 0micron when they return this week. let's take a look at the different guidelines across the uk. in scotland pupils are being asked to test at home before they return to school and then continue to test twice a week. wales is also asking students to carry out a home test before returning, and then continue to test themselves three times a week. in northern ireland all secondary pupils and staff are being encouraged to do a home test in the 24 hours before they return to school. and in england, all secondary schools have been asked to provide one on—site testing for pupils ahead of their return to the classroom, and are then pupils are encouraged to test themselves twice a week. 0ur reporterjayne mccubbin is at a school in stoke—on—trent this morning, where students are coming in early for lateral flow tests. how's it going? absolutely, we had four of the very _ how's it going? absolutely, we had four of the very first _ how's it going? absolutely, we had four of the very first students i how's it going? absolutely, we had four of the very first students in i four of the very first students in the country getting ready to get back into the class with their masks on, now mandated, and ready for your first tests. good morning everybody. let me talk you through the process here at the academy. when the kids come in this money, they will meet somebody likejc. good morning somebody like jc. good morning josie, somebody likejc. good morning josie, who will give them a registration card. they take this to one of the testing tables to meet one of the testing tables to meet one of the staff members like sarah, good morning. what will happen here? we will ask you to hand sanitiser and blow your nose, then i will hand you one of these swaps which will swab both nostrils, and then we will test the results and take it to the processing area. you test the results and take it to the processing area.— test the results and take it to the processing area. you are not doing the tests, processing area. you are not doing the tests. the _ processing area. you are not doing the tests, the kids _ processing area. you are not doing the tests, the kids do _ processing area. you are not doing the tests, the kids do them i processing area. you are not doing the tests, the kids do them and i processing area. you are not doing | the tests, the kids do them and you ever them. the tests, the kids do them and you everthem. give the tests, the kids do them and you ever them. give us a wave, barry. barry at the end will take the tests in and sit and wait patiently for those tests show while the kids wait in another room to find out what happens. if they are clear they after class, if not, you get sent home. how are you feeling about coming back, bethany? l’m home. how are you feeling about coming back, bethany?— home. how are you feeling about coming back, bethany? i'm glad to be back in school— coming back, bethany? i'm glad to be back in school and _ coming back, bethany? i'm glad to be back in school and to _ coming back, bethany? i'm glad to be back in school and to be _ coming back, bethany? i'm glad to be back in school and to be learning - back in school and to be learning again. back in school and to be learning aaain. ., ., ., ., ., again. none of you have had covid, have you? — again. none of you have had covid, have you? which _ again. none of you have had covid, have you? which is _ again. none of you have had covid, have you? which is amazing. - again. none of you have had covid, l have you? which is amazing. daniel, next week, something is going to happen, the mock exams, how you feeling about this disruption with exams around the corner? pretty nervous, exams around the corner? pretty nervous. you _ exams around the corner? pretty nervous, you know, _ exams around the corner? pretty nervous, you know, i've - exams around the corner? pretty nervous, you know, i've missed. exams around the corner? pretty - nervous, you know, i've missed quite a big _ nervous, you know, i've missed quite a big chunk_ nervous, you know, i've missed quite a big chunk of— nervous, you know, i've missed quite a big chunk of learning but i'm sure i'll do— a big chunk of learning but i'm sure i'll do fine — a big chunk of learning but i'm sure i'll do fine when i come back. and the key thing _ i'll do fine when i come back. and the key thing is. _ i'll do fine when i come back. situc the key thing is, keeping i'll do fine when i come back. fific the key thing is, keeping safe i'll do fine when i come back. elic the key thing is, keeping safe and healthy, isn't it. how do you think about being back? it is healthy, isn't it. how do you think about being back?— healthy, isn't it. how do you think about being back? it is pretty good to be back and _ about being back? it is pretty good to be back and learning _ about being back? it is pretty good | to be back and learning everything. that is_ to be back and learning everything. that is what — to be back and learning everything. that is what you _ to be back and learning everything. that is what you said _ to be back and learning everything. that is what you said off—camera, i that is what you said off—camera, she said she would rather be at home! but he will keep say, you have not had covid in yourfamily home! but he will keep say, you have not had covid in your family yet. home! but he will keep say, you have not had covid in yourfamily yet. —— you will keep safe. what is happening here, with the staff absences?— happening here, with the staff absences? , ., ., ., absences? yes, we had a third of staff of pupils — absences? yes, we had a third of staff of pupils off _ absences? yes, we had a third of staff of pupils off before - absences? yes, we had a third of staff of pupils off before winter i staff of pupils off before winter isolating or with covid. so a third of staff and _ isolating or with covid. so a third of staff and pupils _ isolating or with covid. so a third of staff and pupils were - isolating or with covid. so a third of staff and pupils were off? - isolating or with covid. so a third l of staff and pupils were off? you'll occur at different times throughout the term. we managed that by merging classes. the the term. we managed that by merging classes. , . ' . the term. we managed that by merging classes. , ., ' ., , ., ., classes. the staff are brilliant and they stepped _ classes. the staff are brilliant and they stepped up _ classes. the staff are brilliant and they stepped up and _ classes. the staff are brilliant and they stepped up and covered - they stepped up and covered necessary lessons and where we could be gets supply teachers but that isn't always possible. that be gets supply teachers but that isn't always possible.— be gets supply teachers but that isn't always possible. that is the key thing- _ isn't always possible. that is the key thing- tom. _ isn't always possible. that is the key thing. tom, you _ isn't always possible. that is the key thing. tom, you are - isn't always possible. that is the key thing. tom, you are in - isn't always possible. that is the l key thing. tom, you are in charge isn't always possible. that is the - key thing. tom, you are in charge of the academy trust, you blew your supply teacher budget in the very first time. , ., , first time. yes, there are funds that we allocated _ first time. yes, there are funds that we allocated for _ first time. yes, there are funds that we allocated for supply - first time. yes, there are funds| that we allocated for supply and first time. yes, there are funds i that we allocated for supply and it all went _ that we allocated for supply and it all went in— that we allocated for supply and it all went in the first time to cover classes — all went in the first time to cover classes. even the call to arms to have _ classes. even the call to arms to have extra — classes. even the call to arms to have extra funding could help us, but the _ have extra funding could help us, but the second problem with that is that we _ but the second problem with that is that we cannot find the supply teachers — that we cannot find the supply teachers to come in. we need high quality— teachers to come in. we need high quality professional teachers to come _ quality professional teachers to come in — quality professional teachers to come in to help our children learn and they— come in to help our children learn and they are not there. they aren't out there- — and they are not there. they aren't out there. unions _ and they are not there. they aren't out there. unions have _ and they are not there. they aren't out there. unions have asked - and they are not there. they aren't out there. unions have asked for. out there. unions have asked for more money from government to cover things that you are saying even if you have the money, the starfound there. home—schooling at some point is almost inevitable this time, the staff have updated its guidance for vulnerable children and the children of key staff. it feels almost inevitable that some schools will have to go back to home—schooling. the hope is there will not be any national restrictions as we have seenin national restrictions as we have seen in the past. masks are mandated and testing in school will happen in england from today.— and testing in school will happen in england from today. thank you very much, england from today. thank you very much. jayne. _ england from today. thank you very much, jayne, that _ england from today. thank you very much, jayne, that is _ england from today. thank you very much, jayne, that is the _ england from today. thank you very much, jayne, that is the picture - england from today. thank you very much, jayne, that is the picture of i much, jayne, that is the picture of a lot of people up and down the country this morning. ads, a lot of people up and down the country this morning.— country this morning. a big logistical— country this morning. a big logistical challenge - country this morning. a big logistical challenge for - country this morning. a big - logistical challenge for everyone involved, good luck to them. campaigners celebrated last november when the environment agency announced it would be investigating the illegal release of sewage into rivers by water companies. but a major source of pollution is actually from agriculture and it's potentially an even tougher issue to tackle. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, has been to the river wye to find out more. angela jones is known as the wild woman of the wye. oh, it's me. it's in my veins. i feel like a guardian of this river. she has been swimming in the river virtually every day for more than 30 years and she has witnessed some shocking changes. we used to have a beautiful water crowfoot plant that used to blanket huge sections of this wye. and now, there's nothing. she knows what the problem is. you taste and you see, as you're going through certain sections, the pollution. the thickness of the water and the green algae and there is no light going in there. and you see the brown, thick slime on the stones below the surface. and that's a new thing? oh, it's all new. yeah, five years ago, you would have hardly seen any of that. and now, this river, which is supposed to be the nation's favourite river, is literally being used as an open sewer. sewage released from treatment plants is a big issue. absolutely disgusting. it smells foul. but the biggest problem is actually pollution from agriculture. there has been a massive increase in the number of chickens being farmed for meat and eggs in the wye valley. huge new sheds have been put up to house what is now an estimated 20 million birds. now, 20 million chickens produce a lot of waste. but chicken waste, chicken manure, is a great fertiliser, so the chicken farmers sell it to other farmers to improve their soil, and that is the problem. so this is quite crucial land in terms of run—off. animal manure contains phosphorus, a fertiliser. think rocket fuel for plants. and the more you put on the fields, the more phosphorus leaks into the river. the effects have become shockingly apparent. the river wye turned lime green. it should be clean and clear. the visibility was a couple of inches. it was absolutely shocking. all that phosphorus sparked an explosion of algae, which choked other plants and animals. it was horrible. it looked like someone had poured green paint into the river. it is just not how a river should be. new research shows a massive surplus of phosphorus in the soil. it amounts to 17 kilograms of phosphorus per hectare. the national average is about seven kilograms. so the accumulation in the wye is two to three times greater than within the national average. at this point you would expect me to report that everyone dug in their heels and refused to do anything. but that is not what happened. so what do you make of it, what conclusions... a series of meetings were held to discuss what to do and virtually everyone came — campaigners, farmers, the supermarkets, representatives of tesco and sainsbury�*s are here, as well as the country's biggest chicken and egg producers. and that means there has got to be a system change. martin williams was one of the first farmers to get involved. he is already changing his practices, using less manure and working to reduce soil erosion. he says fields alongside the river will not be ploughed to reduce the flow of polluted water. i just feel that agriculture needed to put its hand up for the issue that is affecting the river and address the issue as best we can. some otherfarmers are making similar changes — to martin's delight. it is like you have a consensus. it is very rare. i am not sure it is a campaign orjust pushing on an open door. itjust seems that people are willing to look at this and address it, which is fantastic, isn't it? it is what you want, isn't it? yes, it is. it couldn't be a better good news story. so when will you be able to solve the problem? will you be able to return the wye to a semblance of what used to be? you had to bring me down. i think what we can do, we can do our best. it is a multifaceted problem. it is going to take a long time to sort out. it is not going to be done overnight, it is not going to be done through kneejerk. when all the fuss has gone away, it will still be going on, and i think it will probably take 10—15 years to sort if we started today. it is encouraging that action is being taken, but will it be enough and happen quickly enough to restore one of britain's most beautiful rivers to its former glory? justin rowlatt, bbc news, the wye valley. looks gorgeous there at the end. i know it is not gorgeous in all places at all the time. b, know it is not gorgeous in all places at all the time.