good afternoon. a conservative backbencher who has accused downing street of trying to blackmail some mps seeking to oust borisjohnson is to meet the police to discuss his allegations. william wragg said he'd be speaking to a scotland yard detective in the commons early next week. the prime minister has said he's seen no evidence to support the claims — but mr wragg said he wanted any inquiry to be carried out by "experts". our political correspondent helen catt reports. some of the methods used to persuade mps to follow their party line have always been a bit murky. these extraordinarily public allegations levelled at the government and its whips are serious. but some conservative mps suspected of wanting borisjohnson out have been in the end of attempts to intimidate them with embarrassing stories in them with embarrassing stories in the press and threats to take away public money from their constituencies.- public money from their constituencies. ., ., ., constituencies. the intimidation of a member of _ constituencies. the intimidation of a member of parliament _ constituencies. the intimidation of a member of parliament is - constituencies. the intimidation of a member of parliament is a - constituencies. the intimidation of. a member of parliament is a serious matter. moreover the reports of which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. maw which i am aware would seem to constitute blackmail. now william rake has arranged _ constitute blackmail. now william rake has arranged to _ constitute blackmail. now william rake has arranged to meet - constitute blackmail. now william rake has arranged to meet the - constitute blackmail. now william i rake has arranged to meet the police to discuss his allegations. earlier this week the former tory mp cristian wakefield defected to labour. he later said he had been told he wouldn't get a new high school in his constituency if he voted against the government gets free school meals.— free school meals. some have suggested _ free school meals. some have suggested there _ free school meals. some have suggested there may - free school meals. some have suggested there may be - free school meals. some have suggested there may be more i free school meals. some have - suggested there may be more claims to come. i must have spoken to about a dozen tory mps who have made similar allegations about whips, either offering to withdraw financial support for their constituencies either from the political party, so for campaigning, orfrom their political party, so for campaigning, or from their constituents. downing street has said _ or from their constituents. downing street has said if _ or from their constituents. downing street has said if it _ or from their constituents. downing street has said if it is _ or from their constituents. downing street has said if it is past - street has said if it is past evidence to support any allegations, it would look at it carefully but it hasn't seen any yet. other tories have said they have not experienced any such behaviour. i have said they have not experienced any such behaviour.— any such behaviour. i have voted auainst any such behaviour. i have voted against the _ any such behaviour. i have voted against the government - any such behaviour. i have voted against the government on - any such behaviour. i have voted - against the government on occasions when i thought it right and i have always had a close relationship with the chief whip and whips, so i am waiting to hear more about this because it is not something i have seen or been told about. meanwhile the prime minister _ seen or been told about. meanwhile the prime minister is _ seen or been told about. meanwhile the prime minister is expected - seen or been told about. meanwhile the prime minister is expected to i the prime minister is expected to spend his weekend calling potential rebels. sue gray is expected to publish a report on downing street parties next week. it is being seen as a possible crunch moment for borisjohnson�*s leadership. let's talk to our political correspondent helen catt. ifjohnson loyalists are trying to persuade mps, tory backbenchers that they need to stay onside with the prime minister, perhaps they had to be more careful about their language. be more careful about their language-— be more careful about their lanaauae. , language. there will be huge scrutiny and _ language. there will be huge scrutiny and you _ language. there will be huge scrutiny and you would - language. there will be huge | scrutiny and you would expect language. there will be huge - scrutiny and you would expect there may be some efforts being made over this weekend heading into this week, it is seen as a bit of a crunch week for the prime minister, he will have allies trying to persuade the doubters, but you are right. if coming off the back of this, there is going to be an enormous amount of scrutiny at exactly what methods are being employed to do that. what scrutiny at exactly what methods are being employed to do that.