most, plenty of sunshine, seven or eight degrees in the west, three or four on that north sea coast and the coldest spotteds with the wind chile chill, overnight cloud filters in to northern and western scotland, northern ireland and with this you will avoid a frost, elsewhere, a frost and a harder one than last night. minus six in central and southern parts of england. minus five in the cardiff area so a cold ferocity start to day. tomorrow you are likely to see the sunshine through the day, a brighter day in eastern england. cloudierfor eastern england. cloudier for western eastern england. cloudierfor western scot, northern ireland and cloud feeding into north—west england and wales as the day goes on and temperatures maybe a degree or so higher. noticeably on the north sea coast. with more cloud filler in from the west it means tomorrow night, the frost isn't going to be as widespread, or as severe, still some patches of it through central, southern and eastern england. now we know it is chilly attempt no, our temperature anomaly map departure from average showing blue. so temperatures below the average, as i run forward through the week you will notice, particularly in northern areas, temperatures are edging upwards, above the average, the further south you are there isn't going to be too much change from where we rthe reason is the centre of the high pressure the air not moving very much. for many other areas round this high pressure we areas round this high pressure we are bringing in more cloud, less cold airfrom the are bringing in more cloud, less cold air from the atlantic and across northern scotland, windier conditions with rain at times, though it is in northern scotland over the weekend, whether have the hiring temperatures into double figure, whereas as we move south wards we will find temperatures very much where they are at the moment. overall there will be more cloud round, southern around eastern parts of england most likely to see occasional sunshine. of england most likely to see occasionalsunshine. more of england most likely to see occasional sunshine. more about the weekend as we get closer to it. thank you nick. a reminder of our top story. a senior conservative accuses the government of intimidating mps over their support for a no—confidence vote in boris johnson. while we've been on air, the prime minister has said he has seen "no evidence" of the claims. have seen, heard no evidence to support any of those allegation, what i am focussed on is what we are doing to deal with the number one priority of the british people, which is coming through covid. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s good afternoon. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. a bad day for the brits in australia with both andy murray and emma raducanu going out of the australian open. roddy carney went out after an exciting battle battle against danka kovinic in the second round. the british number one took it to a third set, but just wasn't strong enough to overcome her older opponent. raducanu made a great start to the match, breaking serve in the opening game and then again, to race into a 3—love lead. however, she needed on—court treatment for a blister and then began to struggle, losing the first set. but she recovered to level the match, producing some spectacular shots. however, she couldn't close out against kovinic, who's ranked 80 places below her at 98 in the world. andy murray has said his performance wasn't "good enough" after he was knocked out by the japanese qualifier taro daniel. tuesday's five—set win over nikoloz basilashvili looked to have taken it out of the former british number one, and it was a lacklustre display against daniel, who's below him in the world rankings but six years younger. murray did show some of the strength and determination we've seen from him so often, and he was able to break serve more than once. but daniel always had the edge when it mattered, and he won in straight sets. at 120 in the world, he's the lowest—ranked player to beat murray at a grand slam, leaving the scot thoroughly dejected. i'm really, i' m really, really i'm really, really disappointed. very frustrated. and, yeah. tough, tough loss for me, that's for sure. you know, this is really important year me, for a number of reasons. i want to perform well in the big events, and for me, tonight is not good enough. in that respect. you know, making the second round of slams is not something ifind particularly motivating. and the bad luck in australia continues. australia's women have got off to a flying start in the ashes series. they've beaten england by 9 wickets in the first match, a t20 in adelaide. england began well, danni wyatt with some huge hits getting 70 runs. england were 137 fori at one stage, but then tahlia mcgrath stepped in. three wickets from her swung the match in australia's favour. and then mcgrath starred with the bat, dominating the england bowlers. a partnership of 144 runs with meg lanning steered australia towards victory. mcgrath was 91 not out, lanning unbeaten on 64. montell douglas will become the first british woman to compete at both the summer and winter olympics after being named in the team gb bobsleigh squad for beijing. she competed in the 100 metres at the beijing summer games in 2008 and she'll be brakewoman in mica mcneill�*s two—woman sled, four years after she was the team's reserve in pyeongchang. douglas turns 36 on monday, she said there had been many male summer and winter olympians and she was "over the moon to be representing women", adding she was "more thrilled about leaving a legacy like that behind than anything else". that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport also more in those early access for andy murray and emma raducanu. more later. thanks very much, jane. —— early exits. a senior conservative mp has urged tory backbenchers facing "intimidation" over their support for a no confidence motion in borisjohnson to report it to the police. william wragg, who chairs an influential house of commons committee, accused the government of saying rebellious mps were being threatened with the withdrawal of funds for their constituencies. downing street says it's not aware of any evidence to support the allegation. this is what mr wragg had to say. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. as the committee of the house of commons overseeing the work of the civil service, including the cabinet office, of which 10 downing street as a department, and the proper functioning of the constitution, i'd like to make this brief statement. in recent days, a number of members of parliament have faced pressures and intimidation from members of the government because of their declared or assumed desire for a vote of confidence in the party leadership of the prime minister. it is of course the duty of the government whip�*s office to secure the government's business in the house of commons. however, it is not their function to breach the ministerial code in threatening to withdraw investments from members of parliament's constituencies which are funded from the public purse. additionally, reports to me and others of members of staff at 10 downing street, special advisers, government ministers and others, encouraging the publication of stories in the press seeking to embarrass those who they suspect of lacking confidence in the prime minister is similarly unacceptable. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover, the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. as such, it would be my general advice to colleagues to report these matters to the speaker of the house of commons and the commissioner of the metropolitan police. they are also welcome to contact me at any time. borisjohnson was asked about the allegations made by mr wragg, and said he had seen or heard no evidence to support the claims. i have seen or heard no evidence to support any of those allegations, and what i am focused is what we're doing to deal with the number one priority of the british people, which is coming through covid. we've made enormous progress thanks to the vaccine roll—out, fastest in europe, the booster campaign, has enabled us to open up. we are moving back to the status quo, back to plan a. back to the status quo, back to plan a, back to an open society. we have got the most open society in europe, the fastest growth in the g7, as a result of that booster campaign. but we have this huge issue we have to deal with, which is the number of people who sadly did not come forward for scans or screens during covid. we've got to fix those backlogs. that's why i am here today at this fantastic diagnostic centre. i mean, i'm telling you that i'm hearing evidence from mps. will you look for that evidence? £31 hearing evidence from mps. will you look for that evidence?— look for that evidence? of course, but what we _ look for that evidence? of course, but what we are _ look for that evidence? of course, but what we are focused _ look for that evidence? of course, but what we are focused on - look for that evidence? of course, but what we are focused on is - look for that evidence? of course, | but what we are focused on is what we can do to clear the covid backlogs, and ijust must stress how vital that is. we are putting money into the nhs, and that is crucial. we are supporting our amazing nurses and doctors who have kept us going throughout the pandemic. there are 44,000 more health care professionals now in the nhs than they were in 2020. that's a great thing. but the waiting lists, they are tired and they are stressed, and what we have got to do is make life easier for them what we have got to do is make life easierfor them by what we have got to do is make life easier for them by helping to have diagnostics done as fast as possible sites like this. that is what we're doing. 50 sites like this. that is what we're doin., y” sites like this. that is what we're doini, y” sites like this. that is what we're doin. ,, ., ., ~' sites like this. that is what we're doini. ,, ., doing. so you will look for evidence. _ doing. so you will look for evidence. one _ doing. so you will look for evidence. one of- doing. so you will look for evidence. one of my - doing. so you will look for- evidence. one of my colleague said you were in a bullish mood, new sound more confident. you are clearly focused more on covid. your aides say that if there was a leadership contest, you would fight it. are they right? i leadership contest, you would fight it. are they right?— it. are they right? i admire your determination, _ it. are they right? i admire your determination, but _ it. are they right? i admire your determination, but i _ it. are they right? i admire your determination, but i am - it. are they right? i admire your| determination, but i am focused it. are they right? i admire your . determination, but i am focused on what i believe is than one issue for british people, and it is clearing the covid backlogs, but also, looking at what we can do with new techniques, and so, diagnostics is so much part of the delay. if you need treatment, if you need... if you are worried about cancer, you need to get a screen or a scan, and what is happening is too often people is too often being delayed because they can't get it in time. we are putting 2.3 billion into 100 new diagnostics hubs, community diagnostics hubs, to bring that screen, that scan, closer to you, but also to take the pressure of the acute sector so that people don't have to go into hospital to get the treatment, and so that we can speed it up. if you look at the waiting lists, and we are looking absolutely ruthlessly at these waiting lists, 80% of the delay is caused by either waiting to see a specialist consultant or waiting for diagnostics. the rest isjust waiting for a procedure like a hip or a heart operation. so if you can speed up diagnostics, making use of community diagnostics hubs that we are investing in and around the country, you can make, we hope, a huge difference. the country, you can make, we hope, a huge difference.