- know it is not gorgeous in all places at all the time. a lot of work to do _ places at all the time. a lot of work to do and _ places at all the time. a lot of work to do and as _ places at all the time. a lot of work to do and as justin - places at all the time. a lot of work to do and as justin was l places at all the time. a lot of - work to do and as justin was saying, work to do and asjustin was saying, it's so easy to focus on the sewage problem but farming and agriculture is a real big issue as well. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. around 100 firefighters have been battling a major blaze in east london overnight. fifteen fire engines were sent to the incident at an industrial dry cleaning unit on raven road in south woodford. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the inquest into the deaths of two women who died from herpes at two hospitals in kent is due to formally open today. kim sampson and samantha mulcahy died just weeks apart after their babies were delivered by caesarean section at different hospitals run by the east kent hospitals trust. theirfamilies have campaigned for answers as to whether they contracted the infection from their surgeon. a bbc investigation found the women were treated by the same person. figures compiled by the bbc show that 28,431 migrants crossed the channel from france to kent and sussex in 2021 by small boats. that's more than triple the number for the previous year. the dangers of making the journey were highlighted in november following the deaths of 27 people in the channel. a home office minister said the government is reforming its approach to asylum through its new plan for immigration. as schools reopen this week, some councils are warning that teaching could be disrupted by covid sickness and isolation. the leader of brighton and hove city council has said tough new measures are needed to stop the omicron variant spreading in schools. phelim mac cafferty said older primary school children should wear masks in classrooms, and has called for tighter self—isolation rules for close contacts of positive cases. we want to maintain, we want to hold on to and safeguard in—person learning, but our anxiety is that the lack of planning so far means there will be disruption to children and young people and their education. meanwhile, tottenham football club has been hit by fresh coronavirus concerns ahead of the carabao cup semi—final first leg at chelsea tomorrow. nine first—team players were affected in december with two games called off, and they're now waiting for pcr results before they can confirm who can play. a look at today's weather — here's sara thornton. good morning to you. a really different feel to the weather from today onwards. much colder. we start this morning with cloud and outbreaks of rain that have come towards us from the north overnight, continuing to track their way southwards across london and the south—east in the coming hours. eventually we will get some sunshine, but it is colder air behind all of that that you will notice today. temperatures are really struggling — in some spots in mid—single figures. overnight tonight, with clear skies and that cold north—westerly wind still feeding in much colder air, the temperatures are really going to fall away. we are looking at a frost in many places into tomorrow. the day tomorrow largely dry with some good spells of sunshine. but it will feel pretty chilly. through thursday, after another very cold start, we will see rain pushing in. that's it from us. back to ben and sally in salford. hello, this is breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. despite growing strain on the nhs, the prime minister has again insisted despite growing strain on the nhs, the prime minister has again insisted there is no need at this stage to bring in further covid restrictions in england. borisjohnson admitted hospitals would face considerable pressure over the coming weeks, but said the country was in a much better position than this time last year thanks to vaccinations. we can now speak to the vaccines minister maggie throup. good morning. i want to start with schools because _ good morning. i want to start with schools because it _ good morning. i want to start with schools because it is _ good morning. i want to start with schools because it is a _ good morning. i want to start with schools because it is a big - good morning. i want to start with schools because it is a big day - good morning. i want to start with schools because it is a big day for| schools because it is a big day for secondary school pupils returning after the christmas break, finding they will need to test when they get there. are there enough teachers and estimate the happen? i am there. are there enough teachers and estimate the happen?— estimate the happen? i am confident and it has been _ estimate the happen? i am confident and it has been worked _ estimate the happen? i am confident and it has been worked on _ estimate the happen? i am confident and it has been worked on before - and it has been worked on before christmas to ensure tests availability was there for pupils and teachers and i'm sure teachers and teachers and i'm sure teachers and students will be confident to go to classrooms knowing they have tested negative for coronavirus. mask wearing for students in england throughout the day, notjust mask wearing for students in england throughout the day, not just when they are moving between classrooms. we know borisjohnson said that will only stay as long as necessary. it is a challenge and the challenge is that this is advisory and not mandatory so it puts pressure on teachers to levels that.— teachers to levels that. from listenin: teachers to levels that. from listening to _ teachers to levels that. from listening to students - teachers to levels that. from listening to students and - teachers to levels that. from | listening to students and they teachers to levels that. from - listening to students and they are keen to play their part in combating this virus, and as the prime minister said and the education secretary, for a shorter time as possible, the sooner we can allow children to take off masks we will do. it is important they feel safe in the classroom as well as continue to have face—to—face lessons. it is important children are in school to make sure they get that school environment and can learn in that positive way. bhd environment and can learn in that positive way-— environment and can learn in that positive way. and getting children back into school _ positive way. and getting children back into school is _ positive way. and getting children back into school is the _ positive way. and getting children back into school is the most - back into school is the most important thing, but there is another issue which is availability of staff, and we are seeing it in many industries after christmas, there are not enough staff because they are forced to isolate at home. how confident are you new will have enough teachers in classrooms and children will not be forced to return home and learn online? irate return home and learn online? we have return home and learn online? , have made a plea for retired teachers or those who have moved to come back into teaching to help out. colleagues who were teachers before becoming mps are going back into the classroom. i think they are looking forward to it. we saw it happen in the nhs and now for teachers. it is important everybody pulls together to ensure children can get face—to—face teaching that is so vital. face-to-face teaching that is so vital. ., ., , face-to-face teaching that is so vital. ., , ., vital. how many teachers have responded _ vital. how many teachers have responded to _ vital. how many teachers have responded to the _ vital. how many teachers have responded to the request - vital. how many teachers have responded to the request to i vital. how many teachers have - responded to the request to return if they are retired or supply teachers?— if they are retired or supply teachers? ., , ., _, . ,, ., teachers? people are coming back all the time and — teachers? people are coming back all the time and numbers _ teachers? people are coming back all the time and numbers will— teachers? people are coming back all the time and numbers will vary - the time and numbers will vary depending on different parts of the country. some people have said in my constituency they are going to go back into teaching for a short time. they had taken retirement but want to play their part. and members of parliament, perhaps on a friday when the house is not sitting but they are keen to make sure children get face—to—face education, which is vital. i face-to-face education, which is vital. ., , ., face-to-face education, which is vital. ., ,, ., ., vital. i wondered if you know how many have _ vital. i wondered if you know how many have responded _ vital. i wondered if you know how many have responded to - vital. i wondered if you know how many have responded to the - vital. i wondered if you know how. many have responded to the request to return to the classroom because there is concern about safety for those, particularly if they are older. ., . , those, particularly if they are older. ., ., those, particularly if they are older. ., . older. how many have returned? schools are _ older. how many have returned? schools are just _ older. how many have returned? schools are just going _ older. how many have returned? schools are just going back- older. how many have returned? schools are just going back and l older. how many have returned? | schools are just going back and it is a matter of thousands who have come forward to say they will play their part and it is important they feel safe in the school environment. testing of students and staff, wearing face coverings will ensure teachers who are coming back feel safe to come back. fin teachers who are coming back feel safe to come back.— teachers who are coming back feel safe to come back. on the issue of safe to come back. on the issue of safe i safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want _ safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want to — safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want to read _ safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want to read you _ safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want to read you a - safe to come back. on the issue of safety i want to read you a tweet l safety i want to read you a tweet from someone who got in touch saying she is an nhs gp, full—time, with two primary school children and one is clinically vulnerable. unless the situation with schools changes she says, to provide a safe place for education, i am considering a career break at home to ensure i can educate my children at home. that not only takes children out of school it takes her out of front line health care. i school it takes her out of front line health care.— line health care. i think every arent line health care. i think every parent really _ line health care. i think every parent really cares _ line health care. i think every parent really cares for - line health care. i think every parent really cares for their l parent really cares for their children and it is right they do so and i appreciate her concerns. we are opening up vaccines to children who are clinically vulnerable, which is important to for the younger aged children who are clinically vulnerable to get their vaccine and help protect themselves and others. we have opened up the vaccines to the 12-15 we have opened up the vaccines to the 12—15 —year—olds and 16—17 —year—olds and students are playing their part in coming forward to get a vaccine to protect themselves and the people they live with and socialise with. there are lots of measures put in place to ensure the school environment is safe. and students can come to you with that face—to—face education. let’s students can come to you with that face-to-face education.— face-to-face education. let's talk about vaccines. _ face-to-face education. let's talk about vaccines. are _ face-to-face education. let's talk about vaccines. are you _ face-to-face education. let's talk| about vaccines. are you concerned face-to-face education. let's talk - about vaccines. are you concerned by the drop—off in the number coming forward for a booster or third dose? there was a big push before christmas but that number has fallen significantly since the holiday. i am not concerned because people came forward before christmas, over christmas, on christmas day itself, between christmas and new year and continue to come forward. 75% eligible for the booster have come forward already. people were keen to play their part in getting a booster. also encouraging is the people who had not had the first dose were coming forward to get that. and people coming forward for their second dose. you have seen families come forward for children to be vaccinated as well as the parents. there is still plenty of time for people to get the booster. some will not be able to because they have had a recent infection of covid, but they are coming forward all the time. they were keen to get it before christmas but people can come forward now as sooner is eligible, and every day we have seen records broken, when it is bank holidays or normal working days. which is fantastic. i question those records being broken. before christmas you say people are still coming forward, 968,000 vaccinated on the 21st of december and then just 400,000 on the 30th and by sunday, it had fallen to 100,000, way off the target of a million needed every day. i way off the target of a million needed every day.— way off the target of a million needed every day. i think you have to remember— needed every day. i think you have to remember sunday _ needed every day. i think you have to remember sunday is _ needed every day. i think you have to remember sunday is always - needed every day. i think you have | to remember sunday is always low. not every vaccination site is open on a sunday and sunday will always be lower. it was a bank holiday. to have 100,000 coming forward on a sunday is really encouraging. qo�*s have 100,000 coming forward on a sunday is really encouraging. 4096 of the population _ sunday is really encouraging. 4096 of the population still— sunday is really encouraging. 4096 of the population still does _ sunday is really encouraging. 4096 of the population still does not - sunday is really encouraging. 