doing his part, and actually he's tried to cover up and deceive people in this event, and i think it's disgusting and disgraceful, and the british public deserve much better than this. for numberten, there for number ten, there is simply no escape _ for number ten, there is simply no escape from — for number ten, there is simply no escape from claims that those who set the _ escape from claims that those who set the rules broke them themselves. we'll have more from laura on the potential difficulties for the prime minister. also tonight: in australia, novak djokovic is back in training, having won his legal fight to stay in the country despite not being vaccinated. a government deadline of march for developers to agree to find billions of pounds to help leaseholders trapped in flats with dangerous cladding. and the story of the luckiest possible escape for a pilot in los angeles. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, manchester united and aston villa face off with a place in the fourth round of the fa cup the prize on offer. good evening. the prime minister, borisjohnson, is refusing to say whether he attended a drinks gathering at downing street during the first lockdown in contravention of the covid rules at that time. several of those invited have told the bbc they were taken aback by an emailfrom the prime minister's private secretary asking dozens of staff to "bring their own booze" to what were called "socially—distanced drinks" in the downing street garden. two of those who attended said they saw borisjohnson and his wife at the event. this was at a time, in may 2020, when social mixing was banned unless it was with one other person from a different household outdoors. there is already an official inquiry under way looking at other alleged breaches of lockdown by number ten staff. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, has the latest. the principle of private secretary's job is in the shadows, organising the lives of the public and powerful. martin reynolds' role was not, you may think, to organise a party during a lockdown, and invite are sent to around 100 of number ten's staff. the prime minister today declining to get into the details of any such socialising. shill details of any such socialising. all of details of any such socialising. fill of that, as you know, is the subject of that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by sue grey. 50 of a proper investigation by sue gre _ ., ,., of a proper investigation by sue gre. ., , grey. so have you been interviewed b sue grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey. _ grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey. and — grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey, and if _ grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey, and if not, _ grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey, and if not, would - grey. so have you been interviewed by sue grey, and if not, would you| by sue grey, and if not, would you object _ by sue grey, and if not, would you object to— by sue grey, and if not, would you object to the question? all by sue grey, and if not, would you object to the question?— ob'ect to the question? all of that is object to the question? all of that is sub'ect object to the question? all of that is subject to _ object to the question? all of that is subject to an — object to the question? all of that is subject to an investigation by i is subject to an investigation by sue grey. is subject to an investigation by sue gre . , sue grey. remember back then, in the horror of spring — sue grey. remember back then, in the horror of spring 2020, _ sue grey. remember back then, in the horror of spring 2020, the _ sue grey. remember back then, in the horror of spring 2020, the rules - horror of spring 2020, the rules were clear. you could spend time outdoors with people you lived with or with one other person. and yet, in the building where the rules were being made, a plan was formed for a gathering in downing street's garden on my the 20th 2020. i'm told around 30 people attended, including, according to two eyewitnesses, the prime minister and his wife, with a long table set out in the garden for drinks and snacks. and there was surprise and concern among some staff at the plan. eyebrows more than raised at the e—mail invited sent out by martin reynolds in black—and—white. messages sent between staff and showing tonight to the bbc show that some were well aware of the problem. one wrote at the time, why is martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden? another side, a mass gathering in the garden? anotherside, is a mass gathering in the garden? another side, is this for real? all i number ten spokesperson would say tonight was there is an independent investigation being led by sue grey, a senior official, i can't comment further while that is taking place. for weeks, the prime minister has had to defend himself from a deluge of goings—on in downing street. he said again and again nothing went wrong. i said again and again nothing went wronu. . , said again and again nothing went wron. . , , ., , wrong. i have been repeatedly assured, since _ wrong. i have been repeatedly assured, since these - wrong. i have been repeatedly i assured, since these allegations emerged, that there was no party and that no covid rules were broken, and that no covid rules were broken, and thatis that no covid rules were broken, and that is what i have been repeatedly assured. but that is what i have been repeatedly assured. �* ., ., �*, that is what i have been repeatedly assured. ., �*, , , assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set _ assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set of _ assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set of claims _ assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set of claims as - assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set of