— being employed to do that. what is the latest with — being employed to do that. what is the latest with the _ being employed to do that. what is the latest with the sue _ being employed to do that. what is the latest with the sue gray - being employed to do that. what is| the latest with the sue gray report? we have been waiting for it for a while but she has various different alleged gatherings to investigate and that list has grown. there is a feeling we could get it this week. part of the reason it has taken longer than anticipated is because that list has been added to over time, but the expectation is that sue gray will report back this week. they are thinking properly this week, next week, so we should get that and that is the point that many conservative mps have said they have been waiting for, to then take stock and decide what they think in terms of how long they believe mrjohnson should have a number ten. this is a really important moment and it will be the point where a lot of conservative mps will help to make their mind up. conservative mps will help to make their mind urn-— conservative mps will help to make their mind up. that is the moment of dancer for their mind up. that is the moment of danger for the _ their mind up. that is the moment of danger for the prime _ their mind up. that is the moment of danger for the prime minister, - their mind up. that is the moment of danger for the prime minister, if - dangerfor the prime minister, if some tory mps don't like it and they put in letters to the 1922 committee chairman in terms of a no—confidence vote in borisjohnson, they need sit letters and we don't know how many have already been sent in. you letters and we don't know how many have already been sent in.— have already been sent in. you need 54 letters because _ have already been sent in. you need 54 letters because that _ have already been sent in. you need 54 letters because that is _ have already been sent in. you need 54 letters because that is 5096 - have already been sent in. you need 54 letters because that is 5096 of. 54 letters because that is 50% of the parliamentary conservative party. it is notoriously difficult to know how many letters are in, how many not —— 15%. talking to mps last week there was a feeling that if it goes, it goes all at once, that there might suddenly be a real flurry of letters after the sue gray report but then again you never know, there might not be. when theresa may was challenged for the leadership, that went on for quite a long time, the sense of people saying they were nearly there and then they went. it is difficult to judge but certainly so many conservative mps have pointed to the sue gray report as a point of decision that it will be a crucial week. the chairman of the commons defence committee says the uk must do more to support ukraine as russian troops gather at its border. the conservative mp, tobias ellwood, said he thinks an invasion is now "imminent" and that president vladimir putin is "taking full advantage of a weakened west". it comes as the united states has delivered its first shipment of military cargo to ukraine, for use in the event of a conflict. here's mark lobel. the threat of conflict persists as president putin continues his apparent drive for a new post—cold war settlement. ukraine is proving the biggest foreign policy test for president biden since us troops left afghanistan. he's left the white house for camp david this weekend to meet his national security team and secretary of state antony blinken, who himself is returning from three days of crisis diplomacy. those ended in talks with his russian counterpart in geneva, which didn't get very far. what i think is possible is a negotiation with russia on some new security architecture from your model eras — the inf agreement of the �*80s, under which intermediate and short—range missiles were banned. if the russian issue is the risk in the future of nato missiles on the russian border sitting in ukraine, that would take that away. but, of course, it would mean the russians, too, had to withdraw weapons. in the meantime, ukraine hasjust received from the us 90 tonnes of what america calls lethal aid, including ammunition for ukraine's front—line forces. washington says it's helping ukraine bolster its defences in the face of growing russian aggression. russia denies an invasion is on the cards, but has 100,000 russian troops near ukraine's border in potentially threatening positions, as this map shows. we have seen over the last few months with diplomatic talks failing, putin's ultimatum demanding nato push back. of course, that was dismissed. but that has given him the pretext to actually say there is an aggressor and that he must act. he has actually boxed himself into a corner, because so much effort has been put into this. but he also recognised that he will never again be as strong as this to take advantage of the west's weakness. i suspect an invasion is now imminent. russia sparked this diplomatic conflict. this week, the us showed it's keen to resolve it peacefully. but it remains unclear how far both sides are prepared to go to placate the other. mark lobel, bbc news. let's speak to sergei goryashko from bbc russian two. we heard a conservative mp saying he thinks a russian invasion is imminent. what is your feeling? do you expect vladimir putin wants to expect in troops soon? fits you expect vladimir putin wants to expect in troops soon?