4096 of the population still does not have - the population still does not have its booster. irlat the population still does not have its booster-— its booster. not everybody is eliaible its booster. not everybody is eligible yet- _ its booster. not everybody is eligible yet. what _ its booster. not everybody is eligible yet. what we - its booster. not everybody is eligible yet. what we have i its booster. not everybody is i eligible yet. what we have seen is how many more came forward for their firstjab because they have been encouraged by seeing people coming forward for the booster so we are making sure people are protected. it is the best way to fight the virus. it prevents infection and stops transmission, as well as making sure people are not hospitalised and getting seriously ill and that is down to the vaccine. today is important because it is the first anniversary since brian pinker was given the first dose of astrazeneca outside of clinical trials. a boost for british research and innovation to know that from that first dose, over 50 million have been given in the uk and now 2.5 billion doses worldwide of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, which is a good news story. i want to talk about it being a crunch week. the schools are going back and a lot of people going back to work. they have been mixing over the holiday. we will perhaps start to see infections coming through in the numbers. we know there has been a delay in getting lateral flow tests to pharmacies. it is difficult to book a pcr in some parts. what reassurance do you have for people who need tests that they will get them when they need them? there are vafious them when they need them? there are various ways — them when they need them? there are various ways people _ them when they need them? there are various ways people can _ them when they need them? there are various ways people can get _ them when they need them? there are various ways people can get a - them when they need them? there are various ways people can get a test. i various ways people can get a test. they can order a test to be delivered online. and we have increased that capacity up to 900,000 a day, pcr and lateralflow tests. and in december we got out 100 million lateralflow tests. and in december we got out 100 million lateral flow tests and january and february it will be 300 million. a lot of availability. it is encouraging people are doing the right thing and testing themselves before they mix with elderly relatives and before they go to different places. it is a good news story. the fact people want the lateral flow is a good news story rather than anything else. i lateral flow is a good news story rather than anything else. i want to talk about the _ rather than anything else. i want to talk about the pressure _ rather than anything else. i want to talk about the pressure put - rather than anything else. i want to talk about the pressure put on i talk about the pressure put on hospitals. i am seeing figures this morning from the train operating companies saying one in ten workers is our. a similar picture in the health service. we will only see these absences rise after mixing over christmas. what is the government doing to make sure essential services continue? it is im ortant essential services continue? it is important people _ essential services continue? it 3 important people know we have reduced the number of days of isolation down from ten to seven. with two lateral flow test taken that are negative. i'm sure people will appreciate the government is looking at data all the time and putting in contingency measures, it would be wrong if we did not, did not plan for more staff absence. it is part of plan b and people are asked to work from home, which will ease some pressure on the rail operators and nhs. the fact people were taking lateral flow test before mixing it christmas will have helped to reduce transmission that would have happened otherwise. vaccines minister maggie — have happened otherwise. vaccines minister maggie throup, _ have happened otherwise. vaccines minister maggie throup, thank i have happened otherwise. vaccines| minister maggie throup, thank you. time foran time for an update on the sport. some darts name news. they really put on a show, the head ease. look at that. snakebite. we have been saying you have to work on your nicknames. sally no—nonsense nugent. ben the titan thompson. it has been great. started mid december and finish last night. always a raucous atmosphere. big money on the table for the winner. that half a million pound cheque went to peter "snakebite" wright. he is an unmistakeable character. it was a thrilling final against michael "the bully boy" smith. the lead kept changing hands and wright was actually surprised to win it. his experience allowed him to take advantage of some costly mistakes by his opponent, who was devasted . wright said smith would definitely be winning world titles soon. and that bumper cheque, a nice little new year treat. not such a bumper start to the new year for manchester united and manager ralf rangnick, who watched his unbeaten run ended by wolves, who were more than a match for united at old trafford. it wasn't until the 82nd minute they grabbed the goal that won it thanks tojoao moutinho as wolves move up to eighth. it remains tough going for england in the ashes. they're missing their head coach chris silverwood, both bowling coaches, their strength and conditiong coach, all isolating because of covid ahead of the fourth test which starts later. the media manager has even been having to help out with training — no wonder stuart broad recalled to the side has said the mood in the camp is low. assistant coach graham thorpe is one of those still involvedsays assistant coach graham thorpe says they're trying to make the best of it. we have managed, we have managed. and also, in many ways, players have to take responsibility for themselves, as well. some of those guys who aren't actually playing and are not in the squad. i have encourage them. i have encouraged them. people can go down ill. it is probably like when i started my england career. there weren't as many coaches around. and being resourceful for yourself and getting your team—mates to help you out, as well, is what you require, is important. in the build—up to the australian open, great britain's men are playing in the atp cup in sydney and it's going well so far. after they beat germany at the weekend, they're up against canada — dan evans has taken the first set against denis shapovalov in the opening match. he isa he is a break—up in the second set. this competition features 16 countries. competing in four groups at two venues in the city, with ranking points on offer to individual players. all eyes on the first grand slam of the year, the australian open. dan evans in early—season form. emma raducanu had to pull out of a warm up raducanu had to pull out of a warm up event because she was isolating following covid but she is due to play in sydney before the tournament starts in melbourne. that is the reality at the moment. you talk about how it affects the england cricket team. tennis players moving around the world. issues there. testing positive. you have to be prepared for everything to change. and will novak djokovic play? he has not revealed his vaccination status. and to play in the australian open you have to have proof of vaccination. will he be there to defend his title? we do not have long to find out. and can you only address me by my darts name from now on, please. you just need the hair due to go with it. it is not far off. carol, rescue me! this morning is a cold start for most and it will be a cold generally. there is snow and gales in the forecast. overnight, the weather front producing rain, in the forecast. overnight, the weatherfront producing rain, with cold air behind it which means some have seen snow overnight. that is the case in scotland. some wintry showers in northern ireland. this will continue to move south. the temperature will go down in the south. behind it, temperatures around freezing or below. we are looking at the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. further snow showers today, up to 15 centimetres on higher rates in scotland with severe gales in the far north. that combination could lead to blizzards and drifting of snow. as we go through the day across orkney and caithness, at lunchtime gusts between 75 and 80 mph. further south, the weather front moves towards the near continent. dry weather and sunshine comes through. on the brisk wind, further showers from the west. some of those will be wintry and i mean a mixture of rain, sleet and snow and we could see some of that at lower levels but it will not accumulate. the wind speed today, in the north, where the gusts are strongest, and wherever you are will be windy. temperatures, two in aberdeen, but when you add on the strength of the wind, this is how it will feel. more like minus four in aberdeen. only two degrees in london so the temperature going down. this evening and overnight, further snow showers across scotland. still windy here. furthersnow showers across scotland. still windy here. further snow showers from the west. we could see them as far south as the north and west midlands, through wales, may be some in the south—west. this is the temperature range. a widespread frost to start tomorrow. it will be windy first thing with showers coming down the north sea coast. wintry showers coming in on the wind in the west. high pressure builds and things will ease and the wind strength will ease. a lot of dry weather and some sunshine. but it will be cold. i will qualify that because these temperatures are representative of what we expect at this stage in january. moving from wednesday into thursday, high pressure pushes away. we have a warm front and as it bumps into cold air, we will see snow on the leading—edge. behind the warm front, milder conditions coming in. we see a return to rain. then a second front comes in, a cold front, and behind that, eventually the air turns cold and we see the return of wintry showers. so the weather is all over the place at the moment but it is winter and what we should expect. you are the one to make sense of it. thank you. it's been announced that more people are to become eligible for an automatic pardon for historical convictions for same—sex activity — and to have them wiped from their records. the government is to expand the scope of the current scheme, in an amendment to legislation currently going through parliament. let's talk to carl austin—behan, an raf veteran and the former lord mayor of manchester. good morning. happy new year. and to ou. talk good morning. happy new year. and to you- talk to _ good morning. happy new year. and to you- talk to me — good morning. happy new year. and to you. talk to me about _ good morning. happy new year. and to you. talk to me about the _ you. talk to me about the significance of this and why it is important. significance of this and why it is important-— important. the state have done something _ important. the state have done something wrong _ important. the state have done something wrong in _ important. the state have done something wrong in the - important. the state have done something wrong in the fact i important. the state have done something wrong in the fact of| something wrong in the fact of keeping this prolonged. to pardon and move forward, those laws are historic. times have moved on and changed. as a veteran, someone who has been in the air force, people went to prison for being classed as being gay. it is making sure the wrong is put right. i know lgbt charities over the years have fought for this to make sure we are treated with respect and the fact it is taken off criminal records for two consenting adults taking part in sexual activity and with consent. it is about the fact that it is wrong to have that on your record, your disclosure paperwork. it is making sure that is wiped clean and you are not having to suffer, going for jobs, things in the future, that could hold you back, especially when the laws have changed. lord cashman and others, professorjohnson, have worked on this since 2016 in the house of lords but charities have worked on it many years beforehand to get that put right. for someone... it was only 22 years ago, in the armed forces, you could get kicked out and go to prison for it. it took 20 years for an apology and 21 years before you can get your medals back, it is very slow the way the government are working. i appreciate the fact there is a lot to be done but there is more work out there to do and that is what a lot of lgbt charities such as pride, stonewall, they are working towards to make sure things are put right. people lostjobs and pensions. people lostjobs and pensions. people went to prison. it is about the fact we need to make sure that people, as they are moving on and times are changing, that people are given the respect they deserve and the fact they are not treated as second—class citizens. you the fact they are not treated as second-class citizens.- the fact they are not treated as second-class citizens. you said you are an raf — second-class citizens. you said you are an raf veteran. _ second-class citizens. you said you are an raf veteran. what - second-class citizens. you said you | are an raf veteran. what happened second-class citizens. you said you i are an raf veteran. what happened to ou? iwas are an raf veteran. what happened to you? i was kicked _ are an raf veteran. what happened to you? i was kicked out _ are an raf veteran. what happened to you? i was kicked out in _ are an raf veteran. what happened to you? i was kicked out in 97, _ are an raf veteran. what happened to you? i was kicked out in 97, even i you? i was kicked out in 97, even though i had an exemplary service record. i was asked if i had homosexual tendencies. i ended up in a situation where i realised i either become true to myself or i lie about it. i burst into tears. i lost myjob straightaway. i was given a police escort and marched off. back in 907! could have gone to prison for six months just for being 9“- prison for six months just for being gay. you lost everything within ten minutes. i was marched off the camp with a police escort. 1997, within our time. with a police escort. 1997, within ourtime. i with a police escort. 1997, within our time. i challenged it. with a police escort. 1997, within ourtime. i challenged it. i with a police escort. 1997, within our time. i challenged it. iwrote to tony blair, graham stringer my mp, the mod, and it was because the fact i was classed as incompatible to service life for being homosexual. i am to service life for being homosexual. iam more to service life for being homosexual. i am more offended by the word homosexual than many other words because it is written against me in a derogatory term. you words because it is written against me in a derogatory term.