Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240709 : comparemela.com

from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus spread rapidly. a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a human patient. the start of a harsh winter deepens the food crisis in afghanistan. the un makes an urgent appealfor help. and the delicate ecosystem of antarctica, under threat from unwanted creatures, hitching rides on boats. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the metropolitan police says it's in contact with the government, after it emerged as many as 100 people were invited to a party in the garden at downing street during the first lockdown in may 2020. at the time, such gatherings were banned. a minister told the commons that the government would not comment while the official investigation into downing street parties is carried out. labour says borisjohnson "cannot spend the next days and weeks hiding behind a whitehall inquiry," which is looking into whether the gatherings at no 10 broke covid rules. 0ur political correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports. downing street this morning, questions piling up. should the prime minister apologise? inside, in the cabinet meeting, there was no mention of the latest revelations about downing street parties, but this toxic issue won't go away for borisjohnson. in may 2020, the man behind him, his principal private secretary, martin reynolds, e—mailed 100 staff, inviting them to bring their own booze for drinks in the garden. witnesses have told the bbc around 30 attended, including mrjohnson and his wife. given that the rules said you could only meet one person, some staff were shocked. in messages seen by the bbc, they said... the same month, hannah brady lost herfather to covid. last year, she met mrjohnson in the very same garden. i think this pandemic, for me, is a story of two men. one is my 55—year—old dad, who is dead, having spent 42 nights on a ventilator, fighting covid and no other illnesses. the other is a man who was 55 at the time of this party, borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden in downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." yesterday, he wouldn't answer questions, saying an internal investigation is under way into all the parties that have come to light. the labour leader, isolating because of covid, tweeted today... it's not just the labour party that are angry about this, _ there are plenty of my parliamentary colleagues who have no idea - what anyone in that e—mail chain was thinking, or how... - this is utterly indefensible, it cannot be defended. - they weren't saying it publicly. what should the prime minister do with these latest revelations, sir? ..but arriving in parliament today, tory mps, some angry, some aghast, and a new opening for labour. i apologise again, unreservedly, for the upset that these allegations have caused. the prime minister has asked for an investigation... there's no need for an investigation into the simple central question today, did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on the 20th of may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants, the prime minister sets the tone. hear, hear. exactly. if the prime minister was there, surely he knew. does he still believe the prime minister to be a man of honour and integrity? hear, hear! she asks if i have confidence in the prime minister's integrity and honour, and i do. laughter. and now, the police are in touch with the cabinet office. the met has been under pressure to investigate the parties. difficulties mounting for borisjohnson. damian grammaticus, bbc news, westminster. live now to our political correspondent, nick eardley at the commons. the government keep seeing wait for the results of this whitehall inquiry but we don't the results of this whitehall inquiry but we don't know the results of this whitehall inquiry but we don't know when the results of this whitehall inquiry but we don't know when we will get those results. it could be days or weeks. in the meantime, the questions keep on coming?— questions keep on coming? that's riaht questions keep on coming? that's ri . ht and questions keep on coming? that's right and although _ questions keep on coming? that's right and although ministers - questions keep on coming? that's right and although ministers are i right and although ministers are doing everything they can to avoid talking about the detail of these allegations, from the 20th of may 2020, they are not going to frankly get away with not answering these questions forever. and although we had michael ellis, a fairlyjunior minister answering questions in the commons this afternoon, although he said the government would pass any relevant information onto the police and a full set been broken, there would be disciplinary action, —— rules had been broken. there are outstanding questions which will be asked time and again until there are more answers. why did one of boris johnson's top officials think that it was a good idea to invite around 100 people to a gathering, when those gatherings were banned by law set by the government? was boris johnson and his wife, as sources have told us, at that party in the downing street garden? and ft was, does downing street accept that's quite potentially a breach of the rules that the prime minister himself was trying to sell to the country. you saw in the peace there, the exchanges in the commons this afternoon and it was very noticeable there were not many conservatives there. 0pposition mps are queueing up there. 0pposition mps are queueing up to ask the government questions, but there are not many conservative mps who are standing up and defending borisjohnson today. there are many privately who are absolutely fizzing at this, fizzing before christmas at some of the allegations from christmas 2020, and are now angry again that the political world is being dominated by further questions about whether borisjohnson and the downing street operation stuck by the rules they were setting. remember, it's prime minister's questions tomorrow, so i would expect to hear borisjohnson ask a lot more about this and i'm not sure that it will last for all that long for mrjohnson and his ministers and downing street to say we are waiting for the investigation, given that we don't know when that investigation is coming, and there are many who want answers now. find coming, and there are many who want answers nova— coming, and there are many who want answers now-— answers now. and while the questions keep coming. — answers now. and while the questions keep coming. the _ answers now. and while the questions keep coming, the difficulty _ answers now. and while the questions keep coming, the difficulty for - answers now. and while the questions keep coming, the difficulty for the - keep coming, the difficulty for the government as there could be more stories about more parties and more details coming out as well in the papers. and also the possibility of some sort of police investigation? yes, i think that's absolutely right. the net have said they are in contact with the government this morning, that's not quite investigation stage but it shows they are reassessing their previous position which is saying we did not have the evidence to start a formal investigation. i think, by my latest count, we are up to about eight or nine potential parties and downing street or different government departments that the senior official, senior civil servant tasked with looking at this, we'll have to scrutinise and the fear that some tory mps have, the fear that downing street potentially might have,is downing street potentially might have, is that there are other allegations to come. we don't know if that's the case. we are speaking to people who used to work in downing street this morning, it's quite clear that there were events held, whether we know about all of them yet remains to be seen. but there was a feeling that the start of the new year perhaps was not seeing as much of the tension that we saw in december, that feed braille atmosphere about everything that was borisjohnson is atmosphere. some of those questions about many tory mps feel deeply uncomfortable even if they are not saying it publicly. for now, thank you very much. new figures suggest one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as 0micron cases continued to spread. many schools have told the bbc they're unable to find enough temporary staff to cover the gaps. the education secretary, nadhim zahawi, says he's making contingency plans for the rising rates of staff absence. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. they learn and play in a year group bubble. until now, that has kept cases right down, and pupils in school. if we were on zoom, we could not ask as many questions as we can, like, face—to—face. and if we have finished our zoom lesson and we are starting our work and we need help, our siblings can help us, but they won't know what the subject is and everything. it would be better if our teachers help us. we can still keep our learning going and the school is doing everything they can to make sure we are safe as well. it would be, like, stressful, because you are missing. out on your learning, _ and when you come back you might feel like you are behind. i like playing with my friends and playing in the playground, and it's good that the government made a rule when, if someone has some symptoms or has been tested positive, they have to stay at home, not the entire bubble. the pupils are just happy that things are near—normal, but schools are dealing with huge uncertainty, each day not knowing if more teachers will be off with covid and whether they will be able to get supply teachers. this school has kept strict covid measures. when there is a case, parents are asked to lateral flow test their children. every classroom has an air purifier machine, bought by the school. despite all their efforts, it is much worse than last term. we have got more children off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term, and we've got more staff off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term. so this morning, it's about covering a few classes where the teachers have tested positive for covid, and just difficulties getting supply teachers, so we are trying to put contingencies in ahead of time, pre—empting the phone call. today's figures show some schools have been hit hard. most pupils are still learning in class, not at home, as schools in england try to ride out this latest covid wave. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, birmingham. 0ur education correspondent, sean dilley is here. what is the impact of this latest covid wave?— what is the impact of this latest covid wave? fairly big impact on some schools, _ covid wave? fairly big impact on some schools, it _ covid wave? fairly big impact on some schools, it will— covid wave? fairly big impact on some schools, it will depend - covid wave? fairly big impact on i some schools, it will depend where you are around the country but the bbc surveyed some schools across the country and spoke to hundreds who said they had already been struggling getting temporary staff. you may remember supply teachers when you were in school and somebody has to walk into a classroom of children they don't know, deal with all sorts of challenges they are, so lots of schools have been moving classes in together. when we think of that figure, one in 12 teachers and leaders absent, that's quite a lot, because that's potentially quite a lot of classes having to share school assembly rooms, quite a lot of passes having to put up with last—minute planned lessons so the key impact on schools is lack of available temporary staff to come in and teach. the government says it's helping, working on contingency plans to deal with some of that absence and i'm going to underline the fact that, while one in 12 teachers being absent is only a slight increase from the one in 13 before christmas, if you look at the percentage increase, it has gone from 3% to 4.9%. these figures may seem small but that has a huge impact on schools trying to provide education. the government says it's working on making sure that schools have the support they need. thank ou ve have the support they need. thank you very much _ have the support they need. thank you very much indeed. _ in an extraordinary first for medical science, doctors in america have transplanted a genetically—modified pig's heart into a human patient, in a final attempt to save his life. the man is said to be doing well, three days after the experimental surgery. success could lead to the routine use of animal organs in human transplants. this report from our north america correspondent, david willis, contains pictures of the operation. inside the box was the heart of a 240lb pig, genetically engineered to survive inside a human body. but the question was, would the transplant work? after toiling for nearly nine hours, surgeons at the university of maryland medical center removed the clamp restricting blood to the new organ and declared that it had. the pigs heart was pumping away, keeping alive a patient for whom all other options had run out. 0n the operating table was 57—year—old dave bennett, pictured here with his son and daughter. when doctors first proposed the pigs heart transplant, he thought they were joking, but four days on, he's said to be doing well and his doctors sound increasingly optimistic. we've never done this in a human. and i like to think that, um, we have given him a better option than what continuing his therapy would have been, but whether it's a day, week, month, year, i don't know. advances in gene editing and cloning techniques have proved a game changer as far as this sort of surgery is concerned, and in a country in which more than 100,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant, dave bennett's operation could help change the lives and ease the suffering of so many. pictured here with the man who led the operation, mr bennett is now breathing on his own without a ventilator. having called the operation a shot in the dark, the hospital says he's now looking forward to being released from their care and reunited with his dog lucky. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh said it was a huge moment which has taken decades of planning. pegs are the ideal candidate and in this case, the big concern was hyper acute rejection, sudden rejection. what they did was they knocked out four pig jeans and inserted six human genes and this team are the same that last year managed to transplant a pig kidney into a brain—dead patient that then functioned normally. ithink brain—dead patient that then functioned normally. i think this has a big future if some of the ethics can be sorted out because people will be very unhappy about this, there will be people, and there will also be concerned about potential for animal diseases to be put into humans, so that is a concern but david bennett, if you cannot have this operation, effectively he was terminally ill, so this was his only hope. anyone who records a positive lateral flow test in england, but doesn't have symptoms, no longer needs to take a pcr test. it's hoped easing the rule will free up pcr testing capacity for key workers, amid concerns over staff shortages because of covid infections. northern ireland, scotland and wales have already implemented the change. the headlines on bbc news... police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the 0micron variant of coronavirus, spread rapidly. a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart, into a human patient. the organisation that runs men's professional tennis says the controversy over novak djokovic in australia has been, "damaging on all fronts." the men's world number one won a court battle yesterday to overturn his visa cancellation, and he's since been practising on a court in melbourne for next week's australian open. here's shaimaa khalil. the first pictures of novak djokovic playing a day after a judge overruled his visa cancellation. the world number one has been held in an immigration detention hotel since his arrival. now, he says, he's focused on competing. with only a few days before the australian open, the country's immigration minister is still considering whether to cancel the player's visa. there is a great deal of uncertainty about what happens next, and division, too. should he be here? oh, god, i don't know. i've followed it all week. i just sort of wonder what the reception will be like when he gets here. we are a country of booers, we do like that, but i'm sure he can handle that. if he plays, i will not watch him, because he is not vaccinated. we are really excited that he's here. - it's cool to have all those top players and, yeah, i we are super excited for him. there is also concern about what this will mean for the sport and the players' ability to travel. the atp, which runs the men's tennis tour, said the novak djokovic controversy has been, "damaging on all fronts" and has called for more clarity on the rules to enter australia. but it has also urged players to get vaccinated. preparations are under way for the first grand slam of the season, and despite the upheaval around him, novak djokovic seems determined to defend his title. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. the start of a harsh winter is accelerating afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. international sanctions have crippled the economy, since the taliban take over last august. the collapse of the previous afghan government, and the withdrawal of western support, has led to soaring unemployment, with many unable to feed their families or heat their homes. one million children are thought to be at risk from severe malnourishment, with the united nations issuing an urgent call for aid. from kabul, quentin sommerville sent this report. victorious, the taliban now guard food queues. more than half the country is in need. these wheelbarrows are full of the very basics — salt, rice, peanuts, cooking oil — and for many of the people here, it's the first time they've had food in days. the interesting thing is, though, the bazaars, the markets in central kabul, are full of produce, but no—one here has any money. and this isn'tjust the case here in kabul, it's the same let me assure you there is no benefit in the content of the statements being known in advance of me delivering them to parliament. i have asked my officials to look into this matter and i can advise the chamber, the scottish government's chief security officer will be undertaking appropriate inquiries to establish if there has ended been a leak of some of the contents of this statement in advance of me delivering it, and if so what the circumstances and the source of that are, and i undertake to keep your office advised of the progress and an outcome of that. let me assure you, i take very seriously my obligations and responsibilities and those of my government, to this parliament and i hope you will accept that assurance. today, i will report on the current course of the pandemic. i will assess the latest data and set out our tentative view that, although significant art and uncertainties remain, both in the data and immediately ahead, there are, nevertheless, some grounds for cautious optimism, but a combination of the protective measures introduced before christmas, the responsible action on the part of the general public, and the rapid delivery of booster vaccines have had a positive impact. as a result, i will indicate that from next week, we will begin to lift the measures introduced before christmas, but that we will do so in a phased and careful way. starting with the removal of attendance limits on live outdoor events from monday. first, though, i will run through today's statistics. 10,392 positive cases reported yesterday as a result of pcr tests which is 27.7% of pcr tests carried out. 1479 in hospital with covid, 47 more. then yesterday. 11 of intensive care have been for more than 28 days. sadly a further 16 deaths reported, taking the total number of deaths under the daily definition to 9950 and again i send my condolences to everyone morning a loved one. the increased transmissibility of the 0micron variant is still causing very high levels of infection here in scotland and across the uk and in many cases around the world, however, while the situation not least for the national health service does remain very challenging, there are some very early indications in the data that offer some encouragement. firstly, while it is always difficult to prove a direct causal link to any specific action or measure and subsequent outcomes, there is reason to be optimistic that protective measures, the behavioural response of the general public, and the vaccine programme, have helped mitigate to some extent the impact of the 0micron wave. for instance, our central projection last month was that new infections could reach 50,000 a day by earlyjanuary. this has not so for materialised. we estimate the total number of new infections at the early january not just those recorded two positive pcr tests may have been around 30,000. in other words, experian likely the situation we face now, no serious, would have been even more challenging without the renewed sacrifices made by people across the country over these past few weeks. while we need to be cautious in our interpretation of the daily case numbers at the stage for reasons i will set out shortly, we can see from these and hospital data some early indications that the situation might be starting to improve. 