us, welcome to bbc news. downing street has apologised to buckingham palace, after it emerged two parties were held at number 10 the night before the duke of edinburgh's funeral last april. a spokesman for borisjohnson said it was deeply regrettable the events took place at a time of national mourning. covid rules had meant indoor mixing was banned, but reports suggest there was drinking and dancing at the parties until the early hours. the prime minister didn't attend either party, but the latest disclosures have amplified calls for him to resign. with the very latest, here's our political correspondent ben wright. it was a moment of national mourning, flags flying at half—mast in honour of prince philip, the duke of edinburgh. but inside number 10, on the evening of the 16th of april last year, two parties took place. there was drink and music at a time covid restrictions on indoor mixing in england were in place... ..restrictions the queen followed at the funeral of her husband the following day. when i heard about this, i was, of course, very, very concerned. and i understand that people across the country are angry about what has happened. earlier this week, the prime minister did apologise for mistakes that have been made. according to the daily telegraph, downing street staff were sent to a nearby shop with a suitcase to buy more booze. number 10 has not denied any of this. boris johnson himself was not there. itjoins the list of events being investigated by sue gray, a senior civil servant. as well as the two parties on the same night in april last year, back in december 2020, we know of several gatherings — both in downing street and government departments — including one on the 18th of december, about which the prime minister said this. i have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no covid rules were broken. the list goes on, with events in november 2020 being looked at. there was a gathering in the number 10 garden on 15 may 2020 and a bring—your—own—bottle event on the 20th, which borisjohnson has apologised for attending. today's chastened apology to the queen is the latest twist in a saga that has engulfed number 10. as new revelations have dripped out, downing street has appealed for patience, saying all the facts will be known when sue gray publishes her report. but many tory mps are livid about the prime minister's handling of all of this and the apparent culture inside number 10. a handful of conservative have written letters to the parliamentary party, asking for a confidence vote in boris johnson. we've delivered brexit, he's got us through the pandemic, but now his leadership�*s in question. he needs to step aside. sutton coldfield is a true blue seat in the west midlands. but last night, its conservative association voted unanimously to withdraw its support from mrjohnson. the constituency�*s mp is a former cabinet minister. are you asking for his resignation? i'm not. i'm not normally a letter writer, but i'm waiting to see what sue gray reports. it is of immense concern, and i'm very conscious that in the local community, in royal sutton coldfield, people are aghast at what's been going on. here and across the country, tory mps will be sounding out their local parties and voters. i think it's disgusting. they're like a rudderless ship, really. i think it's a vendetta - that the media have got. opposition parties are now calling on the prime minister to quit. the prime minister allowed this to happen in number 10, not once, not twice, but on multiple occasions. the culture was, it's one rule for everybody else and one rule for us. for a prime minister under intense pressure, much hangs on an inquiry that could lay bare whether those responsible for setting lockdown rules repeatedly broke them. earlier, ben wright also had an update on another apology issued more recently from a former cabinet office possible stub about another party held in december 2020. su party held in december 2020. si grey's ever—expanding report has prompted one former official to get ahead of what she concludes —— sue gray's. the previous leader of the government's covid task force upon theice government's covid task force upon the ice for hosting drinks in the cabinet office in december 2020. kate josephs, who cabinet office in december 2020. katejosephs, who is now the chief executive of shanto city council, said the event involved people who were at work that day and she was truly sorry for taking part —— sheffield city council. we have heard a lot of regrets this week from cabinet ministers too. politically, though, borisjohnson remains in treacherous territory. one empty told me his colleagues were heading to their constituencies this weekend to face a wall of fury from their voters, another that the latest revelations were toxic and potentially fatal. however, i think the majority of tory mps are remaining quietly loyal for the moment, waiting for sue gray's report to come out, and boris johnson hopes it could yet take him out of trouble.— out of trouble. let's talk now to the uk cheap — out of trouble. let's talk now to the uk cheap little _ out of trouble. let's talk now to | the uk cheap little commentator financial times. the uk cheap little commentator financialtimes. —— uk the uk cheap little commentator financial times. —— uk political commentator. you wrote a very long editorial comment on wednesday. two days later, has anything changed that has made you think, perhaps the pressure is easing?