— expect in troops soon? as for this situation, there _ expect in troops soon? as for this situation, there are _ expect in troops soon? as for this situation, there are different - situation, there are different points of view. on the one side putin could use the pretext that diplomacy doesn't work with all these talks with the us, russia and european counterparts and russian ministers and that could mean invasion and war is inevitable. from the other side, if sites are still keen to talk and find common ground, probably they arejust keen to talk and find common ground, probably they are just plain muscles and do not want to go to an actual full—scale war. there is another thing here, in february there will be chinese olympics in beijing and the last thing that they want is putin overshadowing those olympics by starting a war in the ukraine. probably putin will listen to his eastern counterpart in this case and won't start anything until they are done with the olympics, but what happens next is still a big question. happens next is still a big question-— happens next is still a big tuestion. ~ ., t, t, t question. what about those talks? we know the uk — question. what about those talks? we know the uk defence _ question. what about those talks? we know the uk defence secretary - question. what about those talks? we know the uk defence secretary is - know the uk defence secretary is meeting his russian counterpart. is there a compromise, is there a negotiated way out of this tension? all these talks certainly do like a situation when russian officials are really happy that their western counterparts are so keen to talk to them, which is why the russian defence minister asked his british counterpart to come to moscow and to talk once in almost 80 years. same goes with the meeting between the uk foreign minister and russian ministers. it could be seen that russians are happy that they are on the front line on the news wires and that everybody wants to talk to them and to persuade them not to do anything stupid, but in fact, all those talks and all those meetings, they prove russians status quo of a really powerful country which. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of an 86—year—old woman and the attempted murder of her 88—year—old husband. freda walker was found dead at her home in langwithjunction, derbyshire a week ago. ken walker, a former district councillor, was found severely injured and remains in hospital in a critical condition. 33—year—old vasile culea appeared before magistrates in nottingham and was remanded in custody to appear at derby crown court on tuesday. two women have been taken to hospital after a knife attack in north west london. it happened in station road, harrow. police say the injured women were slashed and a third woman was punched by the suspect. a woman has been detained and taken to hospital for a mental health assessment. the un has condemned an air strike by the saudi—led coalition on a detention centre in yemen. aid agencies say at least 70 people were killed and many more wounded. it follows nights of bombing raids, after a rocket fired by houthi rebels killed three people in the united arab emirates earlier this week. i'm joined now byjabob burns, communication advisor for yemen at medecins sans frontieres. a terrible death toll. what is your latest information on what happened there? i latest information on what happened there? r, , latest information on what happened there? . , , , . ~' latest information on what happened there? ., , , , ., ~ ., there? i have been speaking to colleagues _ there? i have been speaking to colleagues inside _ there? i have been speaking to colleagues inside the _ there? i have been speaking to colleagues inside the city - there? i have been speaking to colleagues inside the city this | colleagues inside the city this morning. they describe that in the early hours of friday morning, they were at home, they heard the sound ofjets were at home, they heard the sound of jets flying over were at home, they heard the sound ofjets flying over the city were at home, they heard the sound of jets flying over the city and then three explosions. we know that then three explosions. we know that the air strikes hit the city prison where there are reported to be up to 1500 people detained at the time. the air strike has caused hundreds of deaths and injuries. the latest numbers that we have been given by the ministry of health in yemen is that there have been 82 people killed in this strike and 266 people wounded. one of my colleagues inside the city was in a hospital this morning and he said the hospital was facing a very difficult situation with so many wounded that some of the casualties were lying on the floor in the hospital because there were no more beds for them. what floor in the hospital because there were no more beds for them. what is msf able to — were no more beds for them. what is msf able to do _ were no more beds for them. what is msf able to do in _ were no more beds for them. what is msf able to do in the _ were no more beds for them. what is msf able to do in the aftermath - were no more beds for them. what is msf able to do in the aftermath of i msf able to do in the aftermath of this tragedy and also to help the general humanitarian disaster that is afflicting this country? indie general humanitarian disaster that is afflicting this country?