claims as a - assured. but for labour's deputy, this latest set of claims as a step| this latest set of claims as a step too far. i this latest set of claims as a step too far. ~ , ., ., too far. i think he should go, there is no excuses. _ too far. i think he should go, there is no excuses, and _ too far. i think he should go, there is no excuses, and it _ too far. i think he should go, there is no excuses, and it will _ too far. i think he should go, there is no excuses, and it will come - is no excuses, and it will come as no surprise — is no excuses, and it will come as no surprise that i don't think boris johnson _ no surprise that i don't think boris johnson is — no surprise that i don't think boris johnson is up for the job, but more importantly, i think he has lost the confidence — importantly, i think he has lost the confidence of the british public now with his _ confidence of the british public now with his lies, his deceit and his breaking — with his lies, his deceit and his breaking of his own rules. labour shouldn't hold _ breaking of his own rules. labour shouldn't hold its _ breaking of his own rules. labour shouldn't hold its breath - breaking of his own rules. labour shouldn't hold its breath for- breaking of his own rules. labour| shouldn't hold its breath for that, but borisjohnson just can't shake up but borisjohnson just can't shake up claims about his own behaviour during lockdown and the conduct of those right by his side. we can go live to downing street to talk to laura, how serious is this potentially for mrjohnson? huw, it is very messy _ potentially for mrjohnson? huw, it is very messy indeed _ potentially for mrjohnson? huw, it is very messy indeed for _ potentially for mrjohnson? huw, it is very messy indeed for three - potentially for mrjohnson? huw, it | is very messy indeed for three main reasons. number one, this is black and white evidence of plans being made for social gatherings, not gossip, not suggestions behind closed doors, it is there in black and white, in messages we have seen about people's response in the e—mail leaked to itv news of the invitation itself. the second reason this is so deeply awkward, it was notjust this is so deeply awkward, it was not just one about this is so deeply awkward, it was notjust one about your�*s most senior officials, it was actually eyewitnesses have told us that boris johnson himself was in attendance for part of the evening. and the third reason why this is so awkward is, in a new year, the conservatives, they downing street administration, they were hoping to move on from that torrid and fibril time before christmas when, day after day, they were being battered by claims and allegations about what kind of shenanigans had been going on behind that black door, particularly during those early acute periods of lockdown. and for that cocktail of reasons, this is very, very tricky indeed, and it is no sign at all of downing street being able to escape these kinds of claims. there is, remember, an official investigation under way, but it could be another couple of weeks, and who knows what else might emerge before there are actually some answered, notjust about emerge before there are actually some answered, not just about what happened, but also about what the consequences of any misbehaviour might be. consequences of any misbehaviour miaht be. ., ., consequences of any misbehaviour miuht be. . . ., , consequences of any misbehaviour miuhtbe. . . ., ., might be. laura, many thanks, for the latest in _ might be. laura, many thanks, for the latest in street, _ might be. laura, many thanks, for the latest in street, laura - the latest in street, laura kuenssberg. novak djokovic, the world's leading men's tennis player, has won the biggest victory of his career. that's his mother's view following his release from immigration detention in melbourne, setting him free to play in the australian open. djokovic, who is opposed to vaccination, had been denied entry to australia, and his visa was cancelled. ajudge in melbourne has overturned that decision, and djokovic says he wants to stay in the country and compete. from melbourne, our correspondent shaimaa khalil reports. within hours of today's judgment, novak djokovic posted this picture on twitter, saying he was pleased and grateful that thejudge had overturned the visa cancellation, and despite all that has happened, he wants to stay and try to compete at the australian open. cheering and this is the moment his supporters found out about his victory. he won, djokovic won! what we saw today here in the court that the australian legal system is functioning, it is evidence—based, it is aboutjustice. yeah, i'm extremely happy, as anyone, everyone in- the serbian community here. the jubilant mood turned into chaos and confusion, when it became unclear whether djokovic would be allowed to stay, despite the court's decision in his favour. at one point, djokovic's fans thought they'd caught a glimpse of him. but they clashed with the police and were dispersed with tear gas. for djokovic's family, today brought relief — but also uncertainty about whether he'll be able to stay in the country. i'm very worried, but i don't want to think like that. ijust hope it will stay like this, that he will be free and he will play. it's been a battle for all of us, it's notjust about novak. obviously, we've been defending him every possible way we could, because we know he is a truthful and rightful guy. novak djokovic announced onjanuary 4th that he was going to australia after being granted a medical exemption — a move that angered many australians who've endured strict covid—19 rules. onjanuary 5th, he arrived in melbourne but was held by border force officers. his visa was revoked, and he was taken to an immigration detention hotel, where he remained until today, when his lawyers argued that his visa cancellation was unreasonable and a judge agreed, allowing him to stay in the country. while many in the tennis community believe djokovic was unfairly treated, some argue that meeting any country's vaccination rules will pose problems for him beyond australia. he will have to face several times those problems, so i think bottom line, he will have to get vaccine. but for this time, for australia, he got the visa, and he flew in with all the best intention and having done all the works he should have done beforehand. today's events have moved and changed at a dizzying speed, and it's still unclear whether the government will seek to deport novak djokovic. but after his release, the tennis star said he's focused on competing here in the australian open. it's only a few days before the tournament djokovic has dominated is due to start, but his win in court today doesn't seem to have guaranteed him a chance to defend his title. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. the housing secretary, michael gove, has given developers until march to agree how to help leaseholders trapped in unsellable homes because of problems with dangerous cladding. following the grenfell tower fire, the cladding crisis has left many flat owners facing heavy bills to put matters right. but now developers have been asked to pay £4 billion to fix problems with mid—rise flats — those not covered by the existing government scheme for taller buildings — or be hit with a tax. our correspondent sarah corker reports. removing dangerous cladding — the grenfell tragedy exposed the scale of building safety failures across britain. the government says it will pressure the construction sector to pay under the government's £4 billion scheme, people living in blocks between 11—18 metres won't have to pay to remove dangerous cladding. instead, developers will be expected to cover their costs, orface new laws or tax hikes. there will also be a review of the scale of the work needed, and the time limit to sue builders for defects will be extended from six to 30 years. there was some relief here in south london. the government says people like neil in low—rise blocks won't face cladding costs, but he's still worried about unaffordable bills. it seems like a step in the right direction, but at the same time, the cladding section on our bill is only a third of the bill, so there's still two thirds of other things that may need paying for. so it may be helpful, this, but it may actually not help us all that much. we might go from having a six—figure bill to having a five—figure bill, but that's still, you know, tens of thousands of pounds, it's still going to bankrupt people on our block. it's a serious injustice. there will be no new money from the treasury, and developers often argue they met building regulations at the time, so they shouldn't have to pay to cover these costs. it's also unclear how the government plans to force the industry to pay to fix these faults. and the largest home—builders say they've already allocated money for high—rise blocks. whatever proposals come forward have to be fair, have to be proportionate, and that means looking not just at the home—builders, but beyond the home—builders, other parties who have been involved in the process, in particular the suppliers of the materials which turned out not to be fit for purpose as far as we can understand. the government has given construction firms a deadline of march to come up with a plan of action. but for thousands of people, the financial situation is already critical. sarah corker, bbc news. let's look now at the latest figures on the pandemic. the latest pandemic figures show over 142,000 new infections in the latest 24—hour period. on average, there were over 171,600 new cases per day in the last week. the latest figures show over 18,600 people in hospital with covid. there've been another 77 deaths of people who died within 28 days of a positive test result. on average in the past week, there were 190 deaths per day. on vaccinations, over 35.6 million people have had a boosterjab, which means more than 62% of those aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. our health editor, hugh pym, is here. there are reports today that sir chris whitty was giving a rather more upbeat assessment to ministers. how would you characterise where they are at the moment? yes. they are at the moment? yes, england's _ they are at the moment? yes, england's chief _ they are at the moment? yes, england's chief medical - they are at the moment? ye: england's chief medical officer sir chris whitty, only last month as the army contract was becoming clear, said at a briefing that there are several things we don't know, but all the things we do know are bad. but at the briefing to the cabinet today according to government sources, the tone was more positive than in recent weeks. and sources say that by the middle of next week, it should become clear whether plan b measures in england are needed after the end of january. b measures in england are needed after the end ofjanuary. so b measures in england are needed after the end of january. so case levels based on the seven day rolling average in england are falling. it's the same story in scotland, other cases are going up in wales and northern ireland. in england, hospitaladmissions in wales and northern ireland. in england, hospital admissions seem to be levelling off. in the view of ministers and advisers, the worst—case scenario set out last month isn't going to happen now. in fact, borisjohnson wasn't playing down reports that the isolation period for positive cases could be cut from seven days to five. but of course, none of that helps the nhs in the next few weeks, with predictions of continued extreme pressure based on covid numbers, staff absences and all the normal winter pressures.