— pressure is easing? sorry... laughter _ laughter i don't think the pressure is easing at all. the attempt to push effing back to the suga report, the hope was this would simmer down for a few days, and obviously the latest revelations about parties on the eve of prince philip's funeral have made that much more difficult, but if it will be can see is the government's defence strategy. and sue gray is a key part of this, because the more they can make this about the legalities and a report into those legalities, which set out the facts, the more they can say, we responded to this problem, clearing out downing street and so on and so on, and push the reckoning with his own mps back months and months, after the local elections, who knows? but the local elections, who knows? but theissueisif the local elections, who knows? but the issue is if the conservative mps do not think it is not the spirit of the letter of the regulations but about a continued breaking of the spirit of the letter of the laws and the hypocrisy and immorality, and i think what is going to be interesting in the early days of next week, when conservative mps get back from having spent time with their constituents is what kind of mood they are in after that. i was very struck _ mood they are in after that. i was very struck by _ mood they are in after that. i was very struck by a — mood they are in after that. i was very struck by a number- mood they are in after that. i was very struck by a number of- mood they are in after that. i was very struck by a number of things in the article, but if i may quote you, it was ever get, witless, lacking in decency. no empty should need an inquiry to know where they stand on this. do you think conservatives are seeing this as an inquiry to tell them what you thing about this or really as a kind of way of holding the line until they have decided what they want to do about boris johnson's future was —— future? -- future? if you are a conservative mp, our -- future? if you are a conservative mp, your fundament _ -- future? if you are a conservative mp, your fundament of _ -- future? if you are a conservative mp, your fundament ofjudgment . -- future? if you are a conservative| mp, your fundament ofjudgment is, mp, yourfundament ofjudgment is, is this man going to help me keep my seatin is this man going to help me keep my seat in the next election or cost me in the next election? nothing else. it is going to be, do they think he is going to be an electoral acid or drag? increasingly they are coming around to the view it is a drag, but they don't have to make that decision today, but the great tim tatian, —— the great tim tatian is to give it two weeks, to see if the temperature goes down on this a bit to see how the local elections go, and also they're not quite clear who they want to succeed him —— the great temptation. the temptation is to find a way of delaying a reckoning until they can see this absolutely unavoidable. i suppose the difficulty _ absolutely unavoidable. i suppose the difficulty for _ absolutely unavoidable. i suppose the difficulty for that _ absolutely unavoidable. i suppose the difficulty for that one - absolutely unavoidable. i suppose the difficulty for that one is - the difficulty for that one is twofold, really, isn't it? the prime minister is clearly wounded by this, and there are those that suggest, with the rebellion over christmas, is standing in his own party may not be what it was six month ago, and therefore to leave in place a week or political leader might not be in the national interest, still less in the national interest, still less in the party's interest. the other part of it, why have a leadership election if you are about to have set of leadership elections —— local elections? leave him there. and that the new leader start with a fresh sheet of paper. the new leader start with a fresh sheet of paper-— the new leader start with a fresh sheet of paper. absolutely, those are the type _ sheet of paper. absolutely, those are the type of — sheet of paper. absolutely, those are the type of problems - sheet of paper. absolutely, those are the type of problems they're l are the type of problems they're having reckon with. but conservative mps might want the prime minister to be a bit weaker, to have to listen to them, if they gain from it. the key point — you don't need to make this decision now as an mp unless deeply and morally offended this, and if you are deeply and morally offended by this, you know what to do. leadership elections, the thing is, you only get one shot every 12 months. if he wins, he cannot be challenged again, and then we would be moving to general election territory. the other point is, if you take your shot of the prime minister, you don't want to miss, so they are going to want to make sure they are going to want to make sure they have the numbers, which is why this is to actively feels like a more drawn out process, but i do think there is no question most conservative mps are beginning to think he is a drag on their party and he is going to pull them back rather than pull them forward. iflliiei rather than pull them forward. chief olitical rather than pull them forward. chief political commentator _ rather than pull them forward. chief political commentator at the financial times, thanks so much for your time this evening. the australian government has agreed to delay the deportation of novak djokovic, after cancelling his visa for a second time in the dispute over