— me in a derogatory term. you talk about how — me in a derogatory term. you talk about how the _ me in a derogatory term. you talk about how the historical— me in a derogatory term. you talk about how the historical context l me in a derogatory term. you talk| about how the historical context of this, and people might say it happened in the past, it is time to forget and move on. but your point is it still continues to affect people's lives if they have a criminal record when it comes to apply for a job. it criminal record when it comes to apply for a job-— apply for a 'ob. it is the back story for_ apply for a job. it is the back story for families. _ apply for a job. it is the back story for families. it - apply for a job. it is the back story for families. it broke . apply for a job. it is the back| story for families. it broke up families. people in the armed forces, even in civilian life, there are people who may have been a consenting adult, had six, a male person with another man. —— had sex. you could lose everything and it affected families. families broke up over it. some of these records going back over 500 years to have that pardon and give that apology. it is great that priti patel feels that the government are doing a great thing with the apology, but the government needs to do more because the fact there are so many people who did go to prison, lose their jobs, their pensions, some of them had worked for 20—30 years, within the armed forces, and lost everything. they were treated so badly, the fact that how you work it out. i class myself lucky that i got suspended rather than going to prison. people might have been kicked out, had to leave themselves because of the fact they were treated that way. there is no comeback for them. and the families who have been affected, people may have had children, brothers and sisters, family members, they have not let them sort of be themselves and put it to rest because of the fact they have this conviction, something written against them, something written against them, something there, something always there to pick on. it is something there, something always there to pick on.— there to pick on. it is so fascinating _ there to pick on. it is so fascinating to _ there to pick on. it is so fascinating to talk i there to pick on. it is so fascinating to talk to i there to pick on. it is so i fascinating to talk to you. there to pick on. it is so - fascinating to talk to you. thank you for coming in and sharing your story this morning. great to talk to you. stay with us, headlines coming up. good morning, welcome to breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. our headlines today. a day of critical court hearings for prince andrew and virginia guiffre. his lawyers in new york will argue that her civil case, alleging sexual assault, should be dimissed. it's back to school after the christmas break for millions of pupils with face coverings now required in the classroom in england's secondary schools. good secondary schools. morning from this academy in stoke good morning from this academy in stoke where we are with the very first teachers and pupils about to carry out the first covid test in school to mark this new term in the new year with a new regime. good morning. unwanted presents. retailers are facing a flood of christmas returns. around one in four gifts get sent back each year. i've got some tips on how to get a full refund. it's all wright on the night for peter "snakebite" wright who banks £500,000 after winning the pdc darts championship. the scourge of water pollution in one of britain's most beautiful rivers. we'll get an eyewitness account from the wild woman of the wye. this river, which are supposed to be the nation's favourite river, is literally being used as an open sewer. good morning. a cold start the day with some froth around and the risk of ice on untreated surfaces in the northern half of the country —— frost around. snow showers in scotland where we had gales. further south, brisk wind, rain clearing and some sunshine. i will put all of that together later in the programme. it's tuesday the 4th of january. our main story. prince andrew's legal team will today try to convince a new yorkjudge to throw out a civil case brought by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. the duke has consistently denied the claims. it follows the release of a document that shows virginia giuffre was paid $500,000 in exchange for committing not to sue anyone connected to the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. here's our legal correspondent dominic casciani. a woman making the gravest of allegations. the unprecedented defendant, a prince of the realm. and now, a day of critical court hearings for both virginia giuffre and the duke of york. she says she was sexually exploited by the man on the right, jeffrey epstein. ms giuffre, then known as roberts, said epstein coerced the then teenager into abuse by prince andrew. alleged events 20 years ago, but today's new york hearing focuses on the 2009 legal document. back then, ms giuffre, seen here at court in new york, accepted $500,000 to end her original case against epstein. in the settlement, virginia giuffre agreed to release, acquit, satisfy, and forever discharge epstein from further claims. the wording goes on to cover any other person who could have been a potential defendant. it's so wide, she promises not to bring any further case dating from the beginning of the world. prince andrew's lawyers say that means he can't be sued. but one lawyer who's represented some of epstein's alleged victims says it's too vague to be enforceable. this is one of the most bizarre pieces of a settlement agreement i have ever seen. i just cannot believe that a court would say, well, anyone who has wronged virginia, who was associated with epstein, is now released from liability. i mean, that would fly in the face of what our laws are now trying to do, which is open up claims for sexual abuse victims, allow them to come forward even years later, and bring perpetrators to justice. the duke's position remains unchanged since his november 2019 newsnight interview. you can say categorically that you don't recall meeting virginia roberts, dining with her, dancing with her at tramp, or going on to have sex with her in a bedroom in a house in belgravia? yes, i can absolutely categorically tell you that never happened. do you recall any kind of sexual contact with virginia roberts then or at any other time? none whatsoever. this afternoon, prince andrew's team will ask a new yorkjudge to throw out ms giuffre's case. her lawyers say she is confident that won't happen and one way or another, the duke will have to answer her allegations. dominic casciani, bbc news. millions of pupils across the uk are returning from their christmas break over the next couple of days, amid concerns about staff shortages caused by the omicron variant of covid. let's speak to our chief political correspondent adam fleming now. a huge logistical challenge and a test of government policy, and getting not only the tests into schools but making sure that our enough teachers to administer them. in terms of the tests, they were mostly sent out before the christmas holidays so they should be there ready and waiting. it is a case of what the infrastructure of each school and how many children they can get through and how much disruption that causes. then you have a knock—on effect of if there are more tests, you identify more cases, which means the number of omicron cases might shoot up. that also means that teachers might be testing positive as well when there is more of the virus in the community which puts pressure on schools to keep the lessons ronnie. then it will be a case of —— lessons running. then there will be a case of are there enough supply teachers, are there workarounds, or have enough retired teachers volunteered to come back and help out? in terms of the pressure on testing, there is pressure on testing and we understand the government has a back—up plan to prioritise access to testing if it runs very short, and that would be for people who are medically vulnerable or working in health care settings or maybe some key workers in some sectors of the economy. government sources stress thatis economy. government sources stress that is a back—up plan they feel is not needed yet and they are quite proud of the fact that there are 1.5 million tests being done for covert everyday. brute million tests being done for covert eve da . ~ , ., ., everyday. we will -- being done for covid every — everyday. we will -- being done for covid every day- _ everyday. we will -- being done for covid every day. we _ everyday. we will -- being done for covid every day. we will— everyday. we will -- being done for covid every day. we will hear- everyday. we will -- being done for covid every day. we will hear from | covid every day. we will hear from keir starmer later laying out his vision for a labour government, what are we expecting? brute vision for a labour government, what are we expecting?_ are we expecting? we will get a bit of normal politics _ are we expecting? we will get a bit of normal politics after _ are we expecting? we will get a bit of normal politics after talking i of normal politics after talking about covid nonstop for the past few weeks. keir starmer trying to sound very patriotic, talking about the queensjubilee and the commonwealth games coming to birmingham which is where he is doing the speech. that's trying to distance himself a bit from his predecessorjeremy corbyn who was sometimes accused of not being a big boosterfor britain. the other where he will use quite a lot is respect, talking about respect for people who do and fashionable jobs and respect by labour for people who used to vote labour but gave up and devoted conservatives instead. you mentioned policies, he will list a lot to counter the opposition that the opposition doesn't have any policys. he will say they have loads, but some of them are still a little vague. i know you will be watching closely, thank you, adam. about one in ten rail staff are estimated to be currently absent from work, according to new figures. as sickness and enforced isolation from covid continue to affect crew availability, operators including crosscountry and lner are running reduced timetables. southern is not putting on any direct services to london victoria — a major commuter hub — until next monday. passengers have also been warned of short notice cancellations. the rail delivery group, which represents the industry, said it was working hard to provide a realiable service. a jury in california has found elizabeth holmes, who set up the health technology company "theranos", guilty on four counts of conspiring to defraud investors. ms holmes claimed she'd developed a machine that could diagnose a range of medical conditions with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. she became a billionaire before it emerged that her devices weren't working, and her company collapsed. a fire which swept through south africa's parliament in cape town reignited yesterday, just hours after it was said to be under control. flames were seen billowing from the building's roof on monday, as firefighters tried to put out the blaze. large parts of the building had already been badly damaged. police have arrested a suspect, who will appear in court today on charges of arson, housebreaking and theft. well, it may not have felt particularly wintry here over the new year but the snow has fallen with a vengeance in the united states. hundreds of thousands of homes lost electricity and government offices and schools were forced to close as winter storms hit the southeast of the country. a foot of snow fell as far south as alabama. the cold weather did however provide entertainment for some of the smithsonian zoo's most famous residents. 0h, oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if— oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if panda _ oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if panda has _ oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if panda has a _ oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if panda has a photo, i oh, they are so cute! such good fun. i wonder if panda has a photo, no, i i wonder if panda has a photo, no, just a pretty tree! —— i wonder if the carol has a panda in her photo, no, just a pretty tree! sorry to disappoint you! we have a weather front moving south, cold air moving hinde and we have further snow and gales across the northern half of the country.— half of the country. temperatures will no half of the country. temperatures will go down _ half of the country. temperatures will go down in — half of the country. temperatures will go down in the _ half of the country. temperatures will go down in the south - half of the country. temperatures will go down in the south today i half of the country. temperatures| will go down in the south today as the weather front moves away, but where we have had wintry showers overnight there is the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. we continue with some snow showers across scotland today, coupled with gales, severe gales with exposure in the north. that combination could lead to some temporary blizzards across higher roots and drifting. you can see how our weather front continues to slowly drift down to the south—east, behind it we are looking at brighter skies but on the brisk wind we will see further showers coming into the west and some could be wintry. primarily on higher ground. these are the temperatures, two in aberdeen, five in belfast and london. when you add on the strength in the wind, this is how it will feel against your skin. in the wind, this is how it will feelagainst yourskin. —4 in the wind, this is how it will feel against your skin. —4 in aberdeen, freezing in aberdeen —— in belfast and two in london. they wrap up belfast and two in london. they wrap up warm today. —— so wrap up warm. there will be further snow showers coming in on the wind in scotland this evening, we could see them as far south as wales, south—west england and the north—west when midlands. anything might get down to lower levels but it will not last, you might see some slush. there is a widespread frost and a risk of ice on untreated surfaces overnight. we have been warned, thank you very much. millions of pupils returning to secondary schools across the uk this week will be required to wear face coverings and take covid tests before returning to the classroom. in england they'll need to take lateral flow tests on—site. our reporter, jayne mccubbin is at a school in stoke—on—trent for us this morning. good morning. and god bless, lillie mae and bethany who have agreed live on television this morning to do their lateral flow test for us, go on, girls. ably overseen here. by gemma here. and this is going to be happening in around three and a half thousand secondary schools in england from today, many of those schools starting a staggered return into the classroom. they are going to need this negative result for the kids to get back into the classroom. honestly! it's bad enough, isn't it, to do it normally, even worse to do it live on tv! well done, bethany! how is that feeling?