— huge difference. the problem is, i do understand _ huge difference. the problem is, i do understand what _ huge difference. the problem is, i do understand what you _ huge difference. the problem is, i do understand what you want - huge difference. the problem is, i do understand what you want to l huge difference. the problem is, i- do understand what you want to focus on, but the questions about leadership are really important and people want answers. you said quite clearly that we should wait until sue gray reports. can ijust get from you a guarantee that if she points the finger at you, that you will take action, that he would resign? and if she points fingers at others, that you would, as sajid javid suggested this morning, take action against them? i just javid suggested this morning, take action against them?— action against them? i 'ust want to re ieat action against them? i 'ust want to repeat what — action against them? i 'ust want to repeat what t t action against them? i 'ust want to repeat what i have _ action against them? i just want to repeat what i have said, _ action against them? i just want to repeat what i have said, the - action against them? i just want to repeat what i have said, the issue | repeat what i have said, the issue for me today and... but i am asking about something else. i understand that. i understand. about something else. i understand that. iunderstand. i about something else. i understand that. i understand. i understand. i that. iunderstand. iunderstand. i understand. you have said that. i understand. you have said that. i understand all those issues. understand. you have said that. i i understand all those issues. people are wondering _ understand all those issues. people are wondering if _ understand all those issues. people are wondering if you _ understand all those issues. people are wondering if you have _ understand all those issues. people i are wondering if you have understood the rules. ~ ., ., are wondering if you have understood the rules. . ., ., , ., the rules. what i am focusing on toda , the rules. what i am focusing on today. with _ the rules. what i am focusing on today. with the _ the rules. what i am focusing on today, with the greatest - the rules. what i am focusing on| today, with the greatest respect, and i have said an awful lot about all these issues... ok. what we are focused on — all these issues... 0k. what we are focused on is community diagnostics. i understand that. when you are not going to answer that question. one of your mps did defect yesterday. i want to ask if you knew that was coming, and if you are worried others will do the same. i appreciate your desire to take the conversation back to that issue. i think the number one priority for government, for me personally, is looking at the state of our country as we come out of covid, we hope. we hope that we are now on a route map back to complete normality. we have been able to move from plan b back to the status quo, and indeed back to the status quo, and indeed back to plan a. people are able to go back to work. i think it's important that people remain cautious. but what we need to do, above all now, is to look at the landscape, the health landscape post covid, and do everything in our power to get people the treatment they need. and the message i want really to get over to people is, you haven't had the screen, you haven't have the scan, you've been delayed or put off because of covid, now is the time. the prime minister, speaking a little bit earlier. well, then relations to those claims that mps are being intimidated, the common speaker sir lindsay hoyle responded. there are allegations about the conduct of whips and special advisers working for ministers. serious allegations have been made. at this stage, without having had a chance to study what has been said in detail, i can only offer a general guidance, as i've been in the chair since this revelation came out, as i understand it, at ten o'clock. those who work for them are not above the criminal law. the investigation of alleged criminal conduct is a matter for the police, and decisions about prosecution are for the cps. it would be wrong of me to interfere with such matters. while the whipping system is long established, it is, of course, a contempt to obstruct members in the discharge of their duty or to attempt to intimidate a member in their parliamentary conduct by threats. there is a clear process for raising such matters and referring them for investigation to determine whether the conduct in question is a contempt. in the first instance, members raising such concerns should write to me, and i hope these general observations will assist the house in going forward. the speaker of the house of commons, sir lindsay hoyle. south africa found itself at the epicentre of the omicron variant last year, but now scientists in the country are confident it's on the way out. they accuse the developed world of ignoring their advice that the variant was less harmful than feared. and while the future of the virus still remains uncertain, the signs from south africa are good news for the rest of the world. our africa correspondent andrew harding sent this report from johannesburg. back to school and, perhaps, back to something like normality here in south africa. masks are still compulsory in public but the omicron variant, first discovered in this region eight weeks ago, is already fading fast, and confidence is growing. let things go back to normal. it is time. if people can vaccinate, i don't see any harm in this. i think things can go back to normal now. we did not see any increase in deaths comparable to the other waves. the scientific consensus has been clear for weeks. omicron is highly contagious, but its death toll has been tiny compared with past waves. omicron was less severe than the previous variants. dramatically less? yes. it was more infectious but less severe, and that is exactly