0ver might be starting to improve. over the past week, an average ofjust over 12,700 new cases a day workings confirmed through pcr tests. however, this is down by 17% compared to the daily average in the preceding seven days. indeed, on this measure, cases have fallen in the past week across all age groups except the over 65 is. over 85, my apologies. this is encouraging and it does give us hope that cases may be at or close to the peak. however as i said, caution is required in interpreting these figures. the changes to the guidance on testing are set out last week to the effect that those without symptoms testing positive with a lateral flow device no longer need to get a confirmation pcr test mean that the current daily numbers are capturing fewer positive cases than before. to address this, public health scotland will augment its daily reports in future, i can advise parliament that from thursday in addition to reporting number of people testing positive for covid pcr test, it will also report a combined figure for the number of people who recorded the first positive pcr or lateral flow test. given the increased complexity, not least the need to avoid duplication, there will be initially a time—lag in this reporting. data released on thursday will cover a period up to today but public health scotland will work to reduce this time like in the coming period. additional data will allow us to assess the trend in cases more accurately than now. this is dependent on all of us actually recording lateral flow results whether positive or negative, so let me take this opportunity to remind everyone this can and should be done through the uk government website and you can find that page easily by searching for how to report a lateral flow test. there is one further piece of data that gives us some grounds for optimism at this stage. the number of people in hospital with covid has continued to increase over the past week, putting significant additional pressure on the nhs, there are signs that the rate of increase may be starting to slow down. the number in hospital with covid increased from 594 two weeks ago, to 1147 this time last week, an increase of 543. since then, it has increased further, a smaller increase of 332. it's important to note however the number of people with covid in intensive care has increased more rapidly in the past week than in previous weeks, however, this is likely to reflect the time—lag between people becoming hospitalised and then requiring intensive care. in summary, the situation just now is undoubtedly serious, but perhaps less so than it might have been and there are also signs that we might be starting to turn a corner. that said, the position is still fragile and significant uncertain uncertainties remain. i have already explained the uncertainties in the data which mean the data is not as clear as we would like it to be and clear as we would like it to be and clear as we hope it will be in the next week or so and we don't yet know what impact the post—christmas return to work and school will have on the level of infection. what we do know is absences resulting from high levels of infection are causing disruption in the economy and critical services and also the nhs remains under very severe pressure ended. continuing to slow down transmission, therefore remains a vital imperative. the conclusion of all of this in my view and in the view of cabinet as as follows. it is reasonable and right to be hopeful on the strength of the latest data, however, for the period immediately ahead, it's also prudent to remain careful and cautious. this is the balance ofjudgment that has informed the decisions cabinet reached this morning. as i indicated earlier, we will begin to lift the protective measures announced before christmas for monday, but we will do that in a phased way which will allow us to form in the days ahead a clearer picture of the trends in infection and the associated impact. as a quick reminder, the measures i am specifically referring to our limits on attendances at live public events, the requirement for distancing between groups and public indoor places, and the requirement for table service and hospitality venues serving alcohol on the premises. i expect to confirm further dates next week, however, i can confirm today that the attendance limit of 500 at large—scale outdoor events will be lifted from monday 17th of january. that means for example spectators will be permitted again at major outdoor sporting events including football fixtures scheduled for early next week and the forthcoming six nations rugby matches. the covid certification scheme will remain in place for these and other events and venues previously covered, but with two important changes. firstly, guidance will now step elite that the organisers of large events of 1000 or more people should check the certification status of at least 50% of attendance rather than the current 20% or at least 1000 people, whichever figure current 20% or at least 1000 people, whicheverfigure is highest. and second, from monday, the requirement to be fully vaccinated for the purposes of covid certification will include having a booster, if the second dose was more than four months ago. the nhs scotland covid—safe sap for domestic use will be updated from thursday so that its qr code includes evidence about booster vaccination. qr code includes evidence about boostervaccination. it qr code includes evidence about booster vaccination. it will also be possible to update copies of status which are valid for three months and be possible to gain admission into events and venues covered by the certification scheme by providing proof of a recent negative lateral flow test. cabinet will next review the data a week today and i hope this will allow us to live the other protective measures, the limits on indoor live events, table service and hospitality and distancing from the 24th of january but i will confirm this in my statement next week. there is a related point i want to draw to your attention, and as we left these other protective measures it will be necessary to consider again if extending the scope of covid certification to other venues might be a necessary protection and to be clear we have not yet taken any decision on this and it will require carefuljudgment but i want to be clear to parliament that it but i want to be clear to parliament thatitis but i want to be clear to parliament that it is something we feel bound to give appropriate consideration to. what i havejust to give appropriate consideration to. what i have just set out gives our direction of travel in relation to the additional measures set out before christmas in response to 0micron and the baseline measures that were in place before the emergence of 0micron like the requirement to wearface emergence of 0micron like the requirement to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces and to work from home where possible will remain in place and so will for the immediate period will be the advised to limit contact with people in other households and to limit the number of households in any indoor gathering to a maximum of three. we are not asking people to cut all social interaction because that is not practical and also has a serious impact on mental health and well—being. we are trying to limit social interaction because it remains a sensible step and it helps to stem increases in transmission and it has a collective benefit but it also helps protect us as individuals, at a time when one in 20 could have the virus, the risk of becoming infected when we mix with others is at this moment in time a significant one. cutting back on contacts where possible and prioritising those that are most important helps reduce the risk, and if we make sure that there are no more than three households in any indoor gathering and take lateral flow tests we further reduce the risks. all of that remains important for now. there are bound few further issues i want to touch on today —— there are four further issues. the first is to underline that staff absences caused by the virus are having a very significant impact and obviously on the nhs and indeed on the wider economy but also on other vital public services and most notably for the purposes of my comments i would refer to social care. we are working closely with local partners right now to maximise the resources available for social care so vulnerable people get the care so vulnerable people get the care they need and in order to give priority to social care at some local authorities and partners may require to make difficult choices that involve temporarily pausing or reducing other services and these decisions which will be taken by front line partners will only be made when necessary and the recent changes to self isolation rules will help alleviate the pressure, but where such decisions do prove necessary, i hope members and the wider public will understand that they are driven by the needs of those who depend on social care services. my second point is about ventilation in schools and in early years settings, and before christmas we published revised guidance for the settings which included updated material on a ventilation which amongst other things made clear the circumstances in which use of air cleaning devices may be appropriate, and to assist local authorities with this i can confirm today that we will allocate an additional £5 million of capital funding to local authorities and to early learning and child care providers and this of course is in addition to the money previously provided for co2 monitors and will support any remedial works councils need to do to improve airflow and compliant with the new guidance. the third issue i want to cover is the continued importance of vaccination and in particular booster vaccination and the programme of course continues to grow exceptionally well in scotland and it continues to be the most vaccinated part of the uk in terms of first, second and third and booster doses but there are still too many eligible people who are not yet fully vaccinated and if you are one of those and if you have no good reason not to be vaccinated, the reality is, you are putting yourself and you are putting others at unnecessary risk. the latest available data which is adjusted for age suggest that someone who is not fully vaccinated is at least four times more likely to require hospital treatment than someone who has had a booster or a third dose so whatever age you are, getting boosted is the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself from the worst impacts of covid and in doing so to help reduce pressure on the national health service. even though being fully vaccinated doesn't completely eradicate any risk of getting covid, it does reduce the risk and that also then reduces the risk of you if you get covid passing it on to others because you are less likely to get covid, including those who may be more vulnerable to serious illness, and so being fully vaccinated could save your life or the life of someone you love. the inescapable flip side is that if you are choosing without good reason not to be fully vaccinated you are putting your own life and the lives of other people at unnecessary risk so if you haven't been able to get your booster because you have been self isolating or because you tested positive or because you simply haven't got round to it, please come forward as soon as possible. if you haven't had a first or a second dose, please do so without delay, and don't run the risk of later regretting or indeed of leaving your family to regret that you didn't take the opportunity to get the protection against illness and death that vaccination does offer. there is plenty of capacity in vaccination centres across the country and you will always be welcomed so please do go along, it is not too late and it is never too late to be vaccinated against this virus. the final issue i want to touch on briefly is the work i mentioned last week on a revised strategic framework and this is intended to set out how we might adapt in the medium to longer term to living with this virus in a way that still mitigates the harm it does but without the kind of restrictive measures that we are also tied of and which we know do harm in other ways. living with the virus, a phrase we hear more and more right now, is what we all desperately want to do, but it is worth reflecting on what that means and unfortunately it doesn't mean breaking up one morning and finding covid has disappeared and we don't need to think about mitigating the harm it can do —— waking up one morning. hopefully we are on a path for it to becoming endemic and not a pandemic, so that would mean more something we can live with, and 0micron is not hamas, even though it is milder, because it still cause —— is milder, because it still cause —— is not harmless, because even though it is milder, it can still cause serious problems, so trying to live with the virus as we all want to do, it will involve for all countries careful thought and possibly some difficult choices and it involves consideration of and empathy for everyone in our society including those who are at the highest clinical risk, covid, and we know we can't continually rely on restrictive measures to manage the virus because we know the harm that does but equally we can't be indifferent to the continued risk that covid poses to health and well—being. we need to consider what adaptations we can make to meet those risks which is less disruptive to our lives and of course much less of a daily presence in our minds, so these are important issues for not just government but for everyone to consider, so as we prepare the revised framework we will seek to consult across parliament and also with business organisations and other partners across society and our aim is to publish the revised strategic framework within the next few weeks. as the final point emphasises, we remain in a highly challenging phase of the pandemic, case numbers are high, and the impacts of that are severe, and of course the future trajectory remains uncertain at this stage but largely because of the efforts everyone has made, we are i think in a better position than i feared would be the case when additional measures were announced in december and i do hope we are now seeing signs of improvement. that is allowing us to start the process from monday of lifting the additional restrictions and i hope next week i will be able to confirm the further steps in that process, and in the meantime we cannot continue to act in a way that keeps things moving in the right direction —— we can continue to act. i will close with a reminder, firstly, get fully vaccinated as soon as you can, if you haven't done soon as you can, if you haven't done so already, do that this week, and if you can try to limit your contacts for a further period, and every interaction comes with a significant risk at the moment of catching the virus so prioritise the contacts that matter most to you. if you are meeting other people socially, test before you go every time, take the test as close as possible to the time you will be meeting and seeing other people and remember to record the result, whether that is positive or negative, and take all the precautions we know make a difference, limit the number of households in the group that you are meeting indoors and keep windows open, work from home if possible, and to employers, please enable your workers to work from home whenever practical, and wear a face covering on public transport and in shops and when moving about in hospitality and make sure the face covering fully covers your mouth and nose and follow all advice on hygiene. these steps make a difference and they are making a difference to each person's individual safety and to the collective safety of all of us so i would urge people to stick with them and my thanks again go to everyone who is doing that.— and my thanks again go to everyone who is doing that. studio: the first minister of scotland _ who is doing that. studio: the first minister of scotland announcing - who is doing that. studio: the first i minister of scotland announcing some easing of restrictions in scotland, on large outdoor events, they will be lifted from next monday, including football matches, concerts, and it will allow supporters to return to stadiums when the scottish premiership's winter break comes to an end and also it will mean that the scotland's six nations rugby matches can now be played at murrayfield and they won't have to be played behind closed doors. a limit of 500 people at outdoor events has been in place in scotland since boxing day and nicola sturgeon said scotland has turned the corner. there was an initial projection of 50,000 covid cases per day and it is around 30,000 per day being recorded at the moment. labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, says borisjohnson can run, but he can't hide, as the opposition continues to press him to say whether he attended a drinks party in the downing street garden in may 2020, during the first national covid lockdown. an email, inviting about 100 staff to "bring a bottle" and "make the most of the lovely weather," was leaked to itv news yesterday. downing street says the prime minister continues to have full confidence in the senior civil servant who sent the email, martin reynolds. the paymaster general, michael ellis, a junior minister in the cabinet office, told mps that another senior civil servant, was already investigating what happened. the prime minister has asked for an investigation to take place and the terms of reference for the investigations that are under way have already been published and deposited in the libraries of this house and, in fact, in both houses. the investigations are now being led by sue gray. she is the second permanent secretary at the cabinet office and the department for levelling up. and, of course, she is a former director general of propriety and ethics. the government has committed to publishing the findings of the investigation and providing these to parliament in the normal way. the terms of reference set out that where there are credible allegations relating to other gatherings, it is open for those to be investigated. and i can confirm to the house, mr speaker, that this includes the allegations relating to the 15th and 20th may 2020. it will establish the facts, and if wrongdoing is established, there will be requisite disciplinary action taken. as with all internal investigations, if evidence emerges of what was potentially a criminal offence, the matter would be referred to the metropolitan police and the cabinet office's work may be paused. matters relating to the adherence of the law are, as ever, matters for the metropolitan police to investigate, and the cabinet office will liaise with them as appropriate. as i am sure members of this house will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on an ongoing investigation and the government has committed to updating the house in due course. mr speaker, i must again point out, as i did in december, and i know the house will also understand that there is a long standing practice of successive administrations that any human resources matters concerning personnel, relating to individuals, does need to remain confidential. but, mr speaker, both the prime minister and i came before this house in december, we set out the details of the investigation being led by the cabinet office into these allegations of gatherings, and those investigations are continuing. borisjohnson wasn't in the commons for the urgent question, to which michael ellis was just responding, and labour's deputy leader, angela rayner told mps that his absence "spea ks volumes. " the minister quite frankly hides behind the gray investigation. there is no need for an investigation into the simple central question today — did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on the 20th of may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants. the prime minister sets the tone. if the prime minister was there, surely he knew. the invitation was sent to 100 staff. many of them his own most personal senior appointees. this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? jim shannon — the democratic unionist party mp for strangford — broke down as he told the paymaster general michael ellis that his mother—in—law was among the 3,000 people in northern ireland whose deaths had been linked to covid — people who, he said, had "followed the rules". in northern ireland there were 3000 deaths due to covid last week, people who follow the rules, so will the paymaster, including my mother—in—law who died alone... will the paymaster general confirm there will be a full investigation... inaudible i'm sorry, mr speaker. inaudible i'm sor ,mrseaker. ~ , inaudible i'msor ,mrseaker. ~ , [m i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm ve sor i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm very sorry for— i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm very sorry for his _ i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm very sorry for his loss, _ i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm very sorry for his loss, mr— i'm sorry, mr speaker. minister. i'm very sorry for his loss, mr speaker. | very sorry for his loss, mr speaker. he is— very sorry for his loss, mr speaker. he is asking — very sorry for his loss, mr speaker. he is asking me if the results of the investigation will be made public— the investigation will be made public and they will be. michael ellis that replying _ public and they will be. michael ellis that replying to _ public and they will be. michael ellis that replying to jim - public and they will be. michael i ellis that replying to jim shannon, ellis that replying tojim shannon, who was telling the commons that his mother—in—law was amongst the 3000 people in northern ireland whose deaths last week were linked to covid. one of the biggest illegal dark net websites has gone offline, after two years of selling class a drugs, counterfeit cash and malware used to hack and disable computers. the administrators of "torrez" shut it down over christmas. but new illegal sites are popping up all the time, and research by the bbc, highlights the success of the online drugs trade. our cyber reporter, joe tidy, has that story. this is a humanist burial ground. i come up here and tell him off. claire campbell's16—year—old son luke died after taking strong ecstasy tablets at a youth disco. what was luke like as a person? he didn't have a bad bone in his body. he was naughty and cheeky, but he... there was nothing nasty about him. there was no maliciousness. luke's friends bought the pills from a marketplace on the dark net. dark net markets are a small and often overlooked part of the drugs economy. these sites, only accessible through special internet browsing software, have been a thorn in the side of the police for a decade now. and over christmas, an interesting development. torrez, one of the largest marketplaces in the world, closed down after nearly two years. a polite notice was posted to customers and sellers. torrez is the latest dark market to close down before police could take action. but even when the authorities do take down marketplaces, the effect on the drugs trade is often short lived, as bbc research highlights. we've studied the activity of thousands of dark net dealers. at least 450 have survived multiple police take—downs. in fact, one dealer, perhaps the uk's most prolific, has now appeared on 21 different marketplaces over six years. we ordered some drugs from this criminal. it was complicated and time—consuming but it highlighted the complex tactics these sellers use to protect themselves. interesting... so, if you did open this box, it would look like some sort of a herbal treatment. of course, we know that's not what's in this little silver packet. this is cocaine. it's a low risk mark. it deals with a vendor on the dark web. in october, 150 people were arrested in multiple countries including 24 in the uk. a major dark market was also closed down. the uk's nca says it's determined to turn the tide on dark net markets and has developed new cyber policing techniques to help protect the public. people hearing your story might be confused as to why... why are we not anti—drugs and angry? yes. there's no point being angry with people because they're none the wiser than luke was. the people i'm angry with are the law makers, not luke, not his friends, not the dark web. claire is now calling for the decriminalisation and regulation of all areas of the drugs trade, including the dark net. joe tidy, bbc news, in devon. and you can hearfrom a teenager who buys drugs from the dark net, in tonight's file on 4, at 8pm on bbc radio 4, and later, on bbc sounds. a rat who was awarded hero status after he found more than100 landmines in cambodia, has died. the courageous rodent — who was known as magawa — died at the weekend at the age of eight. the giant african pouched rat was trained in tanzania before he was deployed to cambodia. there are thought to be up to 6 million landmines in the south east asian country. last year magawa's efforts even earned him a medalfor gallantry from a british animal rights group. we can speak to the christophe cox in eastern tanzania. he is the ceo of the apopo charity. tell us about what this rat was able to do and why rats are used to hunt out landmines? rats to do and why rats are used to hunt out landmines?