— how is that feeling? particularly! you are used _ how is that feeling? particularly! you are used to _ how is that feeling? particularly! you are used to it _ how is that feeling? particularly! you are used to it now, - how is that feeling? particularly! you are used to it now, it - how is that feeling? particularly! | you are used to it now, it tickles. you are used to it now, it tickles. you have been doing it twice a week at home. . you have been doing it twice a week at home-- we _ you have been doing it twice a week at home.- we will— you have been doing it twice a week at home. yeah. we will take these results over _ at home. yeah. we will take these results over to _ at home. yeah. we will take these results over to barry _ at home. yeah. we will take these results over to barry in _ at home. yeah. we will take these results over to barry in a _ at home. i'ez—i we will take these results over to barry in a second. yesterday we spent chatting to students and teachers and head teachers about what the new year in this new term will look like with this new term will look like with this new term will look like with this new regime. for secondary school children this week, it is back to the classroom. back to masks, and in england at least, it will all kick off with a covid test on arrival in school. for ethan and louis, though, this is one last blow out before that all begins. how are you feeling about it? a bit nervous. in my form, probably about, like, ten kids off at least. what, before christmas? yeah, yeah. how do you feel about wearing the masks every day again? well, ifeel like now i've gotten used to it, i don't think i'd mind it as much if you have a comfortable mask. it obviously protects other people, doesn't it? you're happy to do it? yeah, yeah. yesterday, england's education secretary said masks won't be louis's dad says he's happy with any guidance which is designed to keep kids in class. yes, we need to be mindful of health and safety, not only for the children but for staff too. but we need to get them back in and keep them there as best we can. so this is grace, who is a very busy lady. not only is she working here but also you are a teacher? yes, yes, i am. how you feeling about going back to school? it's challenging with everything that's going on the moment, just making sure that we are not spreading it. i know that our children, it's quite hard to get them to follow the rules, but they want to be in school, they want to be seeing their friends. and if that's something they've got to do for that to be happening, then i think they should be fine with wearing them to be honest. but the masks policy is not free from debate. the chair of the education select committee has raised concerns in england. there are studies all around the world that suggests that masks for young children can have a big impact on their mental health, their well—being and their anxiety. and we know that mental health problems amongst children have already rocketed. while robert halfon thinks masks come with a cost to mental well—being, the education secretary nadhim zahawi thinks the bigger costs comes with being locked out of school because of surging covid rates. so, the gates of this school, like all other secondary schools in england, will this week starts to open for mass testing. it's one of ten schools in an academy chain which already has a staffing issue. as of one hour ago, we were at 10% of staff who have tested positive for covid. and that is a big chunk, and you think it's going to rise? it will rise, probably another 5%. so what happens then? we will do whatever we can to keep schools open. so, what, bigger class sizes or remote learning? both. in scotland, pupils are being asked to test at home before they return to school and are being urged to then test twice a week. in wales, it's the same, preschool home test. but repeated three times a week. students in northern ireland are being asked to test 24 hours before returning as well. and there, 95% of schools have been provided with c02 monitors to identify poorly ventilated areas. staffing problems in school across the uk are a certainty. a call has gone out for retired teachers to help out, a calljerome church has answered. i've seen the government press release that i saw. your country needs you. and i couldn'tjust stand by and do nothing and see my colleagues struggling. ultimately, the government believes the biggest help anyone could offer is to take up the offer of a vaccine. ons figures suggest only 50% of eligible 12 to 15—year—olds have done this. just how this new term in this new year will pan out looks anything but certain. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. here in stoke, the very first test results are just being developed now. how long do they take? it is 15 minutes to — now. how long do they take? it is 15 minutes to develop. _ now. how long do they take? it is 15 minutes to develop. lily _ now. how long do they take? it is 15 minutes to develop. lily may, i now. how long do they take? it is 15 minutes to develop. lily may, thank ou for minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing _ minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing that _ minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing that live _ minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing that live on _ minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing that live on air, - minutes to develop. lily may, thank you for doing that live on air, how i you for doing that live on air, how was it? it you for doing that live on air, how was it? , , ., ., , you for doing that live on air, how was it?_ that - you for doing that live on air, how was it?_ that is i you for doing that live on air, how was it?_ that is the | was it? it is bearable! that is the best way of _ was it? it is bearable! that is the best way of putting _ was it? it is bearable! that is the best way of putting it. _ was it? it is bearable! that is the best way of putting it. what i was it? it is bearable! that is the | best way of putting it. what about the masks? in england, you have got used to not wearing them and here you are wearing them again. i don't reall like you are wearing them again. i don't really like them, _ you are wearing them again. i don't really like them, but _ you are wearing them again. i don't really like them, but we _ you are wearing them again. i don't really like them, but we have i you are wearing them again. i don't really like them, but we have to i really like them, but we have to wear _ really like them, but we have to wear them, really like them, but we have to wearthem, so. really like them, but we have to wear them, so.— really like them, but we have to wear them, so. ~ ., i. ., ., wear them, so. whatever you are told to do. wear them, so. whatever you are told to do- let's — wear them, so. whatever you are told to do. let's take _ wear them, so. whatever you are told to do. let's take these _ wear them, so. whatever you are told to do. let's take these results - wear them, so. whatever you are told to do. let's take these results over i to do. let's take these results over to do. let's take these results over to barry. nicola is bringing them over to barry, barry has the job of sitting here patiently today, and analysing, i think, sitting here patiently today, and analysing, ithink, how sitting here patiently today, and analysing, i think, how many tests is that he will be looking at today, barry? is that he will be looking at today, bar ? . ,., is that he will be looking at today, bar ? . ':::::: is that he will be looking at today, ltarry?_ 1000 - is that he will be looking at today, barry?_ 1000 tests. | is that he will be looking at today, | barry?_1000 tests. all barry? about 1000. 1000 tests. all im ortant barry? about 1000. 1000 tests. all important thing _ barry? about 1000. 1000 tests. all important thing is _ barry? about 1000. 1000 tests. all important thing is that _ barry? about 1000. 1000 tests. all important thing is that negative i important thing is that negative result and if that comes in? taste important thing is that negative result and if that comes in? we hope it will all be — result and if that comes in? we hope it will all be negative _ result and if that comes in? we hope it will all be negative results, - result and if that comes in? we hope it will all be negative results, and i it will all be negative results, and then the students can go back to class and carry on with some kind of normality. class and carry on with some kind of normali . ., .. class and carry on with some kind of normali . ., ,, , ., ., class and carry on with some kind of normali . ., ~' , ., . , class and carry on with some kind of normali . ., ,, , ., ., , ., normality. thank you, that is what we are hoping _ normality. thank you, that is what we are hoping for. _ normality. thank you, that is what we are hoping for. come - normality. thank you, that is what we are hoping for. come and i normality. thank you, that is what| we are hoping for. come and meet normality. thank you, that is what - we are hoping for. come and meet the principal, academy trust, katie dixon, very busy this morning, thank you for having us. you are manning the phones. we you for having us. you are manning the inhom— you for having us. you are manning the phones-— the phones. we have been this morning- _ the phones. we have been this morning- how— the phones. we have been this morning. how is _ the phones. we have been this morning. how is it _ the phones. we have been this morning. how is it looking - the phones. we have been this morning. how is it looking on i the phones. we have been this i morning. how is it looking on the startin: ? morning. how is it looking on the starting? not— morning. how is it looking on the starting? not too _ morning. how is it looking on the starting? not too bad, _ morning. how is it looking on the starting? not too bad, only- morning. how is it looking on the starting? not too bad, only three staff have cold _ starting? not too bad, only three staff have cold him _ starting? not too bad, only three staff have cold him a _ starting? not too bad, only three staff have cold him a covid, - starting? not too bad, only three staff have cold him a covid, semi} staff have cold him a covid, semi can manage that easily. —— only three staff have called in with covid so we can manage that. last time we had a lot of students and staff of or having to isolate because of being in close contact. hopefully it will not be like that again but we will do everything we can to keep open. you again but we will do everything we can to keep open-— can to keep open. you say it was about a third? _ can to keep open. you say it was about a third? that _ can to keep open. you say it was about a third? that is _ can to keep open. you say it was about a third? that is a - can to keep open. you say it was about a third? that is a lot. - can to keep open. you say it was. about a third? that is a lot. yeah, that is a lot- _ about a third? that is a lot. yeah, that is a lot. but _ about a third? that is a lot. yeah, that is a lot. but the _ about a third? that is a lot. yeah, that is a lot. but the staff - about a third? that is a lot. yeah, that is a lot. but the staff are - that is a lot. but the staff are fantastic and everybody stuck together and we covered lessons and merged classes and made it were, we didn't send any children home. thank ou so didn't send any children home. thank you so much- — didn't send any children home. thank you so much. let's _ didn't send any children home. thank you so much. let's chat _ didn't send any children home. thank you so much. let's chat to _ didn't send any children home. thank you so much. let's chat to tom, - didn't send any children home. thank you so much. let's chat to tom, you | you so much. let's chat to tom, you are in charge of the whole academy, how many schools? we are in charge of the whole academy, how many schools?— how many schools? we have three schools, how many schools? we have three schools. to — how many schools? we have three schools, to secondary _ how many schools? we have three schools, to secondary among - how many schools? we have three i schools, to secondary among primary schooh _ schools, to secondary among primary school. ., , , schools, to secondary among primary school-_ that i school. your biggest concern? that we can keep _ school. your biggest concern? that we can keep our — school. your biggest concern? that we can keep our children _ school. your biggest concern? that we can keep our children in - school. your biggest concern? that l we can keep our children in schools. our trust _ we can keep our children in schools. our trust is — we can keep our children in schools. our trust is all about social justice _ our trust is all about social justice through access to education, so we _ justice through access to education, so we believe and want our children to he _ so we believe and want our children to be here — so we believe and want our children to be here in — so we believe and want our children to be here in school, being taught by professional teachers. our biggest — by professional teachers. our biggest concern is that we need to keep doing that and keeping children in education. we keep doing that and keeping children in education. ~ . keep doing that and keeping children in education-— in education. we want to keep them in education. we want to keep them in the classroom. _ in education. we want to keep them in the classroom. but _ in education. we want to keep them in the classroom. but you _ in education. we want to keep them in the classroom. but you have - in the classroom. but you have already blown your budget on supply teachers because of the problems you had in the first two terms. irate teachers because of the problems you had in the first two terms.