— winter pressures. hugh pym, our health editor. _ let's take a look at some of today's other news. officials in new york have promised support for all those affected by the apartment—block fire yesterday. at least 17 people died in the twin parks complex fire, including eight children. several other people are in hospital in a critical condition. the death toll is the worst seen in a new york fire in over 30 years. an independent inquiry will investigate how a serving police officer, wayne couzens, was able to abduct, rape and murder sarah everard in south london in march last year. the first phase will look at his conduct during his career. it will also investigate whether any warning signs were missed and the extent to which his behaviour, particularly in relation to women, was known about and raised by colleagues. eight men who were abused by the convicted paedophile barry bennell more than 30 years ago have lost their high court case against manchester city football club. the men, now in their forties and fifties, said bennell was a scout for manchester city at the time. a judge ruled the club was not liable, but praised the men's bravery in coming forward. a court in myanmar has sentenced ousted leader aung san suu kyi to four more years in prison in the latest of a series of trials. she was convicted for the illegal possession and import of walkie—talkies and breaking covid—19 rules. she has been detained since a military coup last february and faces about a dozen charges, all of which she denies. the president of kazakhstan has described the protests last week in which dozens are reported to have died as an attempted coup. troops from russia are currently in the country to restore order, by international terrorism. our correspondent steve rosenberg is in kazakhstan's largest city, almaty, and sent this report. driving into almaty, you see immediately that this is a city on guard. we passed through several army checkpoints. they've been set up to prevent more attacks. in the city centre, reminders of the violence the authorities now say was an attempted coup. almaty last week. what had started as peaceful protests over fuel prices... in another part of kazakhstan were suddenly looking like war. translation: these bandits were controlled by terrorists. for the level of organisation here, it must have been a criminal group that planned it in advance. dozens of people were killed. thousands have since been detained. there's still a lot of confusion about who was behind this violence. authorities blame terrorists and bandits. some here talk about a power struggle in the ruling elite. but one thing is clear — that to stay in power, the president of kazakhstan had to call on a foreign power for help, and that's russia. enter the russian military. on paper, russian troops here are peacekeepers, deployed to kazakhstan as part of a collective security alliance of former soviet states, the csto. but most of the soldiers are russian, the kremlin keen to demonstrate its regional power. addressing csto colleagues, president putin made events fit his wider narrative. translation: we understand the events in kazakhstan won't be the last attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our countries. the measures taken by the csto show we will not allow destabilisation at home and for so—called colour resolutions to take place. at home and for so—called colour revolutions to take place. after the violence in almaty, there are mixed feelings here about the arrival of russian troops. "i welcome the russians coming", this man says. "they'll put a stop to it". "we should be able to cope ourselves", she says. "then again, without outside help, there could be civil war". what happened in kazakhstan has left this country and its people in shock and in fear at what comes next. steve rosenberg, bbc news, almaty. diplomats from the united states and russia have been meeting today in geneva for talks aimed at breaking the deadlock over ukraine. russia has massed 100,000 troops on the border, with the us warning of severe economic repercussions, should russia decide to invade. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is in geneva, where those talks have been taking place. are you detecting signs of any progress there?— are you detecting signs of any progress there? well, today was never going _ progress there? well, today was never going to — progress there? well, today was never going to be _ progress there? well, today was never going to be one _ progress there? well, today was never going to be one for- never going to be one for breakthroughs or deals. instead, it was a chance for american and russian diplomats to sit together and aired grievances and set up their demands. the gap between them is large. the americans urged the russians to pull their troops back from the border with ukraine and they got no such assurance. the russians demanded that nato say ukraine will never become a member, and the americans ruled that out. the diplomats will say they take comfort from the fact that the talks happened and they didn't break up in acrimony and they are likely to happen again. the problem is this. today russia said repeatedly that it would not invade ukraine, and yet the american negotiator, wendy sherman, the deputy secretary of state, was asked, on the basis of today's talks, does she think russia is prepared to de—escalate? she says, i don't know the answer to that. in other words, says, i don't know the answer to that. in otherwords, is says, i don't know the answer to that. in other words, is vladimir putin bent on diplomacy or war? the west doesn't know the answer to the question, and on the answer think the future of ukraine and european security. the future of ukraine and european securi . g ., , the future of ukraine and european securi ., . , ., , the future of ukraine and european securi , ., security. james, many thanks for those latest _ security. james, many thanks for those latest thoughts _ security. james, many thanks for those latest thoughts in geneva. | those latest thoughts in geneva. james landale. the past seven