— to do and why rats are used to hunt out landmines? rats are used because the have a out landmines? rats are used because they have a very _ out landmines? rats are used because they have a very good _ out landmines? rats are used because they have a very good sense _ out landmines? rats are used because they have a very good sense of - out landmines? rats are used because they have a very good sense of smell l they have a very good sense of smell and i are easily trained and they like doing tasks —— they are. they like doing tasks —— they are. they like bonding with people and this specific rat lived up to eight years, so the training investment and reward is big. haifa years, so the training investment and reward is big.— years, so the training investment and reward is big. how do you train and reward is big. how do you train a ra like and reward is big. how do you train a rap like this _ and reward is big. how do you train a rap like this to _ and reward is big. how do you train a rap like this to find _ and reward is big. how do you train a rap like this to find landmines? . a rap like this to find landmines? —— rat. a rap like this to find landmines? -- rat. ~ , -- rat. we use positive reinforcement - -- rat. we use positive reinforcement so i -- rat. we use positive reinforcement so we i -- rat. we use positive i reinforcement so we start -- rat. we use positive - reinforcement so we start with socialising the rat, and then it will associate certain things with food and then we teach it to do something in order to receive the food so it will have to indicate something which is filled with explosives compared with other smells, and that is how it learned to distinguish the explosives, and then gradually it gets more difficult so we have a training field here, in tanzania, where more than a thousand mines are and then the training takes about six months, and then we export the rat, for example, in cambodia. they then had to do a blind test where they have to do a blind test where they have to score 100% of the landmines before they can be qualified as a full detector. i before they can be qualified as a full detector.— before they can be qualified as a full detector. ., a, ., ., ., ., full detector. i gather magawa good search a field _ full detector. i gather magawa good search a field the _ full detector. i gather magawa good search a field the size _ full detector. i gather magawa good search a field the size of _ full detector. i gather magawa good search a field the size of a - full detector. i gather magawa good search a field the size of a tennis i search a field the size of a tennis court in just search a field the size of a tennis court injust a search a field the size of a tennis court in just a few minutes but it would actually take a person with a metal detector between several days potentially? metal detector between several days otentiall ? , metal detector between several days otentiall? , ~ ., potentially? exactly. metal detectors _ potentially? exactly. metal detectors are _ potentially? exactly. metal detectors are very - potentially? exactly. metal detectors are very slow i potentially? exactly. metal| detectors are very slow and potentially? exactly. metal- detectors are very slow and they are hampered by all the shrapnel, so each time the metal detector takes a piece of metal that is a procedure of taking the piece of metal out of the ground and proceeding slowly, but the rat is trying to detect only the explosives.— the explosives. magawa died peacefully — the explosives. magawa died peacefully but _ the explosives. magawa died peacefully but he _ the explosives. magawa died peacefully but he was - the explosives. magawa died | peacefully but he was working the explosives. magawa died i peacefully but he was working for you for several years and potentially your most successful rat in terms of the work carried out? exactly. the most successful rat, so he went from here to cambodia and he was working from 2016 until the summer of 2020, for many good years, and he found over 100 landmines and he cleared over 25,000 square metres of land. . , . of land. that is quite an achievement. _ of land. that is quite an achievement. is - of land. that is quite an achievement. is it i of land. that is quite an i achievement. is it possible to of land. that is quite an - achievement. is it possible to say how many more landmines there are in cambodia? ~ ., , ., ~ ., ., cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators — cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators on _ cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators on the _ cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators on the ground, - cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators on the ground, so i cambodia? millions more. also a lot of operators on the ground, so we . of operators on the ground, so we need new approaches to accelerate the clearance process because every country has now a target under the treaty to be cleared within a certain amount of years, and we therefore need fast and more efficient methods to be able to reach that goal, but in our community we are confident that with support, in the next ten years, we will get rid of the landmines in the world. d0 will get rid of the landmines in the world. ,, , ., , will get rid of the landmines in the world. , ., , ., will get rid of the landmines in the world. , ., ., ., world. do you use any other animals? we use dogs. — world. do you use any other animals? we use dogs, technical— world. do you use any other animals? we use dogs, technical survey - world. do you use any other animals? we use dogs, technical survey dogs, l we use dogs, technical survey dogs, they are trained to screen the big areas and they can enter the bush as well and we train them to go up and down stretches of 25 metres at a go, this is fairly new technology, technical survey dogs, which was accepted by the un last year. thanks for “oininu accepted by the un last year. thanks forjoining us- _ accepted by the un last year. thanks forjoining us- it _ accepted by the un last year. thanks forjoining us. it is _ accepted by the un last year. thanks forjoining us. it is extraordinary i forjoining us. it is extraordinary work and magawa, the rat that found so many landmines in cambodia, has died at the age of eight, peacefully, at the weekend. good luck with all of your work. now it's time for a look at the weather. plenty of wintry sunshine but some fog, too, particularly to the end of the week and some of that fog will linger into the afternoon in one or two places way way to a cloudy grey sort of day. here is that weather map from today, a weather front in the south of the country giving spits and spots of light rain. that will move out of the way. skies will clear across england and wales this evening. with the light winds it means a touch of frost on the way for england and wales. notice the wind is blowing out of the south—west here in scotland, particularly western scotland, bit more cloud and certainly frost free, around 7c in stornoway at 5am, a light frost expected in england and wales. wednesday, the high pressure over the uk dominating the weather right across europe, parts of iberia as well. around the high pressure we have milder air spilling into the northern half of the uk, whereas in the south there is slightly colder weather coming off the near continent. these calm windlass foggy conditions. some of that fog will linger, but for most it's a case of wintry sunshine. those milder south—westerly winds, temperatures into double figures for stornoway, even for aberdeen quite mild, across england and wales single figures. the same pattern repeats itself into thursday, the high pressure with light winds in the south, fog in the morning, some fog lingers. the temperatures are in the sunny weather, so 5—8c, but where the fog sticks around, temperatures could be close to freezing all through the day. that becomes most likely as we go through the course of the week. certainly friday morning, saturday morning, the fog could become a bit more extensive. you can see the temperatures a little bit lower here. even if the fog doesn't linger, it could mean low grey skies. very settled weather over the next few days, you can see hardly any rainfall with a bit of luck, most of us should have sunny weather rather than the thick fog. this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines... police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. labour, and families affected by coronavirus, show their anger. borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us, to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus, spread rapidly. covid restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a human patient. the start of a harsh winter deepens the food crisis in afghanistan. the un makes an urgent appealfor help. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the metropolitan police says it's in contact with the government, after it emerged as many as 100 people were invited to a party in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown in may 2020. at the time, such gatherings were banned. a minister told the commons that the government would not comment while the official investigation into downing street parties is carried out. labour says borisjohnson "cannot spend the next days and weeks hiding behind a whitehall inquiry," which is looking into whether the gatherings at no 10 broke covid rules. our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports. downing street this morning, questions piling up. should the prime minister apologise? inside, in the cabinet meeting, there was no mention of the latest revelations about downing street parties, but this toxic issue won't go away for borisjohnson. in may 2020, the man behind him, his principal private secretary, martin reynolds, e—mailed 100 staff, inviting them to bring their own booze for drinks in the garden. witnesses have told the bbc around 30 attended, including mrjohnson and his wife. given that the rules said you could only meet one person, some staff were shocked. in messages seen by the bbc, they said... the same month, hannah brady lost herfather to covid. last year, she met mrjohnson in the very same garden. i think this pandemic, for me, is a story of two men. one is my 55—year—old dad, who is dead, having spent 42 nights on a ventilator, fighting covid and no other illnesses. the other is a man who was 55 at the time of this party. borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden in downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." yesterday, he wouldn't answer questions, saying an internal investigation is under way into all the parties that have come to light. the labour leader, isolating because of covid, tweeted today... it's not just the labour party that are angry about this, _ there are plenty of my parliamentary colleagues who have no idea - what anyone in that e—mail chain was thinking, or how... - this is utterly indefensible, it cannot be defended. i they weren't saying it publicly... what should the prime minister do with these latest revelations, sir? ..but arriving in parliament today, tory mps, some angry, some aghast, and a new opening for labour. i apologise again, unreservedly, for the upset that these allegations have caused. the prime minister has asked for an investigation... there's no need for an investigation into the simple central question today, did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on the 20th of may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants, the prime minister sets the tone. hear, hear. exactly. if the prime minister was there, surely he knew. does he still believe the prime minister to be a man of honour and integrity? hear, hear! she asks if i have confidence in the prime minister's integrity and honour, and i do. laughter. and now, the police are in touch with the cabinet office. the met has been under pressure to investigate the parties. difficulties mounting for borisjohnson. damian grammaticus, bbc news, westminster. senior civil servant sue gray is investigating whether there were parties that breached the rules. there are allegations over a series of different dates in 2020. they include... a photo showing a gathering in the downing street garden on the fifteenth of may 2020, including borisjohnson. these latest allegations concerning "socially distanced drinks" in the number ten garden on the 20th of may 2020. and there are reports of a gathering in thejohnsons' flat on november 13th that year, though a spokesman for mrsjohnson denies this took place. claims that a leaving event was held for a number ten aide on november 27th 2020. reports of a christmas quiz at number ten on december 15th 2020. a photo shows the pm taking part. mrjohnson has denied any wrongdoing. and a report, originally in the daily mirror, of a gathering at number ten on december 18th 2020. separately, the department for education has confirmed it had an office gathering on december 10th 2020 to thank staff for their work during the pandemic. and the department for transport has apologised after confirming reports of a party in its offices on december 16th that year. let's speak alastair campbell, is the former director of communications for labour under tony blair. quite a list of parties or alleged parties. the government's position is wait for so great to finish her inquiry and maybe we should do? we inquiry and maybe we should do? - have had plenty of these sorts of situations before where they hide behind inquiries as the inquiry comes along borisjohnson decides to accept it if it endorses what he said before and rejected if it hasn't. the facts in this one are pretty clear. in relation to him. he either did go to this event that did not. that e—mail is either real or it is not. and i think the problem i think i have as this thing goes ahead now as that you have to remember borisjohnson has put himself as the sole arbiter of ministerial code. he has now put a civil servant in a position where in a sense, she has to decide whether or not he stays as prime minister. because frankly, if you did break his own law, in relation to covid restrictions, his position is untenable, he has to go. i honestly think that, i would be very surprised, have been very surprised the reluctance of the police in anyway to get involved in all the previous situations that have been exposed where it clearly suggests there is a culture without downing street the rules do not apply to us, i think the police have to get involved now. because you are talking about a crime in the garden of downing street. it's incredible to be saying that but it's true. and to be saying that but it's true. and terms of voters, _ to be saying that but it's true. and terms of voters, this cuts through, doesn't it? the vast majority were being the restrictions which were pretty onerous at that time in may 2020. and we actually heard emotional testimony for many people who have lost loved ones, including dup mp in the commons today talking about losing his mother—in—law. but michael ellis, the paymaster general, was in the commons defending the government saying the prime minister is not going anywhere. he prime minister is not going anywhere-— prime minister is not going an here. . ., , ., ., anywhere. he certainly won't want to no anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere — anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere because _ anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere because he _ anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere because he will- anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere because he will cling i anywhere. he certainly won't want to go anywhere because he will cling on as long as you can and part of boris johnson's personality is that he likes getting into scrapes to see if you can get out of them meanwhile the serious business of business gets pushed to one side. i don't care whether it cuts through or it doesn't. what i care about is the fact that we have a government under prime minister that is meant to abide by the principles of public life, honesty, openness, objectivity, selflessness, integrity, accountability, leadership and he does not. i think the fact that the tory mps accusing, this is not bothering the public, the public don't care, one, i think the public don't care, one, i think the public don't care, one, i think the public to care but that's not the public to care but that's not the most important point. the most important point is whether we have as a government, a prime minister, cabinet, ministers and mps, who are there for the public interest rather than for their own and who have rules that they abide by, and who are not above the law, which i'm afraid to suggest they think they are. �* . , afraid to suggest they think they are. ~ ., , ., afraid to suggest they think they are. ~ ., are. and as we have said, the government _ are. and as we have said, the government strategy - are. and as we have said, the government strategy is i are. and as we have said, the government strategy is just i are. and as we have said, the | government strategy is just to are. and as we have said, the i government strategy is just to wait and see what sue gray comes up with but the trouble is there are more questions but potentially there will be more of a drip of allegations, stories, potentially even pictures as well of the parties we know about, maybe even parties we don't know about. about, maybe even parties we don't know about-— about, maybe even parties we don't knowabout. , , , know about. somebody said yesterday ima . ine know about. somebody said yesterday imagine what — know about. somebody said yesterday imagine what lies _ know about. somebody said yesterday imagine what lies and _ know about. somebody said yesterday imagine what lies and evidence - know about. somebody said yesterday imagine what lies and evidence of- imagine what lies and evidence of corruption that we don't yet know about. in relation to the government. i think that's true. also because borisjohnson tries to find somebody to throw under the bus, that does not make for a workplace where people feel that they are valued and respected and trusted. i know lots of people leaving the civil service because theyjust leaving the civil service because they just cannot stand leaving the civil service because theyjust cannot stand what leaving the civil service because they just cannot stand what this government is becoming, the way these people operate. so i suspect that yes there will be that trip and when you are in the sort of situation, the best and frankly only thing i think you can do, really is actually to stand up and said the situation out as it was and things are the are now. the thing is, i don't think that's the way he operates, so i don't expect that to happen. i think you will probably go along to prime minister's questions tomorrow, probably mumble some sort of apology about the upset people feel as opposed to what he and others have done, and he will then try to hide behind so great�*s inquiry. i know her very well, she was a civil servant when i worked in downing street and somebody who does embody public service the