what a virus wants to do. becoming more like a seasonal flu? yes. south african scientists studying omicron have been quick to share their analysis with the rest of the world. but has the world listened? today, some of south africa's top scientists are speaking out in frustration, accusing wealthier western nations of being quick to believe bad news from the continent but far too slow to trust more positive evidence emerging about omicron. i thought that there was too much scepticism. that the world was not willing to believe that this virus was somehow going to be less severe. everybody was expecting the worst and when they weren't seeing it, they were questioning whether our observations were sufficiently scientifically rigorous. it seems high—income countries are much able to absorb bad news that comes from a country such as south africa, but when we talk about omicron, they shut the borders to south africa and were keen to absorb that bad news. when we provide good news, all of a sudden there's a lot of scepticism. in a johannesburg bar, business as usual. south africa has managed omicron without any new restrictions, but with a push to increase vaccine rates. it is going to be better if more people get vaccinated. and then more jobs will be, there will be more jobs available and companies, people will come back. south africa has been hit hard by covid—19. harder than most. but its experience of omicron is giving many here cause for hope. andrew harding, bbc news. now it's time for across the uk. there's a warning that free dental treatment on the nhs is hanging by a thread, with some patients facing up to two—year waits for routine check—ups. the number of nhs dentists in the barnsley area has dropped by more than 20% since 2020, according to new figures from nhs england. those working in the profession say it's getting harder to recruit new staff. look north's olivia richwald reports. if you could open - as wide as you can... tara has cracked a filling. she's lucky to get an appointment at her village dental surgery straight away. they can't recruit enough dentists here in grimethorpe and have been advertising across the chain of six practices for four years. the vacancies range from three to five. we've got full—time, part—time. we're just desperate. i mean, i retired in 2020, for nearly four years. any pain when i do that at all? tara is x—rayed and checked by dentist steven, and she'll be back for repair work soon — surprised to have been seen so quickly. i didn't, actually, no. no, i didn't expect to have one today. but as soon as i said that i were in pain, they accommodated me. steven's worked here for 11 years. he says the problem's caused by lots of things. the appeal of working in private practice, the clinic's rural location, and being in a community of high need. young dentists tend to want to stay in the big cities or move to london. it's a bit of a commute to here. it's about 50 minutes each way. the way that we appeared - for the work that we do is skewed the way that we are paid - for the work that we do is skewed towards places where people do not need a lot of work. i you're not rewarded for being in an area of high need at all. | the way that the nhs funds dentists is very complex. each surgery is set targets of units of dentistry activity, or udas, and if those targets are missed, then the nhs claws back its funding. so you can see why not being able to recruit the dentists causes a problem for surgeries like this. if i can't get associates to come and work, i can't recruit. i've got that pressure. they've got the pressure to meet the government demands. so on each side, i'm being pushed. so eventually, what am i going to do, olivia? i'm going to say, hands up, i've had enough. ba rnsley barnsley are seen with the biggest drops in nhs dental posts, down by 21%. -- drops in nhs dental posts, down by 21%. —— barnsley has seen. i’m drops in nhs dental posts, down by 21%. -- barnsley has seen.- 21%. -- barnsley has seen. i'm not on the list, — 21%. -- barnsley has seen. i'm not on the list, because _ 21%. -- barnsley has seen. i'm not on the list, because i _ 21%. -- barnsley has seen. i'm not on the list, because i haven't - 21%. -- barnsley has seen. i'm not on the list, because i haven't been | on the list, because i haven't been for a _ on the list, because i haven't been for a year— on the list, because i haven't been for a year or— on the list, because i haven't been for a year or more because of the coronavirue _ coronavirus. yes. - coronavirus. yes, we've got one, but during covid, — yes, we've got one, but during covid, they— yes, we've got one, but during covid, they wouldn't _ yes, we've got one, but during covid, they wouldn't show- yes, we've got one, but during covid, they wouldn't show you | yes, we've got one, but during l covid, they wouldn't show you at home _ covid, they wouldn't show you at home unless _ covid, they wouldn't show you at home unless you _ covid, they wouldn't show you at home unless you are _ covid, they wouldn't show you at home unless you are in - covid, they wouldn't show you at home unless you are in pain. - home unless you are in pain. we just— home unless you are in pain. we just couldn't _ home unless you are in pain. we just couldn't find - home unless you are in pain. we just couldn't find an - home unless you are in pain. we just couldn't find an nhs| we just couldn't find an nhs dentist. this was in rotherham. i'm going to one in wath. you dentist. this was in rotherham. i'm going to one in wath.