— is afflicting this country? we are resent in is afflicting this country? we are present in side _ is afflicting this country? we are present in side the _ is afflicting this country? we are present in side the city. - is afflicting this country? we are present in side the city. we - is afflicting this country? we are l present in side the city. we made immediately some donations to this hospital. we sent a truck full of medical supplies from the capital to the city last night and are working with the ministry of health to see how we can respond as quickly as possible to these huge needs that have been caused by this air strike. and we are working across the country in yemen, across front lines and what we see is while there are these moments of intense violence, after several years we see every day the effects of these less dramatic but no less serious long—term crises caused by the war, such as the economic crisis and the almost total collapse of health care in the country. it collapse of health care in the count . , , collapse of health care in the count . ,, , t, , collapse of health care in the count. ,, country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do — country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you _ country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you see _ country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you see any _ country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you see any way - country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you see any way out i country. it is seven years, it began in 2015, do you see any way out of| in 2015, do you see any way out of this? is this horror going to keep continuing? it this? is this horror going to keep continuing?— continuing? it is definitely a moment where _ continuing? it is definitely a moment where the - continuing? it is definitely a moment where the conflictl continuing? it is definitely a l moment where the conflict is intensifying again. colleagues in the capital have been reporting to me each night this week of heavy air strikes again, there were air strikes again, there were air strikes this morning, so it feels like we are definitely caught in a moment whether conflict is escalating and it is hard to see how that finishes.— escalating and it is hard to see how that finishes. the headlines on bbc news: police will meet a conservative mp who's accused downing street of trying to "blackmail" politicians who've tried to oust borisjohnson. the first shipment of american military aid to ukraine arrives there — after talks over russia's troop build—up on the border. a week after tonga was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami, humanitarian aid begins to reach the tens of thousands of people affected. police in the united states have descibed the death of a british man from a stray bullet as a "reckless, senseless act". 31—year—old astrophysicist matthew willson was killed while he lay in bed during a trip to the city of atlanta. simonjones has this report. killed in what officers are describing as a random and senseless act. matthew willson was in bed last sunday beside his girlfriend, pictured in this image released by police. he was hit in the head by a bullet fired from a neighbouring block of flats. he had just arrived in the atlanta area to visit his girlfriend. they were laying down for bed that night when they heard the gunfire erupt, and what appears right now, a stray bullet entered the exterior wall to their apartment and struck him. this is a very tragic incident. our victim is someone that was completely innocent, had no involvement whatsoever with the individuals that were involved in the reckless discharging of their firearms. police had initially been called to the area following reports that shots were being fired into the air. they then received a second call from matthew willson's girlfriend, saying he had been hit. in a brief statement, the foreign office here in london said it was supporting the family of a british man following his death in the united states. it added that it was in contact with the authorities over there. matthew willson was a former phd student at the university of exeter. it said... the police in the us are offering a reward for information. no arrests have been made, but officers say they are determined to put those responsible injail. tonga's clean—up continues with the help of foreign aid — one week after the volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the pacific island. emergency supplies of water are being distributed in tonga a week after a the undersea volcanic eruption. supplies have been arriving by sea and air from australia, new zealand and the uk. the united nations says tonga will depend on emergency food supplies for some time to come. our correspondent phil mercer in sydney has the latest on the international humanitarian aid efforts and the work to reconnect an undersea communication cable. it is among a raft of catastrophic damage to property and infrastructure, and as you say, aid coming in from many, many countries led by australia and new zealand. water is a significant issue. any water supplies on the archipelago were contaminated by that ash that rained down on this pacific nation of about 105,000 people and this will be an international aid effort like no other. authorities in tonga are introducing very strict disease control measures because tonga has just recorded only one known coronavirus case since the pandemic began, so clearly it doesn't want to recover from one disaster by inviting another in. so what they are doing