years have been the hottest on record, according to the eu's copernicus climate change service, which said they were the warmest by a clear margin since 1850. last year was the fifth—warmest year, with record—breaking heat in some regions. and levels of carbon dioxide and methane hit new heights. our climate editorjustin rowlatt examines the data. what a way to see in the new year. almost 1,000 homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate as some of the worst wildfires ever seen in colorado swept across the state. coming down this road, the ditches and things, and the trees, they are all up inflames, like, there are embers everywhere. it looks like 2022 is set to continue the trend of extreme weather we saw last year. extreme events are likely to become more intense and more frequent, and we saw many examples of that. within 2021, there were the devastating floods in central europe that we saw in july and also the extreme heatwave that we saw across the world injune in canada and injuly in sicily. these latest temperature figures confirm that europe experienced its hottest summer on record. the global data collected by european satellites shows 2021 was the fifth hottest year ever recorded, and — no surprise here — the concentration of warming gases in the atmosphere is continuing to rise, with record levels of both carbon dioxide and methane. the direction of travel is inescapable. just look how temperatures have risen since the beginning of the industrial revolution 170 years ago. that, of course, is when the world began to burn fossil fuels on a really massive scale, and now look at the last seven years. these latest figures show they were the hottest seven years ever recorded, an average of 1.2 degrees centigrade above pre—industrial levels. and the bad news is, a temporary cooling event in the pacific ocean actually lowered temperatures very marginally last year. that will soon pass, so don't expect any let—up in the warming trend in the years to come. it sometimes feels, when we've got complex, big problems like this, that there's very little we can do as individuals, but we do have a choice. we can make changes to our lifestyle to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions, whether that's reducing the amount of meat and dairy that we eat, travelling less by flying or, you know, not taking the car as much and walking and cycling instead. the pact agreed by world leaders at the international climate conference in glasgow in november aims to do just that — to cut global emissions. today's confirmation of rising global temperatures is another reminder ofjust how urgent that action is. justin rowlatt, bbc news. before we go, the story of a pilot in los angeles who crash landed on a railway line as a commuter train approached. as our correspondent sophie long reports, it turned out to be a very lucky escape. the moment disaster was averted. this remarkable bodycam footage shows the moment lapd officers pulled a pilot to safety without a second to spare. go, go, go, go! horn blares. the plane had taken off from the runway at whiteman airport adjacent to the metro line just minutes earlier. but it crash—landed onto the tracks at this busy level crossing. police officers were at the scene in moments, but then an ominous sound created instant panic — that of a train fast approaching. in a city where street corners are frequently turned into film sets, people here struggled to believe that what they were seeing was actually real. there was a huge sense of panic. a lot of the bystanders were frustrated. they were frustrated, maybe, with the length of time it took to get him out. we didn't expect the train to still keep coming, so a lot of people were frustrated with that. it's out of this world. it's like something in a movie, that you would see in a hollywood movie. despite the flying debris, no one on the ground was injured. the pilot was the only person in the plane. his identity has not yet been released. all that's known about him is that he was lucky enough to cheat death not once, but twice in ten minutes. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. tuesday will bring us a bit of the hello there. it has been a cloudy start of the week for all of us. but the weather will change overnight because clearer skies will follow the cloud across scotland and northern ireland. the main cloud, rain and drizzle sinking down into england and wales, some low cloud, misty weather. mild night for england and wales — much milder than last night for eastern england, no frost here. clearer skies, though, for scotland and northern ireland meanis temperatures will be low enough for a pinch of frost here and there, and some sunshine to start the day on tuesday. that cloud and damp weather across england and wales moves southwards, coming to rest across east anglia and southern england. some late improvements in the day across south wales and the midlands, but more sunshine further north and a few blustery showers blowing into the northwest of scotland. the highest temperatures will actually be in that cloudy, damp weather across southern parts of england. that will clear away, though, overnight. through the rest of the week, northern areas will see the highest temperatures with a stronger atlantic wind. lighter winds further south mean it'll be colder with increasing amounts of mist, fog, and low cloud. this is bbc news, the headlines. novak chuck fitch has returned to training after successfully contesting the australian decision to revoke his visa. russia's deputy foreign minister has more to the united states not to underestimate the risk of confrontation with moscow over the ukraine. spoke after talks with their us counterparts. spreading more quickly in a block. the amount of fatalities has produced from 19 to 17. parties held in downing street last year. boris johnson has refused to say whether he attended a social event in the garden in may 2020.