we'll have the latest on the pressure building up at westminster. also tonight... in england's schools, some classes are merged as more teachers are signed off with covid. in afghanistan, the un calls for billions of pounds in aid, with more than half the population struggling to find food. and history is made as an american man becomes the first human to get a heart transplant from a genetically—modified pig. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... lewis hamilton is still undecided about his future in formula one and understood to be disillusioned with the sport. good evening. the prime minister borisjohnson is under growing pressure to explain why a drinks gathering took place in the downing street garden in may 2020 at the height of the first lockdown. more than 100 people were invited by email by one of the prime minister's staff. eye witnesses have reported that the prime minister and his wife were among those who attended. at the time of the party in may 2020 — across the uk — people could not leave their homes without a reasonable excuse which included work or for exercise and getting essential supplies. large gatherings were illegal and people could only meet one person from another household — outside. schools, hairdressers and non—essential shops were closed. weddings were banned — and only close family members could attend funerals. all day the arguments have been raging between and opposition. —— between government and opposition. our deputy political editor vicki young has the latest. a day for keeping a low profile. borisjohnson returning home after his morning run knowing he's slowly being drawn further into this scandal. there are plenty of questions... ms truss, the prime minister- was at the party, should he notjust come clean about it? ..but not many answers. should the prime minister apologise for going to a party? _ did you attend any parties? were you invited to any? no. during the first lockdown in may 2020 an e—mail from senior official martin reynolds, seen by itv news, invited 100 staff to make the most of the "lovely weather" and bring their own booze to the downing street garden. witnesses have told the bbc mrjohnson and his wife were among 30 people who went along. butjust an hour before, inside number 10, a cabinet minister was telling the country this... you can meet one person outside your household in an outdoor public place provided that you stay two metres apart. so, what's the explanation? well, for now, there isn't one. and not many conservatives turned up to hear the minister say, "wait for the official inquiry" — launched after allegations of other parties. 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. did the prime minister attend the event in the downing street garden on 20th may 2020? it won't wash, mr speaker, to blame this on a few junior civil servants. the prime minister sets the tone. 0thers remembered the lives lost during the pandemic... just last week 3,000 people who followed the rules and grieve today, including my mother—in—law who died alone... ..and the pain of separation from loved ones. it's what happened to lisa's family. her brother graham was in intensive care on the date the downing street party took place. he died a few days later, but relatives couldn't be with him or grieve together. instead of holding my mum, i was holding my phone, filming my brother dying. people sacrificed so much. people died sticking to the rules, and they broke those rules to have a bottle of wine. senior conservatives are angry, too. if he's broken the law that is serious, and if he's misled parliament, i've been very clear before, notjust the prime minister, but anyone who misleads parliament cannot continue and therefore he would have to resign. very few conservative mps have been willing to defend the prime minister over all of this. 0ne former cabinet minister said to me, "the problem is, borisjohnson just says what he has to say to get through the day, he tries to lie his way out of everything." another told the bbc, "he has to go, he's run out of road." all eyes now are on the independent report and whether it finds that the prime minister has broken the rules. across the country during lockdown, we closed our doors to normal life, ordered to stay at home, cut contact with friends and family. the question now, what was going on behind this door? vicki young, bbc news, westminster. some conservative mps have said that they'll be closely monitoring the response to the latest revelations of people in their constituencies. our home editor mark easton has been assessing the reaction. as the prime minister and his staff were apparently partying in the garden of number 10, police squads were in public parks threatening to fine anyone breaching lockdown rules, and there were roadblocks set up. more than 4,000 people died from covid in britain that week, and polls from the time suggest around 85% of voters supported the restrictions or wanted them to be even tougher. mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others... 0n the day in question, borisjohnson was in the commons telling mps of his plans for the day. he didn't mention the party he'd been invited to at his home that evening. the day after the party, boris johnson was clapping for carers. the country was generally supportive of the pm who had only recently been in hospital with covid himself. he appeared almost immune to political challenges that might have proved terminal for some of his predecessors. just before that downing street garden party, polls showed that around two thirds of voters thought he was doing well, just a quarter thought he was doing badly. despite being blamed for some of the worst covid death rates in the world his approval ratings bounced back, helping the conservatives make significant gains in the local elections last year. however, since then, the gap between those thinking he's done badly and those thinking he's done well has been widening. there isn't anybody out there who believes that the rules should be