— had in the first two terms. we will have to find _ had in the first two terms. we will have to find the _ had in the first two terms. we will have to find the money _ had in the first two terms. we will have to find the money somehow, had in the first two terms. we will l have to find the money somehow, it is essential — have to find the money somehow, it is essential that children are kept in the _ is essential that children are kept in the classroom as far as we can. we have _ in the classroom as far as we can. we have to — in the classroom as far as we can. we have to prioritise, we have done it before _ we have to prioritise, we have done it before as— we have to prioritise, we have done it before. as katie mentioned, our teachers _ it before. as katie mentioned, our teachers have been fantastic, they have worked very hard to make sure the children— have worked very hard to make sure the children get a great education. they might have to prioritise? teaching year whilst some of the classes... n .,,, teaching year whilst some of the classes... a , classes... across the trust, the -riori classes... across the trust, the priority classes _ classes... across the trust, the priority classes are _ classes... across the trust, the priority classes are year - classes... across the trust, the priority classes are year 11 - classes... across the trust, the priority classes are year 11 and | priority classes are year 11 and sixth— priority classes are year 11 and sixth form. _ priority classes are year 11 and sixth form, the examination classes. we have _ sixth form, the examination classes. we have done it before, hopefully we can keep _ we have done it before, hopefully we can keep as— we have done it before, hopefully we can keep as many kids in classroom as possible — can keep as many kids in classroom as possible-— as possible. very briefly, we are runnina as possible. very briefly, we are running out _ as possible. very briefly, we are running out of _ as possible. very briefly, we are running out of time. _ as possible. very briefly, we are running out of time. the - as possible. very briefly, we are - running out of time. the government has offered 7000 air filtration systems and purifiers for schools, but there are over 300,000 classrooms. what do you think of that, could the government be doing more? we that, could the government be doing more? ~ . �* that, could the government be doing more? ~ ., �* ., ., , , that, could the government be doing more? ., �* ., ., , , more? we haven't got any here yet as such. more? we haven't got any here yet as such- listening _ more? we haven't got any here yet as such. listening to _ more? we haven't got any here yet as such. listening to the _ more? we haven't got any here yet as such. listening to the medical - such. listening to the medical expert— such. listening to the medical expert on— such. listening to the medical expert on the radio yesterday, we open _ expert on the radio yesterday, we open windows, we wear masks, we ensure _ open windows, we wear masks, we ensure that — open windows, we wear masks, we ensure that children are as safe as possible — ensure that children are as safe as possible. teaching in the classroom with ntasks— possible. teaching in the classroom with masks will be difficult but we have done — with masks will be difficult but we have done it before.— with masks will be difficult but we have done it before. thank you very much. have done it before. thank you very much- come — have done it before. thank you very much. come with _ have done it before. thank you very much. come with me _ have done it before. thank you very much. come with me very - have done it before. thank you very much. come with me very quickly, l much. come with me very quickly, let's see how these tests are developing, how is it looking? negative at the moment. another 15 minutes to go- _ negative at the moment. another 15 minutes to go. back _ negative at the moment. another 15 minutes to go. back to _ negative at the moment. another 15 minutes to go. back to you, - negative at the moment. another 15 minutes to go. back to you, now. i minutes to go. back to you, now. thank you and can you think those people see valiantly agreed to take those tests, well done! it's hard taking them at the best of times, left africa never mind with the whole country watching. hats left africa never mind with the whole country watching. hats off for ou doinr whole country watching. hats off for you doing that _ whole country watching. hats off for you doing that live _ whole country watching. hats off for you doing that live on _ whole country watching. hats off for you doing that live on tv, _ whole country watching. hats off for you doing that live on tv, girls, - you doing that live on tv, girls, bravo! applause we agree with that round of applause! thank you, jayne. let's speak now to the general secretary of the association of school and college leaders, geoff barton. good morning. we were running through the practicalities there about what will be going on up and down england today in schools, i know it is a bank holiday in scotland right now. talk to me about the logistics involved. this is a huge undertaking, just in that school they were telling us, they will be testing 1000 today? you are absolutely right. if you listen to that report, you can hear a mixture of the optimism and the determination, and the real sense of leadership that we are going to do everything we can for those young people. it’s everything we can for those young --eole. �* , , everything we can for those young --eole. v , ., everything we can for those young --eole. �*, , ., people. it's 'ust worth saying before we — people. it'sjust worth saying before we talk _ people. it'sjust worth saying before we talk about - people. it'sjust worth saying before we talk about the - people. it's just worth saying - before we talk about the logistical things, if you are a primary teacher or working in a special school, it will have felt to you as if that last minute announcement that was announced on sunday about what they would like was largely all—around secondary with face coverings, testing and so on. some primary and special school teachers quite rightly were saying, don't forget us because many of the issues we are about to discuss are going to affect them. in terms of the logistical issues, yes, the expectation is that there will be two big differences to previously. one is the face coverings issue, and we know that is controversial. it's probably more controversial. it's probably more controversial outside the education sector than it is inside. if you listen to the children there, what they say is, if that's what we have to do, if it keeps us in learning, that's what we will do. that seems to be the national picture on all of that. that's one of the expectations. the second one with the consent of the child, is that they do the lateral flow tests. distinctively in england compared to wales and northern ireland and scotland, we are expected to government there is, that's one way of trying to ensure that if we are going to have business as much as usual as you can do, that we identify those young people who test positive so they can be taken out of the system and those who test negative can then have a business as usual approach. has negative can then have a business as usual approach-— usual approach. as you have touched on, the willingness _ usual approach. as you have touched on, the willingness of— usual approach. as you have touched on, the willingness of staff, - usual approach. as you have touched on, the willingness of staff, one - on, the willingness of staff, one would assume, is to get back to the classroom to make sure that the face—to—face learning can happen. inevitably we might have to face facts a little bit further down the line that case numbers are rising and we might find that teachers are isolating to some students will have to start learning once again from home and online. that will be about prioritising certain students over others, will it not? it prioritising certain students over others, will it not?— others, will it not? it could well be. i others, will it not? it could well be- i think _ others, will it not? it could well be. i think where _ others, will it not? it could well be. i think where we _ others, will it not? it could well be. i think where we are - others, will it not? it could well be. i think where we are this i others, will it not? it could well i be. i think where we are this year is very different from where we were last january when we did not have the vaccination programme and we were not using testing the way we are now. the other thing we can be quite public about is that head teachers were asked by the government to do contingency planning. planning around logistical stuff around the testing, on—site, it was around communicating around face coverings in secondary. it was also looking at the loop worst case scenario. if you are in a school, a head contacted me last night he said in his school with 82 teachers, nine of them would not be there. so it's just over 10%. there comes a point where it becomes very difficult to get sufficient supply teachers. part of the scenario planning is, what would i do if i didn't have a solution for teachers to cover the whole curriculum, who would be the priority? would it be year 11, year 13, those young people who will be craving the opportunity to do those exams this coming summer like their brother and sister couldn't do last summer and the year before? how do we make those decisions? none of thatis we make those decisions? none of that is to say that we wanted to happen not to say that it will happen. but it should be reassuring to those young people and their parents that contingency planning, if that is the result of staff absences, that it see what will then happen. absences, that it see what will then ha en. ., ., . happen. that her teacher in the re ort happen. that her teacher in the report there — happen. that her teacher in the report there from _ happen. that her teacher in the report there from jayne, - happen. that her teacher in the report there from jayne, it - happen. that her teacher in the | report there from jayne, it could happen. that her teacher in the - report there from jayne, it could be a financial issue, he said, he blew his budget on the last term, the money has already gone, he has to find it from somewhere to get supply teachers. fiend find it from somewhere to get supply teachers. �* ~ ., ., teachers. and i think we have to acce t, teachers. and i think we have to accept. head — teachers. and i think we have to accept, head what _ teachers. and i think we have to accept, head what he _ teachers. and i think we have to accept, head what he said, - teachers. and i think we have to accept, head what he said, we l teachers. and i think we have to i accept, head what he said, we will find it from somewhere. schools are not awash with money. the difficult decision to make, given that you have to have an adult who can teach in front of those young people, is, if you are going to have that money, you have to take it away from somewhere else. things you might have been able to offer to young people, opportunities, teaching assistant support, one—to—one tuition, the kind of things that can take a real difference to young people, you could see those being lost off the back of this unless the government makes it easier to reclaim that money. one head i talked to in the south—west running a raj secondary school has already spent 150,000 —— wrecker a large secondary school has already spent £150,000 on supply agencies. the government could talk to supply agencies who are making more money ljy agencies who are making more money by charging more for these teachers, maybe this is not a time to make profit but it should be a time where they play their part. profit but it should be a time where they play their part-— they play their part. howard teachers feeling _ they play their part. howard teachers feeling about - they play their part. howard teachers feeling about the l they play their part. howard - teachers feeling about the prospect of going back? this teachers feeling about the prospect of going back?— of going back? this is an age of anxiety so _ of going back? this is an age of anxiety so everyone _ of going back? this is an age of anxiety so everyone is - of going back? this is an age of anxiety so everyone is anxious, j of going back? this is an age of - anxiety so everyone is anxious, but they will be buoyed up by that real sense of enthusiasm of young people and i think a dunkirk spirit that they will do everything they can to make sure that normal learning can carry on as much as it can.- carry on as much as it can. thank ou for carry on as much as it can. thank you for being _ carry on as much as it can. thank you for being with _ carry on as much as it can. thank you for being with us, _ carry on as much as it can. thank you for being with us, good - carry on as much as it can. thank you for being with us, good to i carry on as much as it can. thank. you for being with us, good to talk to, geoff barton. plenty more is coming up. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from the news teams in london and the south east. around 100 firefighters have been battling a major blaze in east london overnight. fifteen fire engines were sent to the incident at an industrial dry cleaning unit on raven road in south woodford. the cause of the fire is under investigation. the inquest into the deaths of two women who died from herpes at two hospitals in kent is due to formally open today. kim sampson and samantha mulcahy died just weeks apart after their babies were delivered by caesarean section at different hospitals run by the east kent hospitals trust. theirfamilies have campaigned for answers as to whether they contracted the infection from their surgeon. a bbc investigation found the women were treated by the same person. a man is in a critical condition in hospital following an assault in folkestone. police and paramedics were called to an address in coolinge lane. the victim was taken to hospital with multiple injuries. as schools reopen this week, some councils are warning that teaching could be disrupted by covid sickness and isolation. the leader of brighton and hove city council has said tough new measures are needed to stop the omicron variant spreading in schools. phelim mac cafferty said older primary school children should wear masks in classrooms, and has called for tighter self—isolation rules for close contancts of positive cases. we want to maintain, we want to hold on to and safeguard in—person learning, but our anxiety is that the lack of planning so far means there will be disruption to children and young people and their education. tottenham have been hit by fresh coronavirus concerns ahead of their carabao cup semifinal first leg at chelsea tomorrow. nine first—team players were affected in december with two games called off. they're now waiting for pcr results before they can confirm who can play. a kent zoo has welcomed the birth of a rare porcupine. the baby known as a porcupette was born on christmas day at the hemsley conservation centre at fairseat, near brands hatch. prehensile—tailed porcupines originate in south america and face pressure from habitat loss. a look at today's weather, here's sara thornton. morning to you. a really different feel to the weather from today onwards. much colder. we start this morning with cloud and outbreaks of rain that have come towards us from the north overnight, continuing to track their way southwards across london and the south—east in the coming hours. eventually we will get some sunshine, but it is colder air behind all of that that you will notice today. temperatures are really struggling — in some spots in mid—single figures. overnight tonight, with clear skies and that cold north—westerly wind still feeding in much colder air, the temperatures are really going to fall away. we are looking at a frost in many places into tomorrow. the day tomorrow largely dry with some good spells of sunshine. but it will feel pretty chilly. through thursday, after another very cold start, we will see rain pushing in. that's it from us. we're backjust after 9. have a very good morning.goodbye hello, this is breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. morning live is on bbc one after breakfast. let's find out what kimberley and gethin have in store. iam waiting i am waiting for your special guest. we are very excited. we are very excited. we will come to that in a second. hgppy we will come to that in a second. happy new year. the first show back. show back. with record highs for covid cases and no change to restrictions in england, dr xand explains why there could be positive news on the horizon. and whether lateral flow tests are less—effective at spotting omicron. plus, as the latest figures show that the number of children in care is due to rise by 20,000 in the next three years, ashleyjohn—baptiste has been to meet the inspirationalfoster parents who are encouraging others to open their homes for kids in need. former bake off star turned cleaning queen nancy birtwhistle is here to tell you her easy trick for getting your oven pristine after the festive season's cooking. we need a bit of that. talking of food — more people than ever are expected to reduce their meat intake this month. so the bosh boys — that's vegan cooks henry firth and ian feasby — will be sharing their top tips for doing it on a budget, including why you should avoid any packet that says the word vegan. that is interesting. also on the show - harry potter actor mark williams joins us to talk about the ninth series of father brown and the harry potter reunion 20 years, that will make you feel old. and if your 2022 resolution is to get a little fitter. nadiya's here with the first strictly fitness of the year. she's got one of the most memorable and feel—good moves from the last series — herjive with dan walker. we're doing the lobster. it is the dance of 2022. we are giving sally and the viewers what they want. studio: we will be watching. good morning. ghislaine maxwell is still awaiting sentencing after being found guilty last week of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by the late american financier jeffrey epstein. liz stein was a 21—year—old student when she says maxwell and epstein befriended her, then assaulted her a number of times over three years. she wasn't involved in the trial, butjoins us now from philadelphia. thank you for talking to us. this is probably something you have spoken about several times before and i cannot imagine it is easy. tell me how you came to meet maxwell and epstein. i how you came to meet maxwell and e stein. , , ., how you came to meet maxwell and estein. , , ., a, epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i— epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i was _ epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i was a _ epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i was a student - epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i was a student at i epstein. i met ghislaine maxwell in 1994 while i was a student at the i 1994 while i was a student at the fashion institute of technology in new york city. i was doing an internship at a well—known fifth ave retailer. she came into the store one day. and her regular salesperson was not in that day. and i helped her. and, immediately upon meeting her, we hit it off. ifelt like we became instant friends in that first conversation. fiend became instant friends in that first conversation-— conversation. and how did that friendship move _ conversation. and how did that friendship move on? _ conversation. and how did that friendship move on? what i conversation. and how did that friendship move on? what sort conversation. and how did that i friendship move on? what sort of thing did she say to you? in friendship move on? what sort of thing did she say to you?- thing did she say to you? in our first conversation _ thing did she say to you? in our first conversation at _ thing did she say to you? in our first conversation at the - thing did she say to you? in our first conversation at the store, | thing did she say to you? in our. first conversation at the store, we spoke about a lot of things, similarities in our upbringing, our love of fashion. we spoke about our boyfriends. it was a very easy conversation. she was just electrifying. as part of what i would offer high—end clients at the store, i would frequently offer to bring their packages to either their hotel concierge, or their doorman. i had a hard and fast rule where i did not deliver to anyone directly but i would deliver to someone's building as a courtesy. and after shopping with her that day, i extended the offer to her. and she took me up on it. i phoned to make arrangements to deliver the packages after work that day. i was instructed to bring them to a hotel that was not very far away from where the store was located. and when i brought the packages to the concierge, the concierge let me know that ghislaine maxwell was in the bar area and that there was someone she wanted me to meet. 50 i went into the bar area. the person she wanted me to meet was jeffrey epstein. fiend the person she wanted me to meet was jeffrey epstein-— jeffrey epstein. and then what happened? — jeffrey epstein. and then what happened? we _ jeffrey epstein. and then what happened? we spoke. - jeffrey epstein. and then what happened? we spoke. we i jeffrey epstein. and then what i happened? we spoke. we ordered drinks. we talked _ happened? we spoke. we ordered drinks. we talked for— happened? we spoke. we ordered drinks. we talked for a _ happened? we spoke. we ordered drinks. we talked for a few - happened? we spoke. we ordered i drinks. we talked for a few minutes. it wasn't soon after that someone from the hotel came to our table and let them know the room was ready. i was a little bit confused because although i had just met her, it was my understanding that they lived close by. i was a little bit taken aback that they would be staying in and hotel so close to their home. when i asked that question they explained there were renovations going on at the residence. and they could not be there during renovations and say they were staying at a local hotel for a few days while that was being taken care of. i days while that was being taken care of. ., , . ~' , , days while that was being taken care of. ., , ., , days while that was being taken care of. ., , ., of. i am struck by the words you used to describe _ of. i am struck by the words you used to describe her, _ of. i am struck by the words you i used to describe her, electrifying. what was jeffrey epstein —like? magnetic. they were almost the perfect couple. they had electricity that emanated from them. they were charming. and gracious. and captivating and inviting. it was really hard to not want to be around them. and it is that how you felt at times, that he wanted to be around them? initially, they were very interesting. they were intellectuals. they thought differently. they were a fountain of knowledge. i thought any topic i could think of to talk about, they could think of to talk about, they could speak volumes on. i was young, i was a sponge for knowledge, i wanted to learn. i felt like they were people who could teach me a lot about life. . , were people who could teach me a lot about life. ., , , about life. inadvertently, they did. because things _ about life. inadvertently, they did. because things changed. - about life. inadvertently, they did. because things changed. at - about life. inadvertently, they did. because things changed. at what l because things changed. at what point did you feel, because things changed. at what point did you feet, were you aware the relationship was becoming abusive? shes the relationship was becoming abusive? �* , the relationship was becoming abusive? . , ~ abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said, abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said. they — abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said, they found _ abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said, they found out _ abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said, they found out their - abusive? as we sat in the bar, like i said, they found out their hotel. i said, they found out their hotel room was ready and they asked me to come upstairs to their hotel room, which was something i did not do. i felt some pressure to perform for them. it was very important to me to offer a level of customer service that was just impeccable. so i felt like i had to kind of indulge them, even though my instincts were may be telling me differently. we went up to the room. we were going to continue our drinks up there. and thatis continue our drinks up there. and that is what we did. we engaged in conversation. it seemed very friendly and normal until it didn't. the conversation changed. the tone of their conversation changed. it was in that room that first night they assaulted me. find was in that room that first night they assaulted me.— was in that room that first night they assaulted me. and that was a relationship _ they assaulted me. and that was a relationship you — they assaulted me. and that was a relationship you were _ they assaulted me. and that was a relationship you were involved i they assaulted me. and that was a | relationship you were involved with over a number of years. was there a point where you felt able to talk to someone about it, like you might have been able to break away from them? i have been able to break away from them? ~ ., ., , them? i think that i need to be clear in the _ them? i think that i need to be clear in the fact _ them? i think that i need to be clear in the fact that _ them? i think that i need to be clear in the fact that i - them? i think that i need to be clear in the fact that i did i them? i think that i need to be clear in the fact that i did not l clear in the fact that i did not pursue this relationship. it was a relationship they pursued. in fact, i tried many times to get away from them. i tried changing jobs, i tried many times to get away from them. itried changingjobs, i i tried many times to get away from them. i tried changing jobs, i tried changing my apartment, i tried changing my apartment, i tried changing cities. it was notjust... it was not a matter ofjust changing cities. it was notjust... it was not a matter of just walking away from them. it was very difficult to get away from them. and to answer your question, no, difficult to get away from them. and to answeryour question, no, i did not tell anyone. and that perhaps is my biggest regret. it is hard to someone the things that happen. i did not exactly have the words for them. some of what happened sounded unbelievable. i did not think anyone would believe what i was saying. and i never told anyone. we would believe what i was saying. and i never told anyone.— i never told anyone. we are talking to ou i never told anyone. we are talking to you this — i never told anyone. we are talking to you this morning _ i never told anyone. we are talking to you this morning after _ i never told anyone. we are talking to you this morning after the i to you this morning after the conclusion of the ghislaine maxwell trial, after the verdict. how did you feel when you heard that verdict? it you feel when you heard that verdict? . , , verdict? it was interesting. i travelled — verdict? it was interesting. i travelled to _ verdict? it was interesting. i travelled to the _ verdict? it was interesting. i travelled to the courthouse l verdict? it was interesting. i. travelled to the courthouse to verdict? it was interesting. i- travelled to the courthouse to watch the trial live in person almost every day. and on that day, i had arrived to the courthouse and tried to gain entry into the courtroom and i was denied. and i will admit i was feeling a little bit deflated that day. i guess i let that get the better of me and i decided to go home to philadelphia to take a rest for the afternoon and come back to the trial the next day. and while i was at home, i found the trial the next day. and while i was at home, ifound out the trial the next day. and while i was at home, i found out that the jury was at home, i found out that the jury had reached a verdict. and there was a big part of me that was very upset that i had travelled there almost every day to be a part of this trial and then i was not there to see the verdict. there was a big part of me that felt regret because victims were not represented at the verdict. there was no one there to represent us. but i look at what the bigger picture is, what i wanted and what we all wanted was conviction, and that is exactly what we got. d0 conviction, and that is exactly what we not. , ,., we got. do you feel this is a conclusion, _ we got. do you feel this is a conclusion, or _ we got. do you feel this is a conclusion, or do _ we got. do you feel this is a conclusion, or do you - we got. do you feel this is a conclusion, or do you and i we got. do you feel this is a i conclusion, or do you and may be some of the other accusers plan on bringing any further legal action? i can tell you in my case the things that happen to me were more than two and a half decades ago. so there is really no legal recourse for me. any statute of limitations has run. i cannot speak for the other accusers. i think that the decision to participate in litigation is a very personal one. i do not know if i would ever have the opportunity to do so. it is interesting however, because the new york senate recently passed something called the adult victims act, which would open up the statute of limitations and give a one year look—back period for people who were adult victims of sexual abuse, who are outside of the statute of limitations, but would be able to pursue something legally. that has only passed the new york senate and is still in the new york assembly and we will see this term if that has passed. i hope that