way that johnson and his cabinet simply do not. he has put her in an utterly invidious position and i do think this will and should become a matter for the police. this will and should become a matter for the police-— for the police. where you his director of — for the police. where you his director of communication, l for the police. where you his director of communication, i | director of communication, i appreciate it's not a very likely scenario, what advice would you be giving him at the moment? for example, he was not in the commons today for that urgent question and lots of fickle said he should have been. michael ellis the paymaster general was there instead. is it a better strategy to talk openly about this? ., ., , ., ., this? you really are asking the wron: this? you really are asking the wrong person _ this? you really are asking the wrong person because - this? you really are asking the wrong person because as i this? you really are asking the wrong person because as you | this? you really are asking the i wrong person because as you rightly say, he would not have me and if he asks me, i simply could not do. i think it's very, very difficult for him now but this is the inevitable consequence i think of the fact that the country elected as prime minister somebody whilst knowing that this was the sort of person that this was the sort of person that he was and it's not as if there wasn't plenty of evidence beforehand about his dishonesty, his lack of attention to detail, his lack of team spirit and so forth and all the qualities you need to actually run an organisation as major and important as a government. so i do not know what i would say frankly because i would not be there and i would be very, very surprised if you listened because it's interesting you talked about downing street being a tip. i think it probably does consider it to be a bit of a tip because that's how they operate. his life is chaotic, he is chaotic, and i have said before on your programme we have the worst possible prime minister and the worst possible time and honestly the only party i think most of the country are looking forward to now is the one that is held when he is gone and he takes whole rotten crew with him. reynolds was the principal private secretary who sent out this invitation and downing street said prime minister still has confidence in him. what should happen to him and in that e—mail he said after what has been an incredibly busy period, we thought it would be nice to have some socially distant strengths also in other words, we have all been working hard, we deserve a bit of, a few drinks in the garden. that was the sort of message. what should be happening to him specifically, because that e—mail was from him? him specifically, because that e—mailwas from him? i him specifically, because that e—mail was from him? i do him specifically, because that e-mail was from him? e-mailwas from him? i do believe for one minute _ e-mailwas from him? i do believe for one minute any _ e-mailwas from him? i do believe for one minute any senior - e-mailwas from him? i do believe for one minute any senior civil- for one minute any senior civil servant and i don't think i know martin reynolds but i assume he must be hopefully one of the brightest and one of the best because that's the people you would like to think working in downing street, i don't know him, i do think that to put that in print at that time is pretty extraordinary, however, ithink that in print at that time is pretty extraordinary, however, i think as a consequence of him thinking that's what what his boss would have wanted, i don't believe a principal private secretary would have written such a thing without having checked with his or her boss that that was ok to do. ijust cannot see any set of circumstances. i suspect what will happen is borisjohnson will try to throw him onto the bus or he might try to promote him off to some otherjob somewhere, i don't know frankly but i really do think we are in a parliamentary democracy, we elect a government through the people, this in the end is about the prime minister and ministers, they set the tone for government. so i think it would be entirely wrong if people thought that by getting rid of a few civil servants somehow less as ok, it is not. of a few civil servants somehow less as 0k. it is not-— as 0k, it is not. good to talk to ou, as 0k, it is not. good to talk to you. appreciate _ as ok, it is not. good to talk to you, appreciate your— as 0k, it is not. good to talk to you, appreciate your time i as 0k, it is not. good to talk to l you, appreciate your time today, thank you being with us. the headlines on bbc news... police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus spread rapidly. and a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart, into a human patient. new figures suggest one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as omicron cases continued to spread. many schools have told the bbc they're unable to find enough temporary staff to cover the gaps. the education secretary, nadhim zahawi, says he's making contingency plans for the rising rates of staff absence. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. they learn and play in a year group bubble. until now, that has kept cases right down, and pupils in school. if we were on zoom, we could not ask as many questions as we can, like, face—to—face. and if we have finished our zoom lesson and we are starting our work and we need help, our siblings can help us, but they won't know what the subject is and everything. it would be better if our teachers help us. we can still keep our learning going and the school is doing everything they can to make sure we are safe as well. it would be, like, stressful, because you are missing i out on your learning, _ and when you come back you might feel like you are behind. i like playing with my friends and playing in the playground, and it's good that the government made a rule when, if someone has some symptoms or has been tested positive, they have to stay at home, not the entire bubble. the pupils are just happy that things are near—normal, but schools are dealing with huge uncertainty, each day not knowing if more teachers will be off with covid and whether they will be able to get supply teachers. this school has kept strict covid measures. when there is a case, parents are asked to lateral flow test their children. every classroom has an air purifier machine, bought by the school. despite all their efforts, it is much worse than last term. we have got more children off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term, and we've got more staff off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term. so this morning, it's about covering a few classes where the teachers have tested positive for covid, and just difficulties getting supply teachers, so we are trying to put contingencies in ahead of time, pre—empting the phone call. today's figures show some schools have been hit hard. most pupils are still learning in class, not at home, as schools in england try to ride out this latest covid wave. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, birmingham. the prisons ombudsman has criticised the actions of staff at styal women's prison in cheshire, after she found a woman suffered a "terrifying, painful and traumatic experience," giving birth to a stillborn baby in a toilet. a report today, said staff had missed vital opportunities to help. sima kotecha from newsnight has been following this story. talk us through what this report says. talk us through what this report sa 5. , , talk us through what this report sa s. , , ., , ., talk us through what this report sa 5. ,, ., talk us through what this report sa 5. , , ., , ., ., says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in _ says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in h _ says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in h np _ says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in h np style _ says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in h np style last i says. this is about a 31-year-old who was in h np style last year. says. this is about a 31-year-old l who was in h np style last year for eight months serving a sentence for harassment and criminal damage. she did not know she was pregnant, the staff did not should know was pregnant and lastjune halfway through her sentence she suddenly gave birth in herself. prior to giving birth to a stillborn, a girl, she reported severe abdominal pain, she reported severe abdominal pain, she called for help, the supervising officer came and checked up on her, it's all —— so that she was bleeding and in severe pain and called for a nurse to come to see her. what the report says is that the nursemaid is serious error ofjudgment by not attending to louise while she was in pain. three calls were made to that nurse but unfortunately that nurse did not come. the report says she made a serious error ofjudgment and the supervising officer actually is praised in the report by doing the right thing by calling out to the nurse but says the nursemaid and effort that she should —— made a mistake by saying she take paracetamol. we have heard from louise powell, she spoke exclusively to newsnight saying she found giving birth very traumatic and painful, she felt she had been left to deal with it on her own and in response, she says the pain of the loss will never leave me but she says she cannot forgive the present or the health care team and she says when she was calling for help, she felt that she was dying. she goes on to say she was having a medical emergency and should have been urgently helped, instead, she says, i was left alone. it’s urgently helped, instead, she says, i was left alone.— i was left alone. it's a really distressing _ i was left alone. it's a really distressing case. _ i was left alone. it's a really distressing case. does i i was left alone. it's a really distressing case. does the l i was left alone. it's a really i distressing case. does the report come up with recommendations to avoid anything like this ever happening again? {iii avoid anything like this ever happening again?— avoid anything like this ever ha enin: auain? ., , , ., happening again? of the ombudsman sue mcallister _ happening again? of the ombudsman sue mcallister says _ happening again? of the ombudsman sue mcallister says that _ happening again? of the ombudsman sue mcallister says that all _ happening again? of the ombudsman sue mcallister says that all staff i sue mcallister says that all staff should be trained in dealing with unexpected pregnancies. she says pregnancy kits should be available to all—female inmates in prison. some people might be shocked that no one suspected that louise powell was actually pregnant but the report does not size anyone for not suspecting that she was expecting and says that they actually were very human and sensitive in their approach. we also have a response from the ministry ofjustice and health care service provider. they say the accept the findings and they have already begun to implement some of the recommendations outlined in this report. restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. the move will allow fans to return to stadiums when the scottish premiership's winter break ends and it means scotland's six nations rugby matches won't have to be played behind closed doors at murrayfield. i expect to confirm further dates next week, however, i can confirm today that the attendance limit of 500 at large—scale outdoor events will be lifted from monday 17th of january. that means for example spectators will be permitted again at major outdoor sporting events including football fixtures scheduled for early next week and the forthcoming six nations rugby matches. the covid certification scheme will remain in place for these and other events and venues previously covered, but with two important changes. firstly, guidance will now stipulate that the organisers of large events of 1000 or more people should check the certification status of at least 50% of attendance rather than the current 20% or at least 1000 people, whicheverfigure is highest. and second, from monday, the requirement to be fully vaccinated for the purposes of covid certification will include having a booster, if the second dose was more than four months ago. the nhs scotland covid—safe app for domestic use will be updated from thursday so that its qr code includes evidence about booster vaccination. it will also be possible to update copies of status which are valid for three months and be possible to gain admission into events and venues covered by the certification scheme by providing proof of a recent negative lateral flow test. cabinet will next review the data a week today and i hope this will allow us to live the other protective measures, the limits on indoor live events, table service and hospitality and distancing from the 24th of january but i will confirm this in my statement next week. live to glasgow and our correspondent james shaw. she said in her remarks that scotland has turned a corner in terms of covid cases?- scotland has turned a corner in terms of covid cases? yes, she did sa that. terms of covid cases? yes, she did say that- she _ terms of covid cases? yes, she did say that. she was _ terms of covid cases? yes, she did say that. she was suggesting i say that. she was suggesting scotland might be at or close to the peak of _ scotland might be at or close to the peak of the — scotland might be at or close to the peak of the omicron wave, that that might— peak of the omicron wave, that that might have — peak of the omicron wave, that that might have happened within the last week or— might have happened within the last week or so — might have happened within the last week or so. so that was as she put it grounds— week or so. so that was as she put it grounds for cautious optimism and she even_ it grounds for cautious optimism and she even went as far as to say that what _ she even went as far as to say that what they— she even went as far as to say that what they had anticipated when they put the _ what they had anticipated when they put the extra measures in place in december— put the extra measures in place in december the extent of the omicron wave was— december the extent of the omicron wave was perhaps less than what they had thought the situation was not as bad had thought the situation was not as had as— had thought the situation was not as had as they— had thought the situation was not as bad as they thought it might be at the start— bad as they thought it might be at the start ofjanuary. that wasn't an admission— the start ofjanuary. that wasn't an admission that the extra restrictions that have been put in place _ restrictions that have been put in place were — restrictions that have been put in place were unnecessary. nicola sturgeon — place were unnecessary. nicola sturgeon was essentially arguing that the — sturgeon was essentially arguing that the restrictions and restraint shown_ that the restrictions and restraint shown by— that the restrictions and restraint shown by members of the public where what had _ shown by members of the public where what had reduced the severity of the omicron _ what had reduced the severity of the omicron wave, but that's not really bought _ omicron wave, but that's not really bought by— omicron wave, but that's not really bought by the opposition parties in scotland. — bought by the opposition parties in scotland, in particular the tories and also — scotland, in particular the tories and also the liberal democrats and labour, _ and also the liberal democrats and labour, to— and also the liberal democrats and labour, to some extent, they all think— labour, to some extent, they all think that — labour, to some extent, they all think that those measures were more than was _ think that those measures were more than was needed and there is also an argument _ than was needed and there is also an argument being made that keeping them in _ argument being made that keeping them in place and potentially even extending the vaccine certificate scheme — extending the vaccine certificate scheme to other venues, that those measures— scheme to other venues, that those measures will not be necessary either~ — measures will not be necessary either~ 0n— measures will not be necessary either. on the face of it, good news that the _ either. on the face of it, good news that the restrictions are being removed _ that the restrictions are being removed to some extent but i think there _ removed to some extent but i think there is— removed to some extent but i think there is still anxiety in scotland amongst — there is still anxiety in scotland amongst the opposition parties about those measures that remain in place. the lifting _ those measures that remain in place. the lifting of restrictions next week, good news for sports fans in particular. week, good news for sports fans in articular. . �* , week, good news for sports fans in articular. ., �* , ., , particular. that's right. scottish football will _ particular. that's right. scottish football will come _ particular. that's right. scottish football will come back - particular. that's right. scottish football will come back from i particular. that's right. scottish football will come back from its | football will come back from its winter— football will come back from its winter break as scheduled and those bil winter break as scheduled and those big matches, ithink winter break as scheduled and those big matches, i think there winter break as scheduled and those big matches, ithink there is winter break as scheduled and those big matches, i think there is one between — big matches, i think there is one between celtic and hibs fairly soon after the _ between celtic and hibs fairly soon after the end of the break, they will go — after the end of the break, they will go ahead, but you heard nicola sturgeon _ will go ahead, but you heard nicola sturgeon saying that the checking of fans going into those big games will actually— fans going into those big games will actually be increased. 50% of those going _ actually be increased. 50% of those going into _ actually be increased. 50% of those going into games will be checked, that they— going into games will be checked, that they have a vaccine certificate or recent _ that they have a vaccine certificate or recent proof of a lateral flow test and — or recent proof of a lateral flow test and that is quite a lot of extra — test and that is quite a lot of extra administration for those sporting — extra administration for those sporting clubs, something i don't think— sporting clubs, something i don't think that — sporting clubs, something i don't think that they will welcome. also one thing — think that they will welcome. also one thing that has not changed is endure _ one thing that has not changed is endure live events, hospitality and social—distancing in public places. they— social—distancing in public places. they have — social—distancing in public places. they have not changed, they will not change _ they have not changed, they will not change next monday, nicola sturgeon says she _ change next monday, nicola sturgeon says she hoped that they would be lifted _ says she hoped that they would be lifted on _ says she hoped that they would be lifted on the 24th, she would confirm — lifted on the 24th, she would confirm that she said next week. in an extraordinary story for medical science, a man in the united states has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically—modified pig. david bennett, who had terminal heart disease, is doing well, three days after the experimental seven—hour procedure in baltimore. the transplant was considered the last hope of saving mr bennett's life, but it is not yet clear what his long—term chances of survival are. doctors said the breakthrough could eventually lead to the regular use of animal organs in human transplants. i'm joined now by transplant surgeon, tim brown. cani can i ask you, this is a first, it's an extraordinaire operation, but why has this not been done before? thanks for having me on today. it's a phenomenal breakthrough, it really is, potentially, a game changer. i say potentially because it is early days yet. this has been a huge barrier since the first transplant was done by doctor murray in boston in 1954. we have noticed that there has been a big gap between the supply and demand for organs, people waiting for an organ to cure their end stage organ failure and the supply of the potential organ donors, there is a huge gap and people dying while waiting for organs to become available. obviously we have been looking for ways to get around that gap over the last number of decades and of course we have been trying to find potentially an animal model that will suffice, but unfortunately, whenever the genetics an immediate rejection of that organ and there has been complete failure to achieve what has maybe been achieved in the last few days, there has been a complete failure until now. do has been a complete failure until now. y ., ~ has been a complete failure until now. ,, ~ ., has been a complete failure until now. , ., ~ ., . ., now. do you think that might change? is the now. do you think that might change? is the science — now. do you think that might change? is the science advancing _ now. do you think that might change? is the science advancing so _ now. do you think that might change? is the science advancing so quickly i is the science advancing so quickly that there might be a way around that there might be a way around that problem there has been for so many years?— that problem there has been for so many years? certainly early reports from what i — many years? certainly early reports from what i hear _ many years? certainly early reports from what i hear and _ many years? certainly early reports from what i hear and i _ many years? certainly early reports from what i hear and i haven't i from what i hear and i haven't examined any of the data currently, certainly what we are hearing coming out of the states they transplanted to porcine kidneys before christmas from germany genetically modified pigs to human recipients before christmas, by all accounts those went very well, the heart and into a human has gone well although it is early days and there are caveats that we don't know the long—term survival, we need to be sure that there is absolute safety, so there is no transmission of animal pathogens for example from the animal kingdom into species. 