is foreign aid workers, in order to go into the country, will have two adhere to three weeks of isolation. if you look in other parts of the pacific in recent days, kiribati, a population about the same of tonga, was covid free but now is going into lockdown as is samoa, so the authorities in tonga being very careful as that international aid continues to roll in. dr yutaro setoya is the world health organisation's lead on tonga — he spoke to the bbc via satellite phone from the capital. this is day seven of the disaster. in the capital there is a lot of ash everywhere but as long as people are claiming it by hand. in the affected area of western tonga, many of the houses were washed away and support is still going on. if you see from the air, it seems flat but there is a two metre, three metre height difference. i went to the western part of tonga where there —— the big wave came. the most affected area was a low lying area. a lot of houses were washed away and there is a lot of debris everywhere and a lot of cleaning up is going on. the hollywood star arnold schwarzenegger has been involved in a multi—vehicle crash in los angeles. a woman has been taken to hospital. a spokesperson for the former california governor said he was unharmed. nickjohnson reports. from the sky above the la suburbs, arnold schwarzenegger's black suv flanked by tow trucks, some hours after it was involved in a multi—vehicle crash. photos taken on the us showbiz news site tmz showed the body—builder, actor and politician standing at the scene talking to a police officer, with the black suv teetering on top of both a toyota prius and a porsche. police say the four vehicle collision happened on friday afternoon in the wealthy brentwood area of la. one woman was taken to hospital but it is not thought her injuries are life—threatening. well, i told tom to get a six pack. but he got a cake instead. a spokesperson for the actor confirmed the 74—year—old was behind the wheel of his car at the time but was unharmed. los angeles police department say no arrests have been made and neither drugs or alcohol were involved, but the investigation is continuing. nickjohnson, bbc news. the royal mail has been warned by the regulator, ofcom, it must improve its service after some people got their christmas post in the middle ofjanuary. the company said delivery offices had been struggling because of staffing problems created by coronavirus. let's talk to our business correspondent ramzan karmali. one of our producers still hasn't got her christmas present. indie one of our producers still hasn't got her christmas present. we are heafint got her christmas present. we are hearing lots _ got her christmas present. we are hearing lots of— got her christmas present. we are hearing lots of stories _ got her christmas present. we are hearing lots of stories of - got her christmas present. we are hearing lots of stories of people i hearing lots of stories of people waiting. posted in december that still hasn't arrived. royal mail say areas affected are some places in london, manchester, hertfordshire, scotland and wales. they point to the under one variant and coronavirus. the first week of january, 15,000 people were absent from work, that is about double what they would expect normally in pre—covert times it was half of that. in 2020 it was lower, even though we did have coronavirus at the time. ofcom have come out and said, if you don't get your act together, we will take action, and ofcom has fined royal mail in the past. back in 2020 they find them £1.5 million for not reaching their annual targets and the targets are quite high. for instance, the royal mail how to deliver 93% of all first class post within one day and that is the target set by the regulator. if ofcom are saying you had to get your act together, that says it doesn't believe the royal mail says it was all because of covid and staff at absences.— it was all because of covid and staff at absences. royal mail was rofitable staff at absences. royal mail was profitable last _ staff at absences. royal mail was profitable last year, _ staff at absences. royal mail was profitable last year, made - staff at absences. royal mail was profitable last year, made £726 l profitable last year, made £726 million in pre—tax profits. we are also paying more for the service. the cost of a first—class stamp went up the cost of a first—class stamp went up by 20%. the regulator are expecting more from the royal mail than they have done in the past. former olympic champion cyclist, chris boardman, is to head a new government body to encourage cycling and walking in england. active travel england aims to improve infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as funding projects to enhance air quality. luxmy gopal has more. getting from a to b on foot or by bike is good for our health and the environment. but how good is our infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists? the issue is being given cash from the government and clout from the former olympic cyclist chris boardman. the gold medallist is to become interim commissioner of the government body active travel england. it has been set up to encourage walking and cycling by inspecting the standards of local highways, ensuring major planning applications caterfor highways, ensuring major planning applications cater for pedestrians