it is for all survivors. but i cannot tell you whether i would be prone to participate in that or not. i think thatis participate in that or not. i think that is a personal decision and that is something i will evaluate if and when it is a possibility for me. liz stein thank you for talking to us. we're talking unsuitable gifts this morning. you might have received stuff that is not quite right for you. the question is, can you take them back? it is what people do. can you get a refund or replacement without embarrassing the person who gave them to you? sarah. good morning. what do you do with unwanted presents? i've got some consumer tips coming up, especially if you don't have the receipt. in fact, research from the online payments company, worldpay, suggests one in four gifts are returned every christmas. but it's not always straight forward, it often depends on the returns policy of individual retailers. so have a listen to the experiences of these breakfast viewers. my brother bought me some slippers on christmas day. they are two sizes too big, despite the fact that the average woman's size is a size six, my brother thought that large, 7—8, might be suitable. so now i need to take the slippers back to the shop they came from. absolutely lovely, fluffy dressing gown. beautiful. really, it feels great on the skin and all of that. but i have plenty of dressing gowns, like, plenty. so i looked at it and i was like... i absolutely think it's ok to take |things back if you get a gift thatj doesn't work for you. that might be because it is something you don't like, i or have a duplicate of. i think it absolutely i is the right thing to do to exchange it if you can. because we don't need more stuff. so what exactly are the rules then? under the consumer rights act, an item must be of satisfactory quality, as described on the label, and fit for purpose. so if it's not and it's faulty, then you should get a full refund. but if you just don't like the gift or it doesn't suit you, retailers are not actually obliged to give you a refund. you're more likely to get an exchange or credit note. but don't leave it too long. you've usually got 28 days to return things. around christmas, most retailers give you some extra time. atjohn lewis for example, you have until the end of january to return things bought from october. now if your gift was purchased online or over the phone, then it's the person who bought it that has the return rights. they can send it back within14 days without giving a reason. bear in mind, though, any refund would go to the original payment card. and then there's the knotty problem of the receipt. if you want to return a gift and you have a gift receipt, then things are pretty straightforward. just contact the shop, usually you'll be able to get in exchange, a voucher or sometimes even a cash refund, depending on the shop's policy. if you don't have a receipt and you don't want to notify the person who has gifted you the present, then get in touch with a customer service team at the retailer first. they may have a little bit more leeway to accept things like a photograph of the item in packaging, which you are going to struggle with if you just go straight down to the high street. also remember, if you are eligible for a return, retailers may only give you the current price. so if it's on sale, that's the price you'll get refunded. and there are other alternatives of course. you could donate the item to charity for example, or regift them to someone else. passing on an unwanted present to someone who will genuinely appreciate it and use it. controversial? or making sure things aren't wasted? this has got you talking this morning. georgina said her sister regifted her a makeup palette that she had given her five years ago. sandy said a bonsai kit got passed between her and her brother for around four years. it became a christmas joke and nobody fell out over it. some of you have been in touch to say, you would never return a gift. angela said if you don't like it, pretend you do or give it to charity. i want to know where the bonsai tree ended up. what a good idea, keep recycling. give it to charity, that's great. the problem is then you have to pretend you like it. you have to do good. changing something that does not fit is one thing but taking something back or regifting, it is the regifting i am not sure about. you need a list of who gave it to you. if you are the sort of person who re—gifted you would. we decided we would not do it. are you sure? i definitely wouldn't. are we talking darts and hairdos? to be fair, peter "snakebite" wright lit up the darts championship. which finished last night and he won. but hats off to his wife who runs a hair salon. we will show you how he looks. he spends two hours on his hair in the build—up. that takes more than two hours. i am familiar with the hairdresser, that takes more than two hours. i would double that. new year, new look. don't rule it out. two hours to put on. it will be two hours to take off. you cannot go to bed with that on your head. good morning. always a raucous atmosphere, big money on the table for the winner. and that half a million pound check went to peter "snakebite" wright. he is an unmistakeable character. and it was a thrilling final against michael "the bully boy" smith — the lead kept changing hands and wright was actually surprised to win it — his experience allowed him to take advantage of some costly mistakes by his opponent. wright said smith would definitely be winning world titles soon. and that bumper cheque, a nice little treat. great scenes. not such a bumper start to the new year for manchester united and manager ralf rangnick, who watched his unbeaten run ended by wolves who were more than a match for united at old trafford. it wasn't until the 82nd minute they grabbed the goal that won it thanks tojoao moutinho as wolves move up to eighth. in the build—up to the australian open, great britain's men are playing in the atp cup in sydney. and it's started well. after they beat germany at the weekend, they're up against canada. dan evans has beaten denis shapovalov in straight sets in their opening match. now it's british number one cameron norrie against felix auger—alliasime. good luck to them. i think we all need to adopt a darts nickname. we do. it should be worked in across sport. thank you. the parents of an autistic teenager who was stabbed to death over a row on social media say they're determined to stop children murdering children. olly stephens was lured to a field by a girl he knew, before being ambushed by two 14—year—old boys and killed. a year on, olly�*s mum and dad have been speaking to our correspondent nikki mitchell. this video, caught on a neighbour's door bell camera, is thought to be the last footage of olly stephens alive. within minutes, he had been stabbed. passers—by tried frantically to save him, but, by the time his mum and dad got there, he was lifeless. 12 months on, they are still in shock. oh, it has been a living nightmare. yeah, it's horrific. horrific. i still expect him to walk through the front door, or hear him up in his bedroom. he was such massive part of our entertainment. he always had us laughing. when you come home, it's the quiet and the silence and the sadness, and everything's painful because of the memory and everything. and even though it is a year, ifeel like i'm looking onto life rather than i'm living it. ifeel removed... yeah, just getting through it. you are in pain all the time. you feel so sad. it's painful. at some point in the day, it's a memory, music, anything. ijust woke up on christmas morning and just cried and cried. the same on christmas eve. it's joyless, isn't it? this is one of olly�*s killers showing off his knives. the images on their phones revealed an obsession with blades and gangland culture. what started as a childish social media squabble escalated into a preplanned murderous ambush. it was here in this beauty spot in berkshire, just a few hundred yards from where he lived, that olly was killed. he came here to meet a girl he knew, but she tricked him and set him up. she was there when he was attacked by the boys at the top of the hill and stabbed twice with a vegetable knife. the two boys who killed him were 13 and 14 years old. on the first anniversary of his death yesterday, a memorial service to remember olly paused in silence at 14 minutes to four in the afternoon, the time he died. the service was played out on loudspeakers for those who could not fit into the church. afterwards, candles were lit. olly will always be my best boy, my only boy, and he will always be with me. thank you for all your love for olly. it will keep him alive for ever in all our hearts and minds. olly�*s parents want the whole community here and communities right across the country to work together against knife crime. children murdering children, they say, has to stop. olly was lured and set up and murdered by children. and that in itself... by someone he trusted. the whole social media thing with the whole — the snapchats. there were 11 platforms involved in his murder. nobody warned him — that we are aware of. nobody said to him they are planning this, this is going to happen. we had olly on that morning and looked at his phone and didn't understand a thing that was on it. we didn't see any of the evidence that we saw in court on his phone, because he learned to hide it. how can he do that? and that's where i think, as parents, we feel very powerless. in olly�*s name, stuart and amanda have now started lobbying mps to support the online safety bill. it aims to hold tech giants to account for exposing people to harmful material. i wrote an e—mail and i was quite frank in what i said. i wanted it to be hard—hitting. i wanted every politician to read it. all parties, everybody. because you've all got children. and i've had some very positive replies. and hopefully, with the online harms bill, we can start making these companies accountable. they make millions and millions of dollars from these apps and, as parents, we have no protection from them. stuart has been a victim of online abuse himself. the videos and messages he has been sent mocking olly�*s death are appallingly offensive. so shocking, we can't show any of them. there is this glorification around knives. you can die from a wound anywhere in your body if you are stabbed. because of the bleeding, the blood loss. what is happening in the uk now with knife crime is big, really, really big. we know how painful this is and if we can try and stop it for anybody else, that is what we would like to do. stuart and amanda make the short walk to the fields where olly died almost daily. they have planted a tree there in his memory. here we can come out as often as we want to and have some time by the tree. where the tree is is pretty much where the attack took place. that was a tree olly had seen grow from an acorn in our back garden. a squirrel had planted it in an old pot. i didn't have the heart to throw it away, because i always tell him, you know, from tiny acorns grow mighty oaks. you know, small things can start massive movements. i am a great believer that people don't die if they are remembered and they are kept in your heart and they are kept in your mind. we want to start a momentum that we hope will carry on, so that olly will never be forgotten. i think he has become a figurehead for all knife crime victims. we are just one family. this has affected so many other families. and a lot of those families are not in a position we are in with our friends and neighbours and local community. they are going through the same feelings we are without support. so we want to raise awareness for them as well. distressing topic to talk about, knife crime, but if we get this wrong now, where are we going to be in ten, 15 years' time? the girl who lured olly to his death and the boys who killed him are all serving prison sentences. really powerful report. here's carol. it isa it is a mixed picture of weatherhead. it certainly is, good morning. we have had snow this morning and overnight. this picture from a weather watcher shows an earlier scene in perth and kinross. further snow showers today and also gales. wherever you are, it will be a cold day yet. this rain with snow behind it is sinking southwards. the cold air will follow behind. where we had snow by night, we are at the risk of ice on untreated surfaces this morning. behind this, it is cold. ice will be with us until 11am, when the weather warning runs out, but further snow will accumulate across the northern half of scotland. couple it with gales the northern half of scotland. couple it with gates and severe gales couple it with gates and severe gates in the far north, it could lead to drifting and blizzards. temporary blizzard conditions on higher roots. coming south, the front pushes away and behind it dry weather. showers coming in on a brisk wind. some of them wintry. a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. mostly on higher ground. as the front clears it will turn colder. these are the gust strengths. about lunchtime they could be higher in orkney and caithness where they could be up to 80 mph. temperatures today... add on the strength of the wind chill, and to feel more like —4 in aberdeen. wherever you are, it will feel cold. through this evening and overnight, we continue with snow and overnight, we continue with snow and strong winds in scotland. wintry showers across northern ireland, north—west england, wales, possibly as far south as the north and west midlands and most of these will be in the hills. temperatures will be low enough for frost and the risk of ice. tomorrow starting on a windy note, that will ease in the day. showers in the east, north and west, but some sunshine and still feeling cold. you're watching bbc breakfast. it's 8:59. good morning, it's nine o'clock. welcome to bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire. here are your headlines. a day of critical court hearings for prince andrew and virginia guiffre — his lawyers in new york will argue that her civil case against him, alleging he sexaully assaulted her when she was 17, should be thrown out. millions of pupils across the uk are back to school today, amid concerns about covid—related staff shortages. if you're back to school today, are there enough covid tests to check you all? are there enough teachers? and in england, how do you feel about wearing masks again for your lessons? let me know on instagram or twitter. delays and cancellations on the rail network as around one in ten staff are off work due to covid and isolating. a university dropout who became a silicon valley success story has been convicted of fraud for lying about the technology that made her a billionaire.