50 there as a whole raft of things that need to be done before this becomes de rigueur, but this is clearly the watershed and the first move in what has potentially got the chances of making end—stage organ failure and hugely more treatable condition. at the minute, i think there are three people die every day in the uk waiting for an organ. potentially we can reverse that and change the outlook for people on the transplant waiting list which is unbelievable. it isa it is a problem of supply and demand but what makes a pig particularly useful and suitable in this situation?— useful and suitable in this situation? ., , ., situation? pigs are fairly easy to look after in _ situation? pigs are fairly easy to look after in the _ situation? pigs are fairly easy to look after in the husbandry - situation? pigs are fairly easy to l look after in the husbandry sense, and i'm not a farmer, but by all accounts they are fairly easy to look after, and they are fairly similar sized organs and vessels to a human, so the practical considerations of size match are more than any, and i'm not a geneticist by any means, and the genetics are very complex, and i presume you would want to speak to a geneticist about that but my understanding is that six or seven of the genes have been altered so they will be accepted by a human, and so for all of those reasons a pig. and so for all of those reasons a pig, without getting into the ethics of it, i think for those reasons a pig becomes a very suitable animal model. ., . , pig becomes a very suitable animal model. ., ., , ., ., ., model. potentially other organs? this was a heart, _ model. potentially other organs? this was a heart, of— model. potentially other organs? this was a heart, of course. - this was a heart, of course. absolutely. a heart and kidneys have been transplanted that we know about, and of course lungs, liver, heart, pancreas, all solid organ and thoracic organs potentially have the ability to be transplanted, and when we get into the dish —— different tissue elements, that might be more difficult and the intestine would be a very difficult barrier to cross but i think this is great news in the first stages in this experiment. it feels revolutionary. tim brown, thanks forjoining us. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. the weather is looking quiet over the next couple of days, for most of us, some wintry sunshine and settled weather on the way back for some the fog will linger through the morning and into the afternoon and it could end up being really cold and grey but that is just for some and for most it will be quite sunny. the second half of the day is with a few bits of rain and drizzle, but that was a weak weather front, moving out of the way, and then the skies will clear, but in western scotland it is showers and mild atlantic winds and the temperature here, 7 degrees, but a frost under the clearing skies in england and wales. this is the forecast tomorrow, the fog will linger in a few areas, just a few patches, but on the whole it is a fine day for most of the country, not necessarily in western scotland, but it will be mild, around 10 degrees in stornoway. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. labour, and families affected by coronavirus, show their anger... borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us, to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus spread rapidly. restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. good news for scottish sports fans. limits on outdoor crowds there are to be removed from next monday — meaning stadiums will be full again. last month the scottish premiership brought foward its winter break. this was after the government reintroduced capped attendances at 500. other leagues have continued as scheduled while, in rugby, edinburgh and glasgow also played in front of restricted numbers at the weekend. it's positive news for rugby's six nations which is due to start next month. novak djokovic has been back out on the court in his preparations for next week's australian open, with no decision from the country's immigration officer on his visa. border control are also investigating whether the world number one made a false declaration on his immigration form over his travel history immediately before arriving in melbourne. earlier, his former coach boris becker told us he felt djokovic hasn't committed a crime but urged him to get vaccinated. i'm sure the french open will watch the melbourne saga, as i want to call it, i'm sure wimbledon will watch it, and i'm sure they're going to have strict rules of who can play and who cannot play. now, again, it's anybody�*s choice whether they want to vaccinate, but life is more and more difficult for people who don't want to be vaxxed. so, personally, i would advise him to get vaccinated eventually, because life would be easier for him. but again, he's old enough. it's his choice, it's his body, it's his life, and we have to respect that. andy murray continued his preparations for the australian open with a straight sets win over viktor durasovic in the first round of the sydney international. he faces the second seed, nikoloz basilashvili, next. but there was a crushing defeat for emma raducanu, in her first match since recovering from coronavirus. she only took one game against the world number 13 elena rybakina, in a match lasting less than an hour. the defeat came on the same day raducanu was given a seeding of 17 for the australian open, which starts on monday. algeria began the defence of their africa cup of nations title with a disappointing goalless draw against sierra leone. the current champions missed a host of chances — particularly in the second half including this from riyad mahrez. it does mean algeria's unbeaten run stretches to 35 matches but this was a great result for the leone stars, a clean sheet on their first nations cup appearance since 1996. the seven—time ashes winner shane warne says he cannot believe the england selectors didn't play stuart broad in the opening match of this series, given the history between him and australia batsman david warner. he was happy to see some fight from the tourists in the fourth test but he believes leaving out broad in brisbane was a big mistake. i still cannot work out how, after stuart broad owned david warner in 2019, that what part of the cricket brain anyone to do with the england think tank would have said, "let's leave stuart broad out for the first test at the gabba"? how do you think david warner would have felt? i still can't get my head around how that conversation worked out and how stuart broad didn't play in that first test match. just absolute basics and in the end australia played some really good cricket. it was nice to see some fire from england in the last test. new zealand batsman ross taylor had the perfect ending to his test career as he took the winning wicket in the second test against bangladesh in christchurch. taylor is known for his batting rather than his bowling and he'd only taken two wickets in 112 test matches before this. it meant new zealand drew the two match series 1—1 and taylor got a hero's exit. and at the masters snooker, ronnie o'sullivan has beatenjack lisowski 6—1. the number 11 seed was in good form, finishing with a break of 125 to comfortably make it through to the next round but that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, says borisjohnson can run, but he can't hide, as the opposition continues to press him to say whether he attended a drinks party in the downing street garden in may 2020, during the first national covid lockdown. an email, inviting about 100 staff to "bring a bottle" and "make the most of the lovely weather," was leaked to itv news yesterday. downing street says the prime minister continues to have full confidence in the senior civil servant who sent the email, martin reynolds. let's discuss what voters might be making of all this — joining us from glasgow is professor sirjohn curtice from strathclyde university. first of all, there are lots of political issues that voters can take or leave, they are not that bothered about, but this as they say it has cut through because people around the country were obeying the owner as restrictions and if they then find that people in downing street who set the rules were potentially breaking the rules, they get pretty cross about it? that potentially breaking the rules, they get pretty cross about it?— get pretty cross about it? that is undoubtedly _ get pretty cross about it? that is undoubtedly true, _ get pretty cross about it? that is undoubtedly true, especially - get pretty cross about it? that is i undoubtedly true, especially when get pretty cross about it? that is - undoubtedly true, especially when it first became an issue in the wake of the video struggling to defend the alleged party, and now we're going back to this other party on 20th of may, but a couple of things we can say about this incident, that people felt anger. you glove asked people after the video was released, how did you feel when you saw it and three fifths of people said they were angry and virtually no one shared the amusement that was expressed in that mock press conference —— yougov asked people after the video was released. this is notjust after the video was released. this is not just a after the video was released. this is notjust a matter of a politician saying one thing and doing another, although that is one of you, but this is something everyone has a connection with because everyone had to change their lives and in some cases painfully, in the wake of the restrictions, so therefore people don't take it kindly. the second thing that flows from this, boris johnson has been a prime minister who seems to be more important than process, his outcomes seems to be more important than process, and people will say he made the right backin people will say he made the right back in betting the farm on buying a lot of vaccines when we did not know if they were going to work —— made the right back. that was a bet that worked. the trouble with this issue, there isn't anybody out there who believes that the rules should be bentin believes that the rules should be bent in order to enable people working at 10 downing street to have a party, so his style, that has long been with him and that has often worked for him, is now working against him, because nobody believes in the reason as to why the rules were bent on this occasion, even if it was the case that on previous occasions may be they felt it was justified. occasions may be they felt it was 'ustified. �* ., ., ~' occasions may be they felt it was 'ustified. �* ., ., ~ ., ., ,., justified. i'm looking at a new poll which sa s justified. i'm looking at a new poll which says 6696, _ justified. i'm looking at a new poll which says 66%, and _ justified. i'm looking at a new poll which says 66%, and two - justified. i'm looking at a new poll which says 66%, and two thirds i justified. i'm looking at a new poll i which says 66%, and two thirds have said the prime minister should resign after those allegations, and also saying that three quarters, 77%, say the metropolitan police should formally investigate, so if those findings are anything to go by, the public feel strongly about this. ., ., ., , this. yougov also put out the pile that has over _ this. yougov also put out the pile that has over 50% _ this. yougov also put out the pile that has over 50% saying - this. yougov also put out the pile that has over 50% saying the - this. yougov also put out the pile i that has over 50% saying the prime minister should resign —— also put out a poll. but then people said he should resign last month after the initial allegations, and the crucial thing is certainly, a fair body of people who voted for the conservatives in 2019 are saying that the prime minister should resign and we also know from the evidence of last year, one of the biggest problems for borisjohnson, frankly votersjust do biggest problems for borisjohnson, frankly voters just do not believe him. around two thirds to three quarters of people thought there was a party in december and i'm sure they now think there was one last may and around two thirds of people last month said that theyjust don't think the prime minister is telling the truth and that included around half of people who voted for boris johnson in 2019, so the problem he faces is that not only is his probity now being challenged but also his credibility and his honesty and that is something he very badly needs to turn around but at the moment, at least, 10 downing street seems to go down the path of hoping that least said, soonest mended. did not work very well in december and it is not clear now that the allegations against the prime minister have become yet more serious, right or wrong though they may be, it is not clear that it is going to be advantageous to the prime minister.— prime minister. john, thanks for 'oinin: prime minister. john, thanks for joining us- _ the liberal democrats said if rules were found to be broken then "those responsible should face the full force of the law." the party's home affairs spokesperson alistair carmichaeljoins me now. the government strategy seems to be, the prime minister's strategy, seems to be, we can't talk about this because there is an official inquiry under way with sue gray, so why not wait for the results?— wait for the results? because the --urose wait for the results? because the purpose of _ wait for the results? because the purpose of that — wait for the results? because the purpose of that inquiry _ wait for the results? because the purpose of that inquiry is - wait for the results? because the purpose of that inquiry is to - purpose of that inquiry is to illuminate those areas where there might be some element of doubt. it is not the purpose of that inquiry to insulate the prime ministerfrom criticism and as you saw today in a quite excruciating episode in the house of commons when he sent out one of hisjunior ministers, effectively to be a human shield, it was clearly something to hide because he not answering the questions. the questions are pretty simple, did the prime minister know about this party he did he attend? he could clear this up immediately and he could then, if there are other parties of this sort lurking in the background, he could bring that out and hand it over to the sue gray inquiry if necessary but for the meantime he continues to hide and continues to refuse to answer questions and as a consequence the bandwidth and the attention of parliament and of the government is entirely occupied by this at a time when really we need them to be focused on other things. you when really we need them to be focused on other things. you say he is not answering _ focused on other things. you say he is not answering questions - focused on other things. you say he is not answering questions but - focused on other things. you say he| is not answering questions but there is not answering questions but there is prime minister's questions tomorrow and no doubt the leader of the opposition will be pushing him on this. ., , the opposition will be pushing him on this. . , , .,, ., on this. that is the problem for boris johnson. _ on this. that is the problem for boris johnson. this _ on this. that is the problem for boris johnson. this is - on this. that is the problem for boris johnson. this is not - on this. that is the problem forj boris johnson. this is not going on this. that is the problem for. boris johnson. this is not going to borisjohnson. this is not going to go away, however much he might wish. prime minister's questions is one opportunity tomorrow, that is fairly limited and it is not the best way of getting to the truth of the matter, but what the liberal democrats would like to see is the liaison committee, of all the senior committee chairs in the house of commons, senior parliamentarians, convened as a matter of urgency to question borisjohnson on this, and in that way hopefully get to the heart of the matter and find out what has happened so we can deal with this and move on to doing the things that the country needs the government to be doing, not talking about this. but until borisjohnson answers the questions inevitably, thatis answers the questions inevitably, that is what is going to happen. the solution lies in his own hands. what about the role of the police? thet;t about the role of the police? they have not really _ about the role of the police? they have not really investigated so far and they seem to have been reading between the lines, being a bit reluctant to get involved, but should they be going through now may be this party on the 20th of may, 2020, and the other parties sue gray is looking into? it is 2020, and the other parties sue gray is looking into?— is looking into? it is bad enough that the shenanigans _ is looking into? it is bad enough that the shenanigans of - is looking into? it is bad enough that the shenanigans of boris i that the shenanigans of boris johnson and those around him have damaged confidence in government but the truth of the matter is that if the truth of the matter is that if the metropolitan police don't start taking this seriously, they will in fact start damaging confidence in the metropolitan police and that has a much more serious implications for everyone in the long term. they have been slow to come to the discussion on this and they have said today that they are in discussions with the cabinet office but we don't know if that means there is an investigation, and again it would be helpful if in the interest of confidence in their services and public transparency, if they could say exactly what they are doing and when we would expect to hear an outcome. at the moment, what we need here is to have this information in the public domain so we can make a judgment for ourselves and then move on, because this is an important time for our nation and we need to be talking about other things. boris johnson's position, _ be talking about other things. boris johnson's position, paymaster general said he is not going anywhere, despite the pressure on him. do you think he is under real pressure? a different kind of pressure? a different kind of pressure? it pressure? a different kind of pressure?— pressure? a different kind of ressure? . , ., , ., , pressure? it was quite obvious in the house _ pressure? it was quite obvious in the house of _ pressure? it was quite obvious in the house of commons - pressure? it was quite obvious in the house of commons that - pressure? it was quite obvious in the house of commons that the l the house of commons that the conservative benches behind the paymaster general were maybe one quarter occupied and there wasn't a lot of support for him, some sympathy he had been sent out to do this, to defend the indefensible, but there was not much support for him so he is clearly losing support within the conservative and you have heard john curtis talking about the latest poll which says 66% of all voters in the uk and 42% of those conservative voters think that boris johnson should resign and indeed you saw in north shropshire in the by—election just saw in north shropshire in the by—electionjust before saw in north shropshire in the by—election just before christmas, where one of the safest conservative seats in the country turned to the liberal democrats as a consequence of the way in which the prime minister has been behaving. this is not going to get any better for borisjohnson and his only hope of surviving this is to level with people, because without that it is difficult to see what the future holds for him.— difficult to see what the future holds for him. �* , . ., . ., holds for him. alistair carmichael, thanks forjoining _ holds for him. alistair carmichael, thanks forjoining us. _ the start of a harsh winter is accelerating afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. international sanctions have crippled the economy, since the taliban took over last august. the collapse of the previous afghan government, and the withdrawal of western support, has led to soaring unemployment, with many unable to feed their families or heat their homes. a million children are thought to be at risk from severe malnourishment, with the united nations issuing an urgent call for aid. from kabul, quentin sommerville sent this report. victorious, the taliban now guard food queues. more than half the country is in need. these wheelbarrows are full of the very basics — salt, rice, peanuts, cooking oil — and for many of the people here, it's the first time they've had food in days. the interesting thing is, though, the bazaars, the markets in central kabul, are full of produce but no—one here has any money. and this isn'tjust the case here in kabul, it's the same situation across afghanistan. the taliban are international pariahs, so the economy is being crushed by sanctions. only humanitarian aid is allowed in. women are banned from work and education but have also lost another fundamental right — the ability to feed their families. has kabul ever been this hungry before? no, never, ithink. what is the message to the rest of the world? they should see us, how we are going to live here. they should see our challenges, our problems and the problems are increasing day by day here. living costs is increasing day by day here. there's new rules and new challenges makes our life hardship more than at any other time. and that's not fair for afghans. sabera cannot afford the dollar cab fare to take her home, but she has just enough to hire a wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? there is no money to buy food. all the men are jobless. they don't have work. there's nothing to eat and no firewood to warm our homes. on the city's edges, it's even worse. the poorest are sinking deeper into poverty. ajhar moved here from nangarhar province. this house is home to fourfamilies. they cannot afford soap to wash the kids' faces. they burn plastic to keep warm. the air in here is thick and acrid. it still is not safe for them to return, he says. "we would have moved to pakistan, but pakistan closed its borders to us." afghanistan's long war may be over but the afghan people's suffering endures. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kabul. species from around the world that "hitch a lift" on ships, like mussels or crabs, are said to be threatening antarctica's marine ecosystem. a study by the university of cambridge, tracked vessels which regularly visit the isolated region, and found unwanted visitors on board vessels disrupt the habitat and local wildlife. our science correspondent, victoria gill, has that story. aland of extremes and a haven for marine life. but visitors could be bringing some unwelcome creatures to this frozen place. by tracking global shipping, researchers discovered that antarctica is visited by vessels that come from 1,500 ports all over the world for research, tourism and fishing. those ships, scientists say, bring potentially destructive species into this unique ecosystem. ships that visit antarctica don't just have, you know, one home port that they visit and go back and forth. these ships travel all around the world, so that was really surprising. and in terms of invasive species, that means that almost anywhere in the world could be a potential source for new species visiting antarctica. antarctica's wildlife has been isolated for millions of years. but marine species like mussels, barnacles and crabs clinging to ships' hulls could harm or completely displace that native wildlife. on the antarctic island of south georgia, invasive rats brought by whaling ships, threatened colonies of seabirds by devouring their eggs. a rat eradication mission, dropping tonnes of poisoned bait, has been declared a success, but it took nearly five years and cost £10 million. the burgeoning antarctic tourist industry is a key area of concern. got to wash our boots. we don't want to be taking anything onto the antarctic mainland that should not be there. when we explored its impact back in 2016, almost 40,000 people travelled to the antarctic. in the 2019 season, nearly 70,000 tourists visited. the british antarctic survey is calling for stricter biosecurity for ships that visit antarctic waters for any reason to be screened and cleaned more frequently. they're measures to protect what the scientists say is the last pristine coast on earth. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. lots of dry weather over the coming days with high pressure in charge. plenty of wintry sunshine but some fog, too, particularly to the end of the week and some of that fog will linger into the afternoon in one or two places way way to a cloudy grey sort of day. here is that weather map from today, a weather front in the south of the country giving spits and spots of light rain. that will move out of the way. skies will clear across england and wales this evening. with the light winds, it means a touch of frost on the way for england and wales. notice the winds blowing out of the south—west here in scotland, particularly western scotland, bit more cloud and certainly frost free, around 7c in stornoway at 5am, a light frost expected in england and wales. on wednesday, the high pressure over the uk dominating the weather right across europe, parts of iberia as well. around the high pressure we have milder air spilling into the northern half of the uk, whereas in the south there is slightly colder weather coming off the near continent. with that, these calm windless foggy conditions. some of that fog will linger, but for most it's a case of wintry sunshine. those milder south—westerly winds in western scotland, temperatures into double figures for stornoway, even for aberdeen quite mild, but across england and wales, single figures. the same pattern repeats itself into thursday, the high pressure with light winds in the south, fog in the morning, some fog lingers. these temperatures are in the sunnier weather, so 5—8c, but where the fog sticks around, temperatures could be close to freezing all through the day. that becomes more likely as we go through the course of the week. certainly friday morning, saturday morning, the fog could become a bit more extensive. you can see the temperatures a little bit lower here. even if the fog doesn't linger, it could mean low grey skies. very settled weather over the next few days, you can see hardly any rainfall, with a bit of luck most of us should have sunny weather rather than the thick fog. outlook for people on the transplant waiting list which is unbelievable. this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at ii... police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. labour, and families affected by coronavirus, show their anger. borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us, to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus, spread rapidly. restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a human patient. the start of a harsh winter deepens the food crisis in afghanistan. the un makes an urgent appealfor help. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the metropolitan police says it's in contact with the government, after it emerged as many as 100 people were invited to a party in the garden at downing street during the first lockdown in may 2020. at the time, such gatherings were banned. a minister told the commons that the government would not comment while the official investigation into downing street parties is carried out. labour says borisjohnson, "cannot spend the next days and weeks hiding behind a whitehall inquiry," which is looking into whether the gatherings at no 10 broke covid rules. our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports. downing street this morning, questions piling up. should the prime minister apologise? inside, in the cabinet meeting, there was no mention of the latest revelations about downing street parties, but this toxic issue won't go away for borisjohnson. in may 2020, the man behind him, his principal private secretary, martin reynolds, e—mailed 100 staff, inviting them to bring their own booze for drinks in the garden. witnesses have told the bbc around 30 attended, including mrjohnson and his wife. given that the rules said you could only meet one person, some staff were shocked. in messages seen by the bbc, they said... the same month, hannah brady lost herfather to covid. last year, she met mrjohnson in the very same garden. i think this pandemic, for me, is a story of two men. one is my 55—year—old dad, who is dead, having spent 42 nights on a ventilator, fighting covid and no other illnesses. the other is a man who was 55 at the time of this party. borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden in downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." yesterday, he wouldn't answer questions, saying an internal investigation is under way into all the parties that have come to light. the labour leader, isolating because of covid, tweeted today... it's not just the labour party that are angry about this, _ there are plenty of my parliamentary colleagues who have no idea - what anyone in that e—mail chain was thinking, or how... - this is utterly indefensible, it cannot be defended. - they weren't saying it publicly... what should the prime minister do with these latest revelations, sir? ..but arriving in parliament today, tory mps, some angry, some aghast, and a new opening for labour. i apologise again, unreservedly, for the upset that these allegations have caused. the prime minister has asked for an investigation... there's no need for an investigation into the simple central question today, did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on the 20th of may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants, the prime minister sets the tone. hear, hear. exactly. if the prime minister was there, surely he knew. does he still believe the prime minister to be a man of honour and integrity? hear, hear! she asks if i have confidence in the prime minister's integrity and honour, and i do. laughter. and now, the police are in touch with the cabinet office. the met has been under pressure to investigate the parties. difficulties mounting for borisjohnson. damian grammaticus, bbc news, westminster. children's author michael rosen contracted covid in march 2020 and spent 12 weeks in hospital with 48 days in intensive care. when the party took place, he was in a coma. hejoins me now. thank you so much for being with us. let me ask you first thank you so much for being with us. let me ask you first of thank you so much for being with us. let me ask you first of all thank you so much for being with us. let me ask you first of all how thank you so much for being with us. let me ask you first of all how are you now? let me ask you first of all how are ou now? �* .., ., ., , let me ask you first of all how are ou now? �* ., ., , , you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that i you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that l and _ you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that l and | — you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that i and i cannot _ you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that i and i cannot really - you now? i'm ok, i cannot really see with that i and i cannot really hear. with that i and i cannot really hear with that i and i cannot really hear with that i and i cannot really hear with that year but i'm doing my best to stay in contact. that with that year but i'm doing my best to stay in contact.— to stay in contact. at one stage you were perilously — to stay in contact. at one stage you were perilously close _ to stay in contact. at one stage you were perilously close to _ to stay in contact. at one stage you were perilously close to death? - to stay in contact. at one stage you l were perilously close to death? yes, 'ust before were perilously close to death? yes, just before i — were perilously close to death? yes, just before i went _ were perilously close to death? yes, just before i went into _ were perilously close to death? 1a: just before i went into hospital, my oxygen take—up levels were very dangerous level and when i got there they discovered i had blood clots in my arteries and micro—clots in my brain so i was on the verge of disappearing, yes. we brain so i was on the verge of disappearing, yes.— brain so i was on the verge of disappearing, yes. brain so i was on the verge of disa -aearin , es. ~ . , , disappearing, yes. we are very, very lad he did disappearing, yes. we are very, very glad he did not _ disappearing, yes. we are very, very glad he did not and _ disappearing, yes. we are very, very glad he did not and that _ disappearing, yes. we are very, very glad he did not and that you - disappearing, yes. we are very, very glad he did not and that you are - glad he did not and that you are alive and kicking. at the time you were in a coma, this party was going on and people in downing street, 100 people, being invited to ed. what are your thoughts about that? we have are your thoughts about that? - have heard some people up and down the country making huge sacrifices at that time,— the country making huge sacrifices at that time, ., ., , ., ., , at that time, what are your thoughts about it? my — at that time, what are your thoughts about it? my first _ at that time, what are your thoughts about it? my first thought _ at that time, what are your thoughts about it? my first thought is - at that time, what are your thoughts about it? my first thought is the - about it? my first thought is the sto m about it? my first thought is the story my wife — about it? my first thought is the story my wife and _ about it? my first thought is the story my wife and family - about it? my first thought is the story my wife and family have . about it? my first thought is the i story my wife and family have told me that they were at home trying to maintain contact with me, get contact with me because they could not come and see me and of course i could have died and we have just heard the awful stories all day on your programme of people who said goodbye to their loved ones from home on zoom calls and phone calls, and the only way emma could stay in touch with me was to talk to the nurses and doctors. so everybody was doing their best to abide by government instruction. this feels look a smack in the face, it feels like contempt and it feels awful. what should happen now? in terms of a police investigation in particular there is a lot of pressure on the police who have not got involved with all of these alleged parties so far but a lot of pressure, we have got this whitehall inquiry by sue gray, should the police be involved? it is a dire situation because obviously people at the party know they were there, the police guarding 10 downing street, nobody can stroll in so they have a little normal listed parties, of who is allowed in to as on. the names on it police know they must have known that there was a very good chance and there was a gathering of more than one, two or three people, whatever the exact number so it's all a bit mysterious, 18 months on from there and we are suddenly discovering it. it cannot be believed, really. the suddenly discovering it. it cannot be believed, really.— be believed, really. the prime minister and _ be believed, really. the prime minister and government - be believed, really. the prime minister and government have be believed, really. the prime - minister and government have said we should wait until the results of the whitehall inquiry, we don't know when that will be. is that sufficient, can we wait until we hear the full details from sue gray and her investigation or should we be getting answers from ministers from ministers before that? i be getting answers from ministers from ministers before that? i think does boris johnson _ from ministers before that? i think does boris johnson know _ from ministers before that? i think does boris johnson know whether l from ministers before that? i think. does boris johnson know whether he does borisjohnson know whether he was at the party or not? may not have known about it when he left but the people who went to that party knew, the should have gone to the house of commons and said yes, it is a fair cop, i was at the party. that would be the reasonable thing to do. but it is not happening, so this kind of kicking into the long grass we are familiar with from inquiries of all sorts, while people work out their alibis, of all sorts, while people work out theiralibis, it of all sorts, while people work out their alibis, it really will not do at all. it's not to be believed and again it's a sense of contempt. on this occasion, its contempt for the house of commons. people ask questions and get batted away. there is prime minister's _ questions and get batted away. there is prime minister's questions tomorrow so we may get answers but i suppose the reason why people generally are disappointed to put it mildly or angry as that there is a hope that we are all in this together when there is a crisis like this, a pandemic like this, that there are rules and really own risk rules on all of us, but it sticks in the throat when some people don't seem to be a right abiding by those rules. t seem to be a right abiding by those rules. ., ., ., ., rules. i would agree with that and say something — rules. i would agree with that and say something else. _ rules. i would agree with that and say something else. everyone - rules. i would agree with that and say something else. everyone ofl rules. i would agree with that and i say something else. everyone of us who were seriously ill and that the people and loved ones and people who died, we are going through various kinds of trauma, all of the people with long covid and so on and all of these little atomised ways on our own in our separate places experiencing this trauma, because it is so large, and has involved hundreds of thousands of people, it's a form social trauma. we know about social trauma through war, we talk about the london blitz, ministers have been talking about it. part of that was trauma for people who experienced something together. i do not think we have begun to do with this trauma, but worse, this in a way is just the opposite of dealing with it. instead of the equivalent of reads that the cenotaphs, we have the upper point of we are partying while you were doing that. it's an appalling feeling to think of that, but we are trying to cope with something that has damaged us and i have left out of that picture the people who suffered all kind of isolation and worse during lockdown that i didn't know anything about because i was in a coma. our government handle social trauma is political. you a coma. our government handle social trauma is political.— trauma is political. you mentioned lon . trauma is political. you mentioned long covid- _ trauma is political. you mentioned long covid. are _ trauma is political. you mentioned long covid. are you _ trauma is political. you mentioned long covid. are you suffering - long covid. are you suffering symptoms from long covid? what are the, you mentioned your viewing and so on, what are the longer terms symptoms you have been suffering from as a result of your ordeal and it was a horrific ordeal that you suffered? , ., , ., suffered? yes, to start off with, i was very. — suffered? yes, to start off with, i was very. very — suffered? yes, to start off with, i was very, very confused, - suffered? yes, to start off with, i was very, very confused, very - suffered? yes, to start off with, i | was very, very confused, very bad loss of memory, lots of aches and pains in my body and so on and pretty exhausted. good have been partly because of the intensive care and in some respects i think i have come out of this physically luckier than some who get out, walk about five minutes and have to get straight back to bed. some people who exercise one day and cannot do next. in some ways a headquarters rubric luckier with the one thing is i cannot remember the names of hollywood film stars. i am saying that ironically, iforget the names stars. i am saying that ironically, i forget the names of george quinney but life is possible without remembering george clooney�*s name. you just remembered his name so you cannot be doing that bad. very well done, great to have you with us and really good luck to you and thank you so much for your time. thank ou. new figures suggest one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as omicron cases continued to spread. many schools have told the bbc they're unable to find enough temporary staff to cover the gaps. the education secretary, nadhim zahawi, says he's making contingency plans for the rising rates of staff absence. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. they learn and play in a year group bubble. until now, that has kept cases right down, and pupils in school. if we were on zoom, we could not ask as many questions as we can, like, face—to—face. and if we have finished our zoom lesson and we are starting our work and we need help, our siblings can help us, but they won't know what the subject is and everything. it would be better if our teachers help us. we can still keep our learning going and the school is doing everything they can to make sure we are safe as well. it would be, like, stressful, because you are missing. out on your learning, _ and when you come back you might feel like you are behind. i like playing with my friends and playing in the playground, and it's good that the government made a rule when, if someone has some symptoms or has been tested positive, they have to stay at home, not the entire bubble. the pupils are just happy that things are near—normal, but schools are dealing with huge uncertainty, each day not knowing if more teachers will be off with covid and whether they will be able to get supply teachers. this school has kept strict covid measures. when there is a case, parents are asked to lateral flow test their children. every classroom has an air purifier machine, bought by the school. despite all their efforts, it is much worse than last term. we have got more children off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term, and we've got more staff off this week than we did during the whole of the autumn term. so this morning, it's about covering a few classes where the teachers have tested positive for covid, and just difficulties getting supply teachers, so we are trying to put contingencies in ahead of time, pre—empting the phone call. today's figures show some schools have been hit hard. most pupils are still learning in class, not at home, as schools in england try to ride out this latest covid wave. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, birmingham. geoff barton, general secretary of the association of school and college leadersjoins me now. how about a problem is this an schools? �* , . , how about a problem is this an schools? �*, ., , , .,, ., how about a problem is this an schools? �*, ., , , ., schools? it's a big problem for some schools? it's a big problem for some schools and — schools? it's a big problem for some schools and are _ schools? it's a big problem for some schools and are less _ schools? it's a big problem for some schools and are less big _ schools? it's a big problem for some schools and are less big problem - schools? it's a big problem for some schools and are less big problem for| schools and are less big problem for other schools but it's worth reminding ourselves that although the figures have come out today, what they are holding a mirror up to is to last week. and what we know about last week is that some schools had not yet open door some schools who were still doing training with staff or were still in the middle of doing lateralflow staff or were still in the middle of doing lateral flow tests. therefore i think the real picture will start to emerge later on this week and i think the interesting bit about it, the report kind of demonstrates this, it could be incredibly localised. you could have a school next to another school or a college next to another school or a college next to another college with quite different levels of absence particularly around staff and all i would say at this very early stage of these footholds as to where we go is to represent all of those staff working in schools have done so far because what you could hear in that report was that enthusiasm of the young people and at craving to have some kind of normality and that's what we're trying to do. it’s some kind of normality and that's what we're trying to do.