covid rules. the world number one tennis player, who hasn't been vaccinated, is likely to be detained tomorrow. australia's immigration minister says the latest visa cancellation was made on the grounds of "health and good order." our correspondent, shaimaa khalil, reports from melbourne. this is nine news, live from sydney. just moments ago, the immigration minister has cancelled novak djokovic's visa... it's a story that made headlines here in australia and around the world. for days, novak djokovic has been on the courts training, and now the government has finally announced its decision. the tennis star's visa has been cancelled again, and for the second time, he faces deportation from australia. in his statement, the country's immigration minister alex hawke said... the prime minister scott morrison said the sacrifices australians made throughout the pandemic should be protected. mr morrison's government has faced heavy criticism for allowing the unvaccinated player into australia in the first place while the country struggled with a spike in covid—19 case numbers. they made a pretty mess of it, they did, but now i think they corrected it. it is unfortunate if novak won't be playing in the tournament. it's a pretty big loss. yeah, i think if everybody else has to follow the rules, why can't he? and obviously, he thought he was above it all. the australian open is only a couple of days away, and there are now huge doubts over whether novak djokovic will be able to compete. but even if he did secure his freedom, a chaotic and stalled preparation will only get worse. andy murray says the controversy has been bad for the sport. itjust seems like it has dragged on for quite a long time now. yeah, not great for tennis, not great for the australian open, not great for novak. his former coach, the multiple grand slam winner boris becker, said this story has become about more than just sport. he is only a tennis player. we are alljust sportsmen, we are not politicians. if we are used in a political way, then we don't have a chance. the world number one is still fighting to defend his title here. whether or not he will be able to play, the australian open will take place under the shadow of a controversy that has gone way beyond tennis. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. the welsh government has set out plans to and covid restrictions over the next few weeks. from tomorrow the next few weeks. from tomorrow the number of people who can attend outdoor vents will rise from 50 to 500, and for next friday there will be no limits on the size of crowds. then from the end of the month, most research and will be removed, the rule of six pogo. however, first minister mark drakeford says wild infections are falling, there is still no for complacency. piece by piece, wales is building its way back to normality once again. the closure of night clubs forced heidi's to delay its grand opening, forcing the business to move their focus elsewhere. we planned to open injanuary. obviously, the restrictions came in. we had to move our investment into england, where businesses were trading, and get some income and revenue generated. now you will not be open in time for when the restrictions easing? we will not be open in time, but we want to make sure it is perfect for when it does arrive. from the 28th, the night—time and hospitality industry will be able to fully operate without any restrictions in wales once again. and from next week, capacity crowds will be welcome inside stadiums, just in time for the six nations. the location of the principality stadium is fairly unique in cardiff, because literallyjust a stone's throw away are the welsh capital's main bars, clubs and restaurants. and from the 28th of january, they will all be able to operate without any measures in place. the six nations brings in so much revenue, it can hold some businesses for the rest of the year. today's announcement is a much—needed boost after a difficult period. critics say this latest round of restrictions wasn't necessary. the first minister suggested that, without them, omicron could have been far worse. i don't think the model was wrong in essence, because the model showed what has happened in practice, the sharp rise and now a rapid decline. as hospitality rebuilds for another reopening, they'll be hoping it's for the last time. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. it is halfway through this first half hour of the news. let's ta ke let's take a look at the headlines on bbc news. downing street apologised to buckingham palace after two parties were held in number 10 the night before the funeral of the duke of edinburgh. further allegations this evening —— revelations. further revelations this evening, another leaving event took place in the cabinet office in december 2020 for the then head of the government's covid task force. kate josephs has tonight apologised. novak djokovic faces being detained and deported after his australian visa is cancelled again. the woman who's accused the duke of york of sexually abusing her has welcomed a us judge's decision to allow her legal case to continue. virginia giuffre says her goal is to show that the rich and powerful aren't above the law. prince andrew strongly denies the allegations against him. buckingham palace announced yesterday that the duke's military titles and royal patronages have been handed back to the queen. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has more. prince andrew's team says this is a marathon, not a sprint, and ball that may be the case at this stage of the race, virginia giuffre's lawyers have the duke of york exactly where he wants him. he has basically run out of legal manoeuvres and he will have to face this case as a private citizen, having been stripped of his royal titles. he will defend himself against these allegations, which he has consistently denied. for her part, virginia giuffre says she is excited and she is happy about the chance to expose the truth. her team is preparing for a trial and they are not ruling out the possibility of settlement talks, but they say it has to be one that is not purely financial. we do expect that her team may soon ask the new yorkjudge to send a letter on her behalf to the british courts, requesting their assistance in gathering evidence, including names of people she may want to depose overseas. nada tawfik in washington. vigils are being held across the island of ireland... the 23—year—old was attacked on the banks of the grand canal on wednesday, the national women's council of ireland says events have been planned at dozens of locations and the taoiseach says the country . —— united in .—— united in angerat . —— united in angerat her . —— united in anger at her killing. philip kingston glued his hands to a light railway train while others climbed on the roof. the climate change containers were acquitted in another and crown court of obstructing the railway at shadwell station. —— climate change campaigners. a 32—year—old british army officer, who says she's challenging the stereotype of polar explorers, has returned to her home in the uk, after walking solo across antarctica. captain preet chandi trekked 700 miles in a0 days and says she's already planning her next expedition. our correspondent frankie mccamley has that story. cheering arriving into heathrow, captain preet chandi reunited with her bridesmaid—to—be and fiance, who proposed a week before she left for the south pole. i'm so, so glad to be back in the uk. it's so great to have an audience here, like, have a few friends here, have my partner here and people from the military as well. polar preet, as she has become known, finished a 700—mile trek to the south pole in a0 days, seven hours and three minutes, almost a week ahead of schedule, enduring temperatures as low as —50 degrees and wind speeds of up to 60 mph, while pulling a 90 kilograms sled containing her kit. and what's next? i know you've just landed, but you already have plans in the pipeline, don't you, for other things? pretty much from monday, i think i'll be in the gym again, training. my aim is to do a full crossing, so, solo unsupported again. it will be a little bit longer, probably a little bit tougher. the 32—year—old will also begin a tour of the uk to share her experience as she plans her wedding. preet�*s story of grit and determination has travelled across the world, getting international coverage. her goal is to try to inspire as many people as possible from all different backgrounds to take on challenges they never knew they were capable of. preet says she will continue to smash glass ceilings and change the image of the arctic explorer. frankie mccamley, bbc news. now, at half past the hour, we are going to be talking on dateline london to foreign correspondents and our health correspondence hugh pym. before that, the weather, and before that, the sport at the bbc sport centre with lizzie greenwood he is. we are not going to start with novak djokovic. there's been some breaking news in the last hour from the premier league. arsenal have asked to postpone the north london derby against tottenham on sunday — because they don't have enough players. arsenal say their lack of availability is down to covid, injuries and players away on international duty at the africa cup of nations. the premier league is expected to make a decision tomorrow. here is our football reporter with more, simon stone. the big argument, i suppose, is over players who are away at african nations cup. there are four players there who could be available for arsenal but are not available because they are playing in an international tournaments, and the argument is, whether or not those players should be counted as players who are unable to play as part of the first—team squad. we had a situation earlier with burnley calling a game off. they sold a player yesterday. should that be counted as part of their first team squad? there are arguments, but arsenal's point is they don't have the players that they feel they need to play the game against tottenham on sunday. as simon mentioned there, we have already lost one match from this weekend's fixtures, with burnley postponing their match tomorrow with leicester because of covid and injuries. there will be a game tonight, though, as the so—called m23 derby takes place. brighton are playing crystal palace, with the home side looking to make it three league wins from four. that game kicks off at 8pm. at the africa cup of nations, malawi have kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages after coming from a goal down to beat zimbabwe 2—1. morocco have booked their place in the last 16 with a game to spare. they made it two wins from two after beating comoros 2—0. elsewhere, senegal drew 0—0 with guinea, while ghana are currently drawing 0—0 against gabon. now, as you may have been hearing from a few minutes ago, novak djokovic's participation at next week's australian