— going to one in wath. you have had to to going to one in wath. you have had to go privately? _ going to one in wath. you have had to go privately? com _ going to one in wath. you have had to go privately? com privately, - going to one in wath. you have had| to go privately? com privately, yes. -- ione to go privately? com privately, yes. -- gone privately. _ to go privately? com privately, yes. -- gone privately, yes. _ nhs england says it's supported dentists throughout the pandemic and set up 600 urgent dental centres across the country. but that hasn't solved the problems for sarf, who continues to advertise for new staff. actually, going forward, unless something is done and done eminently, i think the waiting times and the delivery of dentistry is going to get worse. olivia richwald, bbc look north, grimethorpe. a 13—year—old boy from ceredigion has described how he managed to grab the steering wheel of his mother's car and guide it to safety on the hard shoulder after she passed out whilst driving on the m4 near swansea. hari and his friend dylan managed to bring the car to a stop and call for help on a journey from a training session at the swans football academy. wales today's aled scourfield has their story. hari and dylan back on the pitch doing what they love most after a terrifying experience on the m4 motorway, which could have turned to tragedy. they both make the journey from west wales to the swansea city academy up to five times a week. two weeks ago, they were on their way back to ceredigion when hari's mum catrin, who was driving, was taken ill at the wheel. so, we were on the motorway, and me and dylan were on the phone. i was in the passenger seat and dylan was in the back. and my mum just all of a sudden passed out, so i took over the steering wheel and i put it onto the hard shoulder, and we drove about a mile down the m4, and then dylan told me to put on the hazard lights, and when we were coming to stop, dylan said put the handbrake on. and then, when we got out of the car, i tried to flag someone down and dylan called my dad. hari shouted my name, and you could just hear the vomiting sounds. yeah, it must�*ve been really frightening. yeah. and did you notice the car veering across the road? yeah. hari grabbed it really quickly, to be fair to him. we were by a junction, but then we were going up to the junction, but then he pulled back because he got to the hard shoulder. we were driving along there for a bit and we just had to go back onto the road, and then we got to the junction and then told him to put the handbrake up and we stopped. the incident happened nearjunction 27 of the m4 nearjunction 47 of the m4 between swansea and hendy. hari and dylan's school are understandably proud of their quick thinking. they have shown great resilience, responsibility and managed to take hold of a situation which could have been a big emergency. so we are very proud and they have been very modest in their response. and as a school, we are very proud of them. they are stars on the football field, and certainly they are heroes in this situation. hari's mother has recovered from her ordeal, and the pair say it has not put them off from making theirjourney down the m4 and pursuing their career in football with the swans. the club has paid tribute to the two young footballers, saying they are incredibly proud of them both. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. if you like your winter weather cold and crisp, rather than cloudy and mild, today should be right up your alley. plenty of sunshine out there despite that. feeling cold after a frosty start. another frost settling in in many places tonight. high pressure moving in means a lot of settled weather on the horizon. by now, the further you are away from the high, which is really down the north sea coast, there is still a brisk breeze out there, and some areas of cloud, and then a few areas of showers clipping the coast of north yorkshire down to east anglia. increasing cloud later in north—west scotland may produce a few spots of light rain. areas of cloud around in northern ireland, but for many places, unbroken sunshine this afternoon. 7 in belfast, 3—4 in the colder spots. there is wind chill to contend with here, and the wind eases again tonight. overnight, while many will stay clear, cloudy in northern ireland, increasing in northern and western scotland. cloud into a void of frost, whereas elsewhere, hard frost last night, —6 in the coldest countryside parts of central and southern england. in the morning, you will see some sunshine, and for many of us, southern and eastern areas, that will continue throughout friday. cloudy and western scotland, northern ireland, and north—west england, and cloud pushing in to more of wales as the afternoon goes on. temperatures tomorrow just a bit higher. with more cloud around into tomorrow night, that will limit the extent of the frost, and clear skies continue, particularly towards the east and south—east of england, but even here, the frost is not going to be as hard as it is in the coming night. we are chilly at the moment, as we look at our temperature anomaly map here. it departs from average temperatures, a hint of blue indicating we are colder than average right now. through the weekend, notice how northern areas and particularly in scotland, temperatures are going to be edging up above average, whereas there isn't a huge amount of change further south. the further south you are, closer to the centre of high pressure, the air isn't moving very much. frost and fog continues to be a possibility, whereas around the area of high pressure across much of the uk, we are introducing more cloud, milder weather, a strong wind in northern scotland, and the chance of rain at times this weekend, but it is northern scotland that over the weekend will be seeing higher temperatures. into double figures in places. not a huge amount of change the further south you are, though it is across southern and eastern england you are likely to see occasional sunshine. this is bbc news. the headlines... a senior conservative accuses the government of intimidating mps over their support for a no—confidence vote in boris johnson. the pm says he doesn't recognise the claims. but there's more pressure from the back benches, as an influential tory mp predicts borisjohnson will probably be forced out of office. also today. facemasks are no longer required in schools — and workers can return to the office — as covid restrictions