— what we're trying to do. it's hard to know about _ what we're trying to do. it's hard to know about the _ what we're trying to do. it's hard to know about the you _ what we're trying to do. it's hard to know about the you think- what we're trying to do. it's hard to know about the you think this | to know about the you think this will get worse before it gets better. it will get worse before it gets better. ., ., , ., better. it well and that is not me bein: a better. it well and that is not me being a doom — better. it well and that is not me being a doom under, _ better. it well and that is not me being a doom under, the - better. it well and that is not me - being a doom under, the department for education will agree it's going to get worse and the reason for that is two things. one is that we have not yet seen what the effect of the end of the christmas period and the back of the new year might be because what we know is that people will have been mixing to some extent. we don't know the effects of that yet but secondly more importantly across the uk over the past seven days, more than 8 million children have been on the move through the community. that will imply we're going to have this most transmissible of viruses transmitted and that's why what we're getting from the secretary of state helpfully i think is a recognition that there has to be contingency planning and even him just talking about that. he said on sunday that “p about that. he said on sunday that up to 25% of staff may be missing from some schools. i don't think that in any way is being pessimistic i think it's been realistic and what we have always said as plans might be useless, planning is really important so what schools and colleges are doing at the moment is day by day looking at which teachers they have got, seeing if they can get supply teachers nfa need them and making the best arrangements but the short answer is it's likely in many schools to get worse before it gets better. talk many schools to get worse before it gets better-— gets better. talk about temporary staff, are there _ gets better. talk about temporary staff, are there enough _ gets better. talk about temporary staff, are there enough to - gets better. talk about temporary staff, are there enough to go - gets better. talk about temporary i staff, are there enough to go round? even in normal times it's pretty difficult to get some specialist staff in some subjects and teachers in all subjects in some areas, easier in some parts of the world than others. i was speaking to a governor in london who basically in a science department where some staff are off self—isolating, struggling to find science teachers because the maths department with three members of the maths team off, to find physics and maths teachers can stand in the best of times is difficult. i know the government has had a push to try and rip encourage retired teachers to come back. with 22,000 schools, i don't think we are going to see enough of those people being able to be there and there is an assumption that by putting a body in the classroom someone who may have thought ten or 15 years ago but may not know the syllabus will know the young people doesn't know the geography of the school, let's not oversimplify what we are trying to do in our schools and colleges and more through testing, ventilation, vaccination, we can try and create a sense of normality, the less we will have to rely on supply teachers. the whole pandemic has been such a nightmare for children and young people, they have lost so much education, but there are people who believe we are turning a corner, that this year perhaps things are going to really improve, may be real just covid optimists, are you a covid optimist? finally the education sector will get back to normality? i education sector will get back to normali ? . education sector will get back to normality?— normality? i am, partly because ount normality? i am, partly because young people _ normality? i am, partly because young people remind _ normality? i am, partly because young people remind us - normality? i am, partly because young people remind us of- normality? i am, partly because young people remind us of the i young people remind us of the optimism. i've had loads of e—mails from members of staff saying please do not let the media narrative that everything is falling apart prevail because we have got young people eager to be here attending well where they can attend hoping their exams will go ahead, and we are doing everything on their behalf and one e—mail whichjust doing everything on their behalf and one e—mail which just came doing everything on their behalf and one e—mail whichjust came in, which just breaks my heart in a sense, a staff member who is dealing with very difficult issues, she says the best moment formula last week is in my school in northamptonshire we brought in 31 afghan students into our rural community, i'm so proud of existing students have welcomed them and that's a reminder this is not just about exams and inspection, all the things we used to think it was, it's about the deep humanity of schools and colleges and i think optimistically we are going to see more of that as we start to get back to some kind of normality. that more of that as we start to get back to some kind of normality.- to some kind of normality. that is a aood to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor— to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor and _ to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor and with, _ to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor and with, thank - to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor and with, thank you i to some kind of normality. that is a good doctor and with, thank you so | good doctor and with, thank you so much. anyone who records a positive lateral flow test in england, but doesn't have symptoms, no longer needs to take a pcr test. it's hoped easing the rule will free up pcr testing capacity for key workers, amid concerns over staff shortages because of covid infections. northern ireland, scotland and wales have already implemented the change. restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. the move will allow fans to return to stadiums when the scottish premiership's winter break ends and it means scotland's six nations rugby matches won't have to be played behind closed doors at murrayfield. the first minister nicola sturgeon outlined the new rules a little earlier i can confirm today that the attendance limit of 500 at large—scale outdoor events will be lifted from monday 17th of january. that means for example spectators will be permitted again at major outdoor sporting events including football fixtures scheduled for early next week and the forthcoming six nations rugby matches. the covid certification scheme will remain in place for these and other events and venues previously covered, but with two important changes. firstly, guidance will now stipulate that the organisers of large events of 1,000 or more people should check the certification status of at least 50% of attendees, rather than the current 20%, or at least 1,000 people, whichever figure is highest. and second, from monday, the requirement to be fully vaccinated for the purposes of covid certification will include having a booster, if the second dose was more than four months ago. the nhs scotland covid status app for domestic use will be updated from thursday so that its qr code includes evidence about booster vaccination. it will also be possible to update copies of status which are valid for three months and be possible to gain admission into events and venues covered by the certification scheme by providing proof of a recent negative lateral flow test. cabinet will next review the data a week today and i hope this will allow us to live the other protective measures, the limits on indoor live events, table service and hospitality and distancing from the 24th of january but i will confirm this in my statement next week. we have just received the latest coronavirus data for the uk. it shows another drop in cases. 120,821 cases compared to a drop from yesterday's figure, 142,000, but in terms of deaths, much higher number. 379 deaths reported in 28 days of a positive test, compared to the figures yesterday, 77, although they are often lower after a weekend. a high death figure, 379 deaths within 28 days of the positive test. 120,000 cases. quite a substantial fall on the previous day. in an extraordinary first for medical science, doctors in america have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a human patient, in a final attempt to save his life. the man is said to be doing well, three days after the experimental surgery. success could lead to the routine use of animal organs in human transplants. this report from our north america correspondent, david willis, contains pictures of the operation. inside the box was the heart of a 2401b pig, genetically engineered to survive inside a human body. but the question was, would the transplant work? after toiling for nearly nine hours, surgeons at the university of maryland medical center removed the clamp restricting blood to the new organ and declared that it had. the pigs heart was pumping away, keeping alive a patient for whom all other options had run out. on the operating table was 57—year—old dave bennett, pictured here with his son and daughter. when doctors first proposed the pigs heart transplant, he thought they were joking, but four days on, he's said to be doing well and his doctors sound increasingly optimistic. we've never done this in a human. and i like to think that, um, we have given him a better option than what continuing his therapy would have been, but whether it's a day, week, month, year, i don't know. advances in gene editing and cloning techniques have proved a game changer as far as this sort of surgery is concerned, and in a country in which more than 100,000 people are currently waiting for an organ transplant, dave bennett's operation could help change the lives and ease the suffering of so many. pictured here with the man who led the operation, mr bennett is now breathing on his own without a ventilator. having called the operation a shot in the dark, the hospital says he's now looking forward to being released from their care and reunited with his dog lucky. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. federica marelli—berg is the british heart foundation professor of cardiovascular immunology, shejoins me now. thank you for being with us. how revolutionary is this? all thank you for being with us. how revolutionary is this? bill” thank you for being with us. how revolutionary is this?— thank you for being with us. how revolutionary is this? all i can say is that this _ revolutionary is this? all i can say is that this is — revolutionary is this? all i can say is that this is a _ revolutionary is this? all i can say is that this is a breakthrough, i revolutionary is this? all i can say is that this is a breakthrough, it i is that this is a breakthrough, it is that this is a breakthrough, it is something that will probably be in science history books in a very short time. in science history books in a very short time-— short time. what are the implications _ short time. what are the implications of _ short time. what are the implications of this? i short time. what are the implications of this? we | short time. what are the i implications of this? we know short time. what are the _ implications of this? we know there has been so many problems in terms of supply and demand of organs for transplant to save lives and could this be a way out of that key problem?— this be a way out of that key roblem? ~ ,,., , . this be a way out of that key roblem? ~ , . problem? absolutely. perfect point, xenotransplantation _ problem? absolutely. perfect point, xenotransplantation has _ problem? absolutely. perfect point, xenotransplantation has started i problem? absolutely. perfect point, xenotransplantation has started a i xenotransplantation has started a very long time ago, it was not very successful, talking about the 17th century. however, in the 1990s, there was a lot of research going on in the world and in the uk as well. we had the first plans to nit—pick and suddenly it disappeared later on, because of a number of issues relating to indigenous viruses, present in every pig cell as well as the problem of the immune response against transplantation from a species to another species. their transplantation in a technical word. their transplantation in a technical word. —— zeno transportation. thanks to a lot of work that has been going on and especially new technologies that have been introduced relatively recently like the possibility of changing the genetic background of animals with very quick and relatively accessible techniques, this has become a reality. what is special about this is that it is the first transplant in human. there has been studies done between pigs and monkeys and so on and so forth but this is really, this has been absolutely crucial to get to the point where we are now. because they have really provided proof of principle that this is feasible thing. just to conclude, my personal considerations about this, in health care, one of the pioneers of human transplantation i while ago that seemed something impossible yesterday becomes nearly possible and then perhaps in a few years it will become routine. i am very optimistic that this is a breakthrough which will allow exactly this, for something to become part of saving lives in everyday issues and people waiting for a transplant and less list and not knowing when and whether they will survive long enough to get a life—saving transplant. will survive long enough to get a life-saving transplant.- will survive long enough to get a life-saving transplant. looking at the figures. _ life-saving transplant. looking at the figures. in — life-saving transplant. looking at the figures, in the _ life-saving transplant. looking at the figures, in the united - life-saving transplant. looking at the figures, in the united statesl the figures, in the united states alone, 17 people die everyday waiting for a transplant and there are 100,000 people on the waiting list. this could be a breakthrough. and presumably other animals, it does not have to just be a pig, other animals could be used? funnily enough, we are closer to a pig in a monkey, although i'm not talking about genetically, we are talking about genetically, we are talking about genetically, we are talking about the size and the heart of a pig is much better than the heart of a primate in terms of supporting the circulation of a human, so their —— there are other good things about pigs, they can breed very easily, a number of things which makes the pig our real saviour. the things which makes the pig our real saviour. , , ., ., ., saviour. the pig is the ideal animal but the key — saviour. the pig is the ideal animal but the key to _ saviour. the pig is the ideal animal but the key to this _ saviour. the pig is the ideal animal but the key to this is _ saviour. the pig is the ideal animal but the key to this is genetic i but the key to this is genetic modification to knock out the genes that would have led to the organ of being rejected by the human recipient?— being rejected by the human reciient? , , ., , , ., recipient? yes. this has been a ma'or recipient? yes. this has been a major piece _ recipient? yes. this has been a major piece of _ recipient? yes. this has been a major piece of science - recipient? yes. this has been a major piece of science leading l recipient? yes. this has been a l major piece of science leading to what we read today in the newspapers, however, we need to take into account that the therapy we know functions better in terms of outcome in transplantation compared to other transplantation from man—to—man, it is slightly different, and i'm sure in the next ten, 20 years, major effort will be made to tailor make therapies that are suitable for casino transplantation. i'm not saying this is going to be the reality tomorrow —— zeno transplantation. but research is so fast today, as we saw with the vaccines, we can be optimistic about being able to reduce endogenous... have been successfully removed from pigs using a technique, which is very efficient and powerful, to remove unwanted genes from a particular tissue. so it is looking absolutely brilliant at the moment. it it is looking absolutely brilliant at the moment.— at the moment. it certainly is revolutionary. _ at the moment. it certainly is revolutionary. frederico, i at the moment. it certainly is i revolutionary. frederico, thanks for joining us. —— federica. that was fascinating. now it's time for a look at the weather. how is it looking? a bit less fascinating, _ how is it looking? a bit less fascinating, i— how is it looking? a bit less fascinating, i would - how is it looking? a bit less fascinating, i would say. it i how is it looking? a bit less i fascinating, i would say. it will be quite boring over the next couple of days, a high pressure sitting on top of the uk are not really changing, but having said that, there will be a fair bit of fog so it will either be sunshine orfog, a fair bit of fog so it will either be sunshine or fog, you will probably get one or the other. at the moment, though, it is grey and rainy in the south, it is that fine horrible drizzle, the really wet air, that is moving over and that is really dampening things and temperatures will be below freezing, certainly some thick fog forming, freezing fog in some areas, but in the north of the uk, milder conditions, the atlantic breeze blowing, so quite toasty in stornoway. the forecast for tomorrow, sunshine in england and wales, and northern ireland, but in the western isles it remained mild and 10 degrees. —— remains. that is it for now. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: police say they're in contact with the government, after it emerges 100 people were invited to drinks in the garden at downing street, during the first lockdown. labour, and families affected by coronavirus, show their anger... borisjohnson, having survived covid himself, thought it was appropriate to host a party where you could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing street, where borisjohnson met me and four other bereaved families and told us, to our faces, after listening to my dad's story, "i did everything i could to save him." this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? one in 12 teachers were absent from england's schools last week, as the omicron variant of coronavirus spread rapidly. restrictions on large outdoor events in scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next monday. a medicalfirst in america, where doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a human patient. the start of a harsh winter deepens the food crisis in afghanistan. the un makes an urgent appealfor help. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. good news for scottish sports fans — limits on outdoor crowds there are to be removed from next monday — meaning stadiums will be full again. last month the scottish premiership brought foward its winter break after the government reintroduced capped attendances at 500 while other leagues continued as normal with restricted numbers. it's positive news for rugby's six nations which starts next month. no update was given for indoor sporting events such as ice hockey matches which had seated attendances reduced to 200. novak djokovic has been back out on the court in his preparations for next week's australian open with no decision from the country's immigration officer on his visa. border control are also investigating whether the world number one made a false declaration on his immigration form over his travel history immediately before arriving in melbourne. earlier, his former coach boris becker told us he felt djokovic hasn't committed a crime but urged him to get vaccinated. i'm sure the french open will watch the melbourne saga, as i want to call it, i'm sure wimbledon will watch it, and i'm sure they're going to have strict rules of who can play and who cannot play. now, again, it's anybody�*s choice whether they want to vaccinate, but life is more and more difficult for people who don't want to be vaxxed. so, personally, i would advise him to get vaccinated eventually, because life would be easier for him. but again, he's old enough. it's his choice, it's his body, it's his life, and we have to respect that. andy murray continued his preparations for the australian open with a straight sets win over viktor durasovic in the first round of the sydney international. he faces the second seed, nikoloz basilashvili, next. but there was a crushing defeat for emma raducanu, in her first match since recovering from coronavirus. she only took one game against the world number 13 elena rybakina, in a match lasting less than an hour. the defeat came on the same day raducanu was given a seeding of 17 for the australian open, which starts on monday. algeria began the defence of their africa cup of nations title with a disappointing goalless draw against sierra leone. the current champions missed a host of chances — particularly in the second half including this from riyad mahrez. it does mean algeria's unbeaten run stretches to 35 matches but this was a great result for the leone stars, a clean sheet on their first nations cup appearance since 1996. mo salah's egypt have begun their campaign this afternoon against nigeria. nigeria have had most of the play and they have taken the lead and are leading 1—0 with seven minutes left in the first half. in a mark cavendish says he has no choice but to get on with life, after a burglary and assault at his home in november. he was attacked by armed men while he was recovering from injury, while his wife and children were threatened. he says he wants to spend more time with his family, but he's pleased to be preparing for the new season. people have had worse setbacks than i've had. and it is how you deal with them that matters the most. unfortunately, things happen, things continue to happen, you have to try and get on with things, bounce back, and i think that's the way you can go forward. and at the masters snooker, ronnie o'sullivan has beaten jack lisowski 6—1. the number 4 seed was in good form, finishing with a break of 125 to comfortably make it through to the next round. that's all the sport for now. labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, says borisjohnson can run, but he can't hide, as the opposition continues to press him to say whether he attended a drinks party in the downing street garden in may 2020, during the first national covid lockdown. an email, inviting about 100 staff to "bring a bottle" and "make the most of the lovely weather," was leaked to itv news yesterday. downing street says the prime minister continues to have full confidence in the senior civil servant who sent the email, martin reynolds. the paymaster general, michael ellis, a junior minister in the cabinet office, told mps that another senior civil servant, was already investigating what happened. the prime minister has asked for an investigation to take place and the terms of reference for the investigations that are under way have already been published and deposited in the libraries of this house and, in fact, in both houses. the investigations are now being led by sue gray. she is the second permanent secretary at the cabinet office and the department for levelling up. and, of course, she is a former director general of propriety and ethics. the government has committed to publishing the findings of the investigation and providing these to parliament in the normal way. the terms of reference set out that where there are credible allegations relating to other gatherings, it is open for those to be investigated. and i can confirm to the house, mr speaker, that this includes the allegations relating to the 15th and 20th may 2020. it will establish the facts, and if wrongdoing is established, there will be requisite disciplinary action taken. as with all internal investigations, if evidence emerges of what was potentially a criminal offence, the matter would be referred to the metropolitan police and the cabinet office's work may be paused. matters relating to the adherence of the law are, as ever, matters for the metropolitan police to investigate, and the cabinet office will liaise with them as appropriate. as i am sure members of this house will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on an ongoing investigation and the government has committed to updating the house in due course. mr speaker, i must again point out, as i did in december, and i know the house will also understand that there is a long standing practice of successive administrations that any human resources matters concerning personnel relating to individuals does need to remain confidential. but, mr speaker, both the prime minister and i came before this house in december, we set out the details of the investigation being led by the cabinet office into these allegations of gatherings, and those investigations are continuing. borisjohnson wasn't in the commons for the urgent question, to which michael ellis was just responding, and labour's deputy leader, angela rayner told mps that his absence "spea ks volumes. " the minister quite frankly hides behind the gray investigation. there is no need for an investigation into the simple central question today — did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on the 20th of may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants. the prime minister sets the tone. if the prime minister was there, surely he knew. the invitation was sent to 100 staff. many of them his own most personal senior appointees. this was organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? let's speak to the business leader and founder of phones 4u — john caudwell. he's a conservative party supporter and donor. you gave half £1 million to the conservatives before the last election, are you disappointed with what you have heard about the party? i am, absolutely. what you have heard about the party? iam, absolutely. i'm what you have heard about the party? i am, absolutely. i'm disappointed on quite a few aspects of the performance over the last couple of years and they have been many things i have been critical of, lots of advice i have tried to give them, but this does seem a bit bizarre, that they should have a set of rules for the population of the uk and then break the rules themselves. it is terrible, really, terrible when leaders do not lead by example, and in this case, it appears they have broken the law, as well. you have said, broken the law, as well. you have said. sort — broken the law, as well. you have said. sort it _ broken the law, as well. you have said, sort it out _ broken the law, as well. you have said, sort it out boris, _ broken the law, as well. you have said, sort it out boris, or- broken the law, as well. you have said, sort it out boris, or step i said, sort it out boris, or step aside and let somebody else sort it out so the tories are not wiped out at the next election, so do you fear this is going to have huge consequences because it has what the pollsters call cutlery? people feel this kind of thing. —— cut through? it is fair to say the electorate have short memories and if we get to the pandemic, people are back into prosperousjobs, and the the pandemic, people are back into prosperous jobs, and the economy is doing well, then all this will be forgiven and forgotten, but i really don't like government performing in any way that is not ethical and moral, but as we know, most governments don't on regular occasions and for me that is quite sad. ., ., ., .. , sad. you have accused the prime minister's _ sad. you have accused the prime minister's perceived _ sad. you have accused the prime minister's perceived arrogance i sad. you have accused the prime i minister's perceived arrogance and hypocrisy, for a conservative party donor, you have been using some pretty strong language. i donor, you have been using some pretty strong language.— donor, you have been using some pretty strong language. i have not accused the _ pretty strong language. i have not accused the prime _ pretty strong language. i have not accused the prime minister i pretty strong language. i have not accused the prime minister of i pretty strong language. i have notl accused the prime minister of that, and i won't accuse anybody, but what i'm saying is that within government there is an area of hypocrisy and rule breaking and arrogance. how can they have a party for 100 people when other people are told you can only meet one person in a big park? it doesn't make any sense and it is just wrong and bad leadership, but i'm certainly not accusing boris of that and i don't know where the fault lies. mr that and i don't know where the fault lies. ~ g ., ,., that and i don't know where the fault lies. ~ . ., fault lies. mrjohnson said we should wait _ fault lies. mrjohnson said we should wait for _ fault lies. mrjohnson said we should wait for sue _ fault lies. mrjohnson said we should wait for sue gray's i fault lies. mrjohnson said we i should wait for sue gray's inquiry, the civil servant leading the inquiry into this party and other parties, round nine altogether, we are told, in government, are you prepared to wait for that inquiry to come up with its findings or should we be getting answers from the government right now? tbs, we be getting answers from the government right now? a couple of issues and the _ government right now? a couple of issues and the first _ government right now? a couple of issues and the first thing _ government right now? a couple of issues and the first thing is - government right now? a couple of issues and the first thing is that i issues and the first thing is that we should be waiting for a proper result that is well thought through and well understood and well investigated but there are bigger issues that the country faces. we do need ethical politics and that is one of the things that really disappoints me about politicians over and over again, disappoints me about politicians overand overagain, not disappoints me about politicians over and over again, notjust in this country, but especially in other countries, and our country actually is one of the most stable and ethical countries in regard to political behaviour, but i'm really disappointed and i really dislike behaviour by our leaders and the people who rule us that is not whiter than white, not ethical and not correct, but we do have massive challenges to face and i think the conservatives are the best party to lead this country but we really need to sort this out, so what i said, please, boris, sort this out and get your party back in check and make it an ethical and correct party to do other things that are needed british society to make britain a fair and level society. hf society to make britain a fair and level society-— level society. if you deemed he hasn't sorted _ level society. if you deemed he hasn't sorted it _ level society. if you deemed he hasn't sorted it out _ level society. if you deemed he hasn't sorted it out in _ level society. if you deemed he hasn't sorted it out in the i level society. if you deemed he i hasn't sorted it out in the future, would you then stop giving money to the conservatives at the next election, if he is still the leader and he hasn't sorted out this question that you wouldn't give them more money? —— sorted out this? i’m more money? -- sorted out this? i'm not a normal— more money? —— sorted out this? u“n not a normal political donor but i have donated once because i felt the conservatives where the party to get brexit done and i felt the labour party were a shambles that it would be a fiasco if labour came to power, so i donated to the conservatives in a specific situation, but that doesn't mean i would donate again but nor does it mean i wouldn't. i will donate to any party who i believe can keep the great in britain and can put in all the correct practices and can run with the greatest degree of ethical behaviour, and from what i have seen of the tory party recently, that would certainly not mean a donor again, but ijust want them to get their act together and get sorted out, if they have made these mistakes, put them behind them, and if heads have to roll, so be it, but let's have a proper ethical conservative party running the country and then maybe i would back the party again. country and then maybe i would back the party again-— the party again. john, thanks for 'oinin: the party again. john, thanks for joining us- _ the party again. john, thanks for joining us- john _ the party again. john, thanks for joining us. john as _ the party again. john, thanks for joining us. john as we _ the party again. john, thanks for joining us. john as we said i the party again. john, thanks for joining us. john as we said has i joining us. john as we said has donated to the conservatives before the last election. thank you so much. the start of a harsh winter is accelerating afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. international sanctions have crippled the economy, since the taliban took over last august. the collapse of the previous afghan government, and the withdrawal of western support, has led to soaring unemployment, with many unable to feed their families or heat their homes. a million children are thought to be at risk from severe malnourishment, with the united nations issuing an urgent call for aid. from kabul, quentin sommerville sent this report. victorious, the taliban now guard food queues. more than half the country is in need. these wheelbarrows are full of the very basics — salt, rice, peanuts, cooking oil — and for many of the people here, it's the first time they've had food in days. the interesting thing is, though, the bazaars, the markets in central kabul are full of produce but no—one here has any money. and this isn'tjust the case here in kabul, it's the same situation across afghanistan. the taliban are international pariahs, so the economy is being crushed by sanctions. only humanitarian aid is allowed in. women are banned from work and education but have also lost another fundamental right — the ability to feed their families. has kabul ever been this hungry before? no, never, ithink. what is the message to the rest of the world? they should see us, how we are going to live here. they should see our challenges, our problems and the problems are increasing day by day here. living costs is increasing day by day here. there's new rules and new challenges makes our life hardship more than at any other time. and that's not fair for afghans. sabera cannot afford the dollar cab fare to take her home, but she has just enough to hire a wheelbarrow. translation: what can we do? there is no money to buy food. all the men are jobless. they don't have work. there's nothing to eat and no firewood to warm our homes. on the city's edges, it is even worse. the poorest are sinking deeper into poverty. ajhar moved here from nangarhar province. this house is home to fourfamilies. they cannot afford soap to wash the kids' faces. they burn plastic to keep warm. the air in here is thick and acrid. it still is not safe for them to return, he says. "we would have moved to pakistan, but pakistan closed its borders to us." afghanistan's long war may be over but the afghan people's suffering endures. quentin sommerville, bbc news, kabul. the president of the european parliament has died. he had been receiving treatment in hospital for a serious complication relating to his immune system. he was elected as parliament president in 2019, having been an mep for a decade. the organisation that runs men's tennis says that the controversy over novak djokovic has been damaging on all fronts. djokovic has been practising on a court in melbourne before the australian open. the men's world number one, won a court battle yesterday, to overturn his visa cancellation, and he's since been practicing on a court in melbourne for next week's australian open. here's shaimaa khalil. the first pictures of novak djokovic playing a day after a judge overruled his visa cancellation. the world number one has been held in an immigration detention hotel since his arrival. now, he says, he's focused on competing. with only a few days before the australian open, the country's immigration minister is still considering whether to cancel the player's visa. there is a great deal of uncertainty about what happens next, and division too. should he be here? oh, god, i don't know. i just sort of wonder what the reception will be like when he gets here. we are a country of booers, we do like that, but i'm sure he can handle that. if he plays, i will not watch him, because he is not vaccinated. we're really excited that he's here. it's cool to have all those top players and, yeah, i we are super excited for him. there's also concern about what this will mean for the sport and the players' ability to travel. the atp, which runs the men's tennis tour, said the novak djokovic controversy has been damaging on all fronts and has called for more clarity on the rules to enter australia. but it has also urged players to get vaccinated. preparations are under way for the first grand slam of the season, and despite the upheaval around him, novak djokovic seems determined to defend his title. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. species from around the world that "hitch a lift" on ships, like mussels or crabs, are threatening antarctica's marine ecosystem. a study by the university of cambridge, tracked vessels which regularly visit the isolated region, and found unwanted visitors on board vessels disrupted the habitat and local wildlife. our science correspondent, victoria gill, has that story. aland of extremes and a haven for marine life. but visitors could be bringing some unwelcome creatures to this frozen place. by tracking global shipping, researchers discovered that antarctica is visited by vessels that come from 1,500 ports all over the world for research, tourism and fishing. those ships, scientists say, bring potentially destructive species into this unique ecosystem. ships that visit antarctica don't just have, you know, one home port that they visit and go back and forth. these ships travel all around the world, so that was really surprising. and in terms of invasive species, that means that almost anywhere in the world could be a potential source for new species visiting antarctica. antarctica's wildlife has been isolated for millions of years. but marine species like mussels, barnacles and crabs clinging to ships' hulls could harm or completely displace that native wildlife. on the antarctic island of south georgia, invasive rats brought by whaling ships, threatened colonies of seabirds by devouring their eggs. a rat eradication mission, dropping tonnes of poisoned bait, has been declared a success, but it took nearly five years and cost £10 million. the burgeoning antarctic tourist industry is a key area of concern. got to wash our boots. we don't want to be taking anything onto the antarctic mainland that should not be there. when we explored its impact back in 2016, almost 40,000 people travelled to the antarctic. in the 2019 season, nearly 70,000 tourists visited. the british antarctic survey is calling for stricter biosecurity for ships that visit antarctic waters for any reason to be screened and cleaned more frequently. they're measures to protect what the scientists say is the last pristine coast on earth. victoria gill, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. not quite as cold as the antarctic? this is what we have got on the way tonight, at least in some parts of the country and it will fall below freezing in a couple of areas but it is the fog you have got to watch out for first thing in the morning, across some parts of england and may be the midlands into parts of wales, and the fog could linger into the afternoon tomorrow. this is what we have got right now, a weather front crossing the south of the uk, giving the fine drizzle, and the skies will be clearing, with light winds and temperatures dropping, a perfect recipe for fog to form, and you can see the patches of fog here being more widespread than that, and these are the temperatures early on wednesday morning. further north, ocean breeze, not exactly tropical but temperatures around eight in the north of scotland. a few showers moving through but for the rest of the country, overall, a sunny day with some lovely wintry sunshine but in a few areas the fog will linger and it will become more troublesome as we go through the next few days. this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines... borisjohnson is boris johnson is under fire borisjohnson is underfire over borisjohnson is under fire over the downing street bring your own booze party during the first lockdown. now the police say they're in contact with the cabinet office about it. i with the cabinet office about it. i apologise again unreservedly for the upset to these allegations. this apologise again unreservedly for the upset to these allegations.— upset to these allegations. this was or: anised upset to these allegations. this was organised in — upset to these allegations. this was organised in advance, _ upset to these allegations. this was organised in advance, mr _ upset to these allegations. this was organised in advance, mr speaker, | upset to these allegations. this was i organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the— organised in advance, mr speaker, so did the prime minister know about the event — did the prime minister know about the event and did he give his permission for it to go ahead? borisjohnson thought boris johnson thought it was appmpriate _ boris johnson thought it was appmpriate to _ boris johnson thought it was appropriate to hope - boris johnson thought it was appropriate to hope a - boris johnson thought it was appropriate to hope a party. boris johnson thought it was i appropriate to hope a party where boris johnson thought it was - appropriate to hope a party where he could bring _ appropriate to hope a party where he could bring your— appropriate to hope a party where he could bring your own _ appropriate to hope a party where he could bring your own booze, - appropriate to hope a party where he could bring your own booze, sit- appropriate to hope a party where he could bring your own booze, sit in. could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at _ could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing _ could bring your own booze, sit in the garden at downing street, - could bring your own booze, sit in. the garden at downing street, where he met— the garden at downing street, where he met me _ the garden at downing street, where he met me and — the garden at downing street, where he met me and four— the garden at downing street, where he met me and four other— the garden at downing street, where he met me and four other bereaved i he met me and four other bereaved families— he met me and four other bereaved families that — he met me and four other bereaved families that he _ he met me and four other bereaved families that he did _ he met me and four other bereaved families that he did everything -

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