open tennis is looking very unlikely after seeing his visa was cancelled for a second time. the 20—time grand slam champion is appealing the decision. meanwhile, two players who are definitely in the draw for the tournament are britons — harriet dart and liam broady. they both made it through qualifying. dart will face the seventh seed iga swiatek in the opening round while liam broady play�*s home favourite nick kyrgios. andy murray will go into the tournament in great form. he's through to the final of the sydney classic after a three—set win over reilly opelka. murray will face russia's aslan karatsev in the final, which is his first on the atp tour since 2019. the final will be shown live on bbc iplayer, the red button and the bbc sport website from 8am tomorrow. cricket now. today's opening day in the fifth and final ashes test turned out to be the worst for england. after winning the toss, england chose the perfect bowling conditions on the green hobart strip, and it paid off with three early wickets, including ducks from david warner and steve smith off the bowling of ollie robinson. but after having australia 12—3, things went down hill. marnus labuchagne was dropped on nought, robinson went off with a bad back and travis head — back from covid isolation — got his second century of the series. so here's the scorecard — australia will resume day two on 241—6. head making 101, labuchangne 44, out in the most bizarre way — worth a look on the bbc sport website — and cameron green was the other top scorer on 7a. for england's bowlers, two wickets each for robinson and broad, but not the best day for woakes and wood, who were expensive forjust one wicket each. snooker, and the world number two judd trump is a step closer to his second masters title. he eased into the semi finals at alexandra palace after thrashing fellow englishman kyren wilson 6—1 in their quarterfinal. trump will now face either mark selby or barry hawkins in the finalfour. but the informed trump will be a tough game for either of them and he is clearly enjoying his performance. come on, baby! yeah! it is incredible for some it is live play the game. just look at it, it is absolutely unbelievable, and the reception inside yesterday and today... i cannot wait to play out here again. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you on the bbc news channel later on. but now, it is time for the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. friday brought us a beautiful winter's day across much of the uk. we started off with frost and fog, which lingered all day for one or two places, followed by a lot of blue sky around. but under those clearer skies through tonight, frost and fog once again going to be a bit of a hazard for some of us. it's a little bit milder across the far northwest of the uk, but high pressure in charge further south, and that's going to drive this settled theme to the weather with us at the moment. breezier conditions with a bit more cloud across northern parts of scotland, northern ireland too, as we head through this evening and overnight. so not quite as cold here, a little bit breezier and notjust extensive fog, as we'll see further south, particularly through lincolnshire, east anglia, the midlands, into eastern wales — the welsh marches, for instance, seeing some fairly extensive fog which could linger through tomorrow morning. temperatures first thing tomorrow getting a few degrees below freezing in a few spots in our towns and cities, so a chilly start to saturday, some frost around under the clearer skies and also that fog which could be quite slow to clear from lincolnshire, into the midlands, for instance, as well. a little bit cloudier across the rest of england and wales compared to today, but still there will be some breaks in that cloud and some glimpses of sunshine for many areas. a little bit brighter for northern ireland and eastern scotland as well. temperatures close to the east coast are going to struggle at around 5 degrees, but up to 11 there in the southwest. staying close to freezing, though, if you are stuck underneath one of those pockets of freezing fog for much of the day. now, heading into sunday, and a weak weather front moves in from the north. it's a cold front, but it's not bringing particularly cold air. in fact, we've got milder conditions with the breeze and perhaps just one or two showers across the far northwest of scotland. a few splashes of rain on this weather front, but easing away as it heads south across england and wales. the sunshine returning from the north and temperatures probably a touch warmer than recent days, around seven to 11 degrees on sunday. looking ahead into the new working week, after the weekend, that cold front gets out of the way, fizzles away, and that high pressure very much with us once again as we look ahead into monday. so monday morning could bring some frost and some fog once again, fog particularly for parts of the southwest of england, into wales too. elsewhere, light winds, a lot of dry and sunny wintry weather for you on monday. not a bad day at all, but some of us could do with a bit of rain and it's going to be staying dry. temperatures around about seven to perhaps 12 celsius or so. could see a little bit of rain in the north and the west, i think, on tuesday, but much of the week ahead looking dry and settled. sunshine by the day, but frost and fog by the night. bye— bye. hello and welcome to dateline. a programme that brings together bbc