and cyclists and funding projects to improve air quality. you and cyclists and funding pro'ects to improve air quality.i and cyclists and funding pro'ects to improve air quality. you want places where your— improve air quality. you want places where your kids _ improve air quality. you want places where your kids can _ improve air quality. you want places where your kids can walk _ improve air quality. you want places where your kids can walk or- improve air quality. you want places where your kids can walk or ride i improve air quality. you want places where your kids can walk or ride to l where your kids can walk or ride to school and you can travel to work on a bike, and to do that you won't do it unless you feel safe or you can look out the car window and go, that looks quite nice. the look out the car window and go, that looks quite nice.— look out the car window and go, that looks quite nice. the government has announced today _ looks quite nice. the government has announced today that _ looks quite nice. the government has announced today that it _ looks quite nice. the government has announced today that it is _ looks quite nice. the government has announced today that it is spending i announced today that it is spending £3 million on improving cycling infrastructure around train stations, including secure cycle parking facilities. and £300,000 to subsidise the cargo delivery bikes for small businesses. this is all part of the £2 billion funding it has already pledged to wood cycling and walking schemes over a five year period. the question is how far that will go in improving infrastructure enough to make walking or cycling safe and practical travel options across the country. adults living with obesity in england are now being offered extra weight—loss support from community pharmacists. until now, patients had to be seen by their gps before they could access an nhs12—week weight management plan. the scheme is designed to help the estimated one—in—four adults who are obese. reena barai is from the national pharmacy association, and hopes people are encouraged to come forward. pharmacy is willing and able to provide these services. we know losing rate can have a profound effect on people �*s physical and well being and by helping them lose weight reduce the risk of cancers, strokes, heart disease, so losing rate is essential for people to do and we are injanuary where people are thinking about it as well, so encouraging people to come into their pharmacies and hopefully we can refer you onto this programme if you are eligible and we can get that tailored help to help you make those sustainable life changes. it may sound like something out of a science fiction movie — but in a uk first, a woman from london has been granted the gift of better sight — thanks to a bionic eye. the ground—breaking operation involved inserting a microchip into the patient�*s retina. victoria hollins has been finding out more. here comes the glasses. making the final adjustments for a patient who is virtually blind in her left eye. these glasses contain a camera, linked to a small computer which connects with a microchip recently inserted under her retina. the chip is placed in the centre of the retina, which is the seeing part of the eye, and we can stimulate the chip for her to start to see different types of signals. so that shows that we will hopefully be able to now train her to see things within the centre of her eye, which she never saw before. i'd be able to see my grandchildren and when i look in the mirror, i'm going to get a shock! chuckles. this is part of a clinical trial five years in the making, which is why we are not using the patient�*s name. she had the chip inserted a month ago. this is her first set of eye tests. keep looking a bit up! once the lights are out, the experts can begin to work out what she can see. so, what is the colour? green. i will be able to go out more, because i have not been going out all that much — ijust go out to just a church on saturday and i don't go out now during the week, so maybe it will be better now if i can see better, yeah. age—related macular degeneration causes loss of vision in the centre of the eye. it is the most common cause of significant sight loss in the developed world. when i first heard about this particular technology and seeing the results from stanford, i thought this has potential to really be a game changer, and we're now seeing in a clinical trial so from a personal note, i am just so happy now that i can talk to patients about a new technology that potentially could benefit them, and all of these years, there has been nothing. this grandmother will have to undergo many training sessions to encourage improvements in her vision but moorfields eye hospital hopes to recruit more people into the study and help the millions affected by a life—changing disease. a robot vacuum cleaner made a break forfreedom after giving staff the slip at a travelodge hotel in cambridge. the automated cleaner failed to stop at the front door of the hotel in orchard park on thursday, and was still on the loose the following day. staff said itjust kept going and "could be anywhere" while well—wishers on social media hoped the vacuum enjoyed its travels, as "it has no natural predators" in the wild. it was found under a hedge on friday. now it's time for a look at the weather.