bent in order to enable people working in and around 10 downing street to have a party. so, his style, that's long been with him, that has often worked for him, is now working against him. the day of the downing street party, no family attended the funeral of 75—year—old 0rita godoy. lockdown meant her daughter was never able to say goodbye. we went there — there was just a coffin. so what do you think about the prime minister having a party that day? i'll be honest with you, i really hate him, i'm sorry to say it, because my mum wouldn't want me to say that — but he'sjust a disgrace. he's not said sorry, he doesn't acknowledge what he has done, he lies and lies and lies. and, you know, it's a disgrace. it may be that britain can forgive and forget mistakes made by their leader on that sunny day in may, that borisjohnson�*s remarkable resilience and charisma can see him through. but if his party become convinced he's a liability rather than a vote winner, the conservatives have a reputation for being ruthless. mark easton, bbc news. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young is at westminster. the prime minister has had a reputation for getting out of some tricky corners, how serious is this situation for him? it is tricky corners, how serious is this situation for him?— situation for him? it is a very tricky corner _ situation for him? it is a very tricky corner and _ situation for him? it is a very tricky corner and it _ situation for him? it is a very tricky corner and it is - situation for him? it is a very tricky corner and it is causing situation for him? it is a very - tricky corner and it is causing him a lot of problems. of course, amongst tory mps there is a range of opinions and i spoke to some of his long—time critics and they are absolutely furious and very rude about him and they think he should go. more worrying for the prime minister, amongst some of those who have previously backed him, they think that there is a lack of grip in downing street and they hate the way that the stories keep coming out and they think they should have been more transparency from the beginning. don't forget, boris johnson has an 80 seat majority and there is a lot of anger but what i don't detect at this stage is any kind of advanced organised plan to try and get rid of him. what many tory mps do want is mostly an apology and they do want a better explanation of exactly what was going on in number 10 downing street, preferably they wanted before 12 noon tomorrow, which is when borisjohnson gets up to answer prime minister's questions —— they want it. prime minister's questions -- they want it. ., ., ., , the number of pupils and teachers off school in england because of coronavirus has risen. the latest figures show that one in 12 teachers were off work at the end of last week. and more than 300,000 children were at home. numerous schools have told the bbc they are unable to find temporary staff to cover — as our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. how are we doing this morning? this is how the school day starts in rochdale. there's 32 staff absent at the moment, 20 staff need covering. checking how many staff are off, 32 this morning, including 11 teachers. how many supply have we got in? five supply in. five supply? morning, everybody! chris, the head teacher, is just trying to keep it normal for pupils. morning. but it's a constantjuggling act. ladies, mask on properly, please. it's becoming increasingly more challenging, even though we plan ahead and we try and book as many supply teachers as we think we need for the week, the changes in absence on a day by day basis change so quickly that we have to try and be one step ahead. so they are merging some lessons today. the head of maths, irfan ashraf, took a double class. 50 year 9 pupils learning together... the two points that it crosses, draw a straight line through. l ..so they get specialist teaching. this kind of contingency planning shows the lengths schools are willing to go to to keep pupils learning in school. but also how worried they are about this extra disruption after two years of the pandemic, especially for teenagers facing exams this summer. hoping this latest covid wave passes quickly, year 11s looking forward to gcse exams. it's my year 11 year, i've worked my whole school life towards sitting gcses and i want to do the best i possibly can. i wouldn't say i'm actually hoping to actually do the exams but i think it's actually important because for me if they actually go to another lockdown they are going to be teachers' assessed grades. 100 miles away in birmingham this primary has bought air purifier machines for every class. last term, the autumn term, we were very fortunate. we had less than ten children off with covid. we only had a couple of members of staff, and none of those were teachers. very, very different. we've got more children cases than we had during the whole of the autumn term just in this last week, and the same for staff. parents here do voluntary lateral flow tests with their children. i want to keep life normal as possibly it can be, really. i don't want any more disruption, anyways. if he brings it home i've got an elderly mother—in—law, i he's going to pass it on to her. so again, i test my. kids every other day. the government has appealed to former teachers to return. details of how that's gone are expected tomorrow. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. fans will be able to return to scotland's sports stadiums next week, after the first minister announced that some covid restrictions are being lifted on large outdoor events from monday. since boxing day no more than 500 people have been allowed to attend. it comes falls in the number of cases in scotland and the rest of the uk, as our health editor hugh pym reports. there have been empty football stadiums in scotland since boxing day, with major matches postponed because of government—imposed rules. but not for much longer, with an easing of the restrictions from next week and fans required to show vaccine passports or proof of a negative test. the attendance limit of 500 at large—scale outdoor events will be lifted from monday 17th january. that means, for example, that 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. but it's not the same story in wales, where the government has opted not to relax restrictions at this stage, including strict spectator limits at sporting events. we are in a situation where the pandemic is very much still with us. we are keeping a very close eye on the statistics that are coming in at the moment. we're hoping that we're seeing a stabilisation in those numbers. clearly, i think it will be difficult for us to dismantle things if the numbers are continuing to rise. the overall picture for the uk seems a little brighter, with the booster roll—out seen as a success, though the daily numbers have tailed off since the pre—christmas period. so, how does the situation compare with other leading economies? france and italy are among countries which have seen continued increases in cases relative to their populations. in the us and germany, there have been signs of a flatter trend. in the uk, case rates have come down a bit in the last day or so. the uk was hit before some other countries with the omicron surge. the key question now — what will be the likely path for infections in the uk over the next few weeks? it looks to me as if the situation is starting to stabilise. there's some signs that we've not seen the huge rise in numbers that we expected by this stage, and we're also seeing in some parts of the uk early signs that admissions to hospital are levelling off. we've not seen that everywhere yet, but i'm hoping that will come, and then we can be more confident about the fact that we're beginning to get through this recent surge. and in a sign of a changing assessment of risks, ministers in england are considering reducing the isolation period after a positive test from seven days to five. that's partly to help employers, with the nhs in particular struggling because of widespread staff absences caused by the spread of the virus and the need to isolate. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest pandemic figures show almost 121,000 new infections in the latest 24—hour period. on average, there were 157,666 new cases per day in the last week. the latest figures show almost 20,000 people in hospital with covid. there've been another 379 deaths of people who died within 28 days of a positive test result. the number is higher than expected because of a technical issue in reporting deaths before christmas. on average in the past week, there were 237 deaths per day. 0n vaccinations, almost 36 million people have had a boosterjab, which means more than 62.3%% of those aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. the onset of a harsh winter is deepening afghanistan's humanitarian crisis. international sanctions have severely disrupted the economy since the taliban takeover 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. the united nations say nearly 24.5 million people are in humanitarian need, more than half the population. and a million children are thought to be at risk from severe malnourishment. from kabul, our corrspondent quentin sommerville sent this report. after 20 years of war, afghanistan faces a long, harsh winter and a cold and hungry peace. victorious, the taliban now guard food queues. more than half the country is going hungry. women, barred from work and education, have lost another fundamental right — the ability to feed their families. here in wardak province, we meet pari. as a second wife, she supports a family of six alone. this wheelbarrow of basics is meant to last them 17 days, but maybe less. there was no rice today. translation: winter is very difficult. - we don't have money to buy food or firewood. we just fill the room with smoke to feel warm, but still, it's cold. her granddaughter is always hungry. the baby's mother can't produce milk. baby formula is beyond the reach of almost everyone here. the taliban are international pariahs, so the economy is being crushed by sanctions. only humanitarian aid is allowed. so, in kabul, even the well—to—do are queueing for world food programme hand—outs. 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, that 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. this should be the time when afghanistan stops and catches its breath. instead, its poorest are sinking deeper into poverty. ajhar moved here from nangarhar province. this house is home to fourfamilies. they can't afford soap to wash the kids' faces. they burn plastic to keep warm. it still isn't safe for them to return, he says. "we would have moved to pakistan, but pakistan closed its borders to us." this is a cascading crisis, touching every part of society. three—and—a—half—year—old abdul is doing much better now. "you should have seen weeks ago", his mum says. a million afghan kids will be severely malnourished this year. much of afghanistan's health care system is close to collapse. soraya is a year and a half. her big, bright eyes don't miss a trick. she was severely malnourished. hertummy and her limbs are still swollen. translation: when we came here, her situation was very bad, - and she needed a blood transfusion. thank god she's so much better than she was. the doctor has said we should wait here until the swelling goes down. ten years ago, i lived next door to this hospital. it was a time of a great surge of men, material and billions of dollars into afghanistan. western diplomats would say they weren't trying to build perfection here, they weren't trying to create switzerland. who knows what they were trying to create, but it wasn't this. it wasn't a country where half the people, more than half the people are going hungry and babies like soraya are near starvation. should afghanistan now be left to struggle alone? for two decades, afghans of all ages were trapped in a tempest of violence between western forces and the taliban. those battles are now over, but the afghan people's suffering endures. for them, there's no respite. quentin somerville, bbc news, kabul. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a police officer has appeared before east berkshire magistrates — charged over alleged inappropriate relationships with women during his duties. constable oliver perry—smith — seen here on the left — is 38 and serves with the thames valley force. he is facing three counts of misconduct in public office and two of computer misuse relating to the police national computer. two men have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a teenager who went missing 15 years ago. andrew gosden, from doncaster, was 1a when he was last seen travelling in the direction of london. the two men, aged 38 and a5, were arrested in london on suspicion of kidnap and human trafficking. both have been released under investigation. the actor gary waldhorn, probably best known for playing councillor david horton in the bbc sitcom the vicar of dibley, has died. he was 78. a statement from his family said they would miss him terribly and paid tribute to his acting career, which included stage appearances with the royal shakespeare company in the west end and on broadway. novak djokovic's defence of his australian open tennis title remains in doubt tonight, with australia's immigration minister still considering whether to cancel his visa. border officials are also investigating whether there was an incorrect declaration on djokovic's entry form about his travel in the two weeks before arriving in australia. our correspondent shaimaa khalil is in melbourne. well, there are so many ways to describe the novak djokovic controversy, but the overarching sentiment is now our confusion and uncertainty. yes, we know that a judge ruled in his favour to stay, but we don't know if the government is still going to seek to deport him. we don't know the immigration minister is going to use his executive powers to cancel his visa. today, another layer of uncertainty — reports of the border force investigating whether novak djokovic gave incorrect information in his travel decoration. this is important because this is an argument that his legal team used in court that he has given all the information in his travel declaration. we now know there are questions about whether or not he travelled within the 1a days prior to coming to australia. so yes, he says he is focused on competing and yes, he has been training, buta competing and yes, he has been training, but a few days before the australian open, there is no guarantee that he will be allowed to play and defend his title. shaimaa, many thanrs- _ play and defend his title. shaimaa, many thanks. shaimaa _ play and defend his title. shaimaa, many thanks. shaimaa khalil, - play and defend his title. shaimaa, many thanks. shaimaa khalil, ourl many thanks. shaimaa khalil, our correspondent. surgeons in the us have made history by successfully transplanting a pig's heart into a human for the first time. a 57—year—old man is said to be doing well, four days after surgery. if it does prove successful, it could mean animal organs being used more frequenlty in human transplants. this report from our medical editor fergus walsh contains images of the surgery involved. this is the gene—edited pig heart, ready for transplant into a human. the organ looks perfect, a good size, and the extraction of the organ went routinely. surgeons in maryland spent eight hours performing the world first. scientists had spent decades building to this moment, which some believe could revolutionise transplantation. the recipient was david bennett, seen here with his son and daughter. he was dying of heart failure and too ill to be considered for a human organ. it's an absolute miracle. it provides a lot of hope for my family, my dad and many others. he is doing extremely well. his vitals look great, using the pig heart alone. and here is david with his surgeon. he's said to be doing well, although it's unclear how long his new heart will last. we've never done this in a human, and i like to think that 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. the science involved gene—editing pig embryos. four pig genes were deactivated, knocked out. this included one to stop the heart from growing too large once transplanted. six human genes were added to try to prevent the immune system from immediately rejecting it. the gene—altered embryo was then transferred into a sow, with the subsequent litter grown for potential human transplant. i visited research farms in the us breeding gene—edited pigs. the hope is, they could solve the organ donor shortage. in the uk, around 500 patients die each year while on the transplant waiting list. some will object to animals being bred as spare parts, but the number needed would be dwarfed by the millions bred for meat. fergus walsh, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello there. the cloudy, damp weather that we had across tuesday —— on tuesday across more southern areas is moving its way out into the english channel will suck clear skies are following from the north. and whilst it's chilly or across some parts of scotland and northern ireland, it's england and wales that's more this is bbc news, the headlines. the us as promised more than $300 million in new aid to afghanistan in a spiralling humanitarian crisis in the country. the un appeal for $5 billion. the seven day average for new covid—19 cases is above 700,000 for the first time. and more people are in us hospitals will covid—19 that at any point during the pandemic. police and the uk say they have been in contact with the government after 100 people were invited to drinks in the downing street garden in may 2020 and at that time, such gatherings were banned. president biden has given an impassioned speech in support of voting rights reform, speaking in the state of georgia, the president said he backed changes to senate rules that would allow them to be passed without republican support.