we have a special report from romania on the children as young as 10 trafficked to the uk for sex. as scotland prepares to ease covid rules, the first minister says the impact on business has been worth it. and how best to control covid infections in beijing ahead of next month's winter olympics. good evening. two senior members of the cabinet say they want a full investigation into claims by a former minister that she'd been the victim of islamopbhobia. nus ghani says she was told she'd been sacked as a transport minister two years ago, in part because of her muslim faith. she also says that when she told borisjohnson what happened, he told her he couldn't get involved. the conservative chief whip, mark spencer, says he'd been speaking to ms ghani about why she'd been sacked, and he says her allegations are "completely false." downing street says the prime minister had invited her to make a complaint, but she didn't do so. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. this is a critical week. his leadership already in question, borisjohnson�*s actions are now under even more scrutiny. what are you hoping to hear today? nus ghani is a senior backbencher. she's spoken out against the taliban, led a campaign to have china's repression of uighur muslims recognised as genocide, and is proud of this moment. i congratulate my honourable friend on her appointment... when she became the first muslim woman minister to speak at the dispatch box in the commons, to a cheer. minister nusrat ghani. mr speaker, this government is committed... she lost her ministerial post in a reshuffle in 2020. she told the sunday times that when she asked for an explanation from party whips, she was told her muslimness was raised as an issue in reshuffle discussions. her muslim woman minister status was making colleagues uncomfortable and if she persisted in raising the issue, she would be ostracised by colleagues and her career and reputation would be destroyed. the chief whip mark spencer last night took the unusual step of outing himself as the person who talked to her and said... somebody is trying to bully her, if what she is saying is true. you have two scenarios. parliamentarian a is saying something, parliamentarian b is saying something, and we need to get to the bottom, we need to establish the truth. the allegations have caused shock. the education secretary nadhim zahawi said ms ghani was a brilliant mp and there was no place for any form of racism in the conservative party. and the health secretary sajid javid today said this was a very serious matter which needs a proper investigation. last year a wider enquiry found anti—muslim sentiment in the tory party was a problem, but islamophobia was not institutional. it didn't refer to ms ghani's claims. today, the justice secretary said it was up to her to step forward. i believe a claim like this, as serious as this, should, but it can only happen if the person making the complaint makes a formal, makes it formally, that's when the procedures kick in and just to be clear about this, that advice was given to nus back in 2020. now downing street has stepped in to say borisjohnson met ms ghani at the time. he invited her to begin a formal complaint process, but she did not. ms ghani has fired back, saying she made clear an internal party investigation was not appropriate, this was government business and all she wants is for the government to investigate properly. so as borisjohnson waits for the results of one investigation, that into downing street parties, which could decide his fate, his leadership on this issue too is also in the spotlight. damian grammaticas, bbc news. another headache for the prime minister ahead of an important week? yes, and you have these strands coming together now. you have this question and a cause for an inquiry on this issue. you have the cabinet investigation, the investigation by civil servant sue gray into downing street parties, a report tonight that she has also perhaps been questioning the police officers outside downing street as part of that. we think she might be talking to the prime minister's former aide dominic cummings tomorrow. and also tomorrow, rememberthe dominic cummings tomorrow. and also tomorrow, remember the earlier allegation about pressure by the whips rallying support for mr johnson on talk of intimidation, the mp who made that may be going to the police tomorrow. what draws all of this together is that question of leadership, and it is a pivotal week, by the end of which we don't know what position mrjohnson will be in. . know what position mrjohnson will bein. . ,., ., the government says it has intelligence suggesting russia is plotting to install a pro—moscow leader in ukraine, and there's a "very significant" risk that russian forces will invade the country. president putin has already sent tens of thousands of troops to ukraine's border, but moscow is now accusing the uk of spreading "disinformation". with the latest, here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. in california, fresh supplies of american weapons destined for ukraine. hardly enough to defeat an invading russian army, but the message to moscow is clear — if you do this, it'll come at a price. but now the foreign office says it's seen signs of a russian plan to install a puppet government in kyiv after an invasion, pro—russian politicians, in contact with russian intelligence officers, involved in planning the attack. it says this former ukrainian mp, yevhen murayev, is being considered as a future leader by the kremlin. he denies it. ukrainian officials seem unfazed. that's what i would expect as a logical next step in a russian invasion. they will invade and they will have to establish some sort of government, so i'm not actually surprised. we've been in war with them for seven years, and don't forget that our previous government actually fled to russia, nowhere else. it's highly unusual for intelligence of this kind to be put into the public domain in such a brief, abrupt manner. it's a reflection of the extreme anxiety across government about what vladimir putin might be planning. it's a way of saying to the kremlin, "we see what you're doing". but after friday's talks in geneva, there is more diplomacy to come, antony blinken, the us secretary of state, promising a written reply to his russian counterpart sergei lavrov, addressing russia's sweeping demands. russia's sweeping demands, some experts worried that russia is being allowed to set the agenda. it's asking for a demilitarised eastern europe and a denuclearised continent so that the only forces threatening europe are russian ones and the only nuclear missiles that could threaten european capitals are russian ones. that ought not to be a situation that is acceptable to anybody in the west of europe. russia's build—up along ukraine's northern and eastern borders continues, moscow still insisting it has no plans to invade, it's all just drills. but it's now been ten months since russia started massing troops here, a gun held to ukraine's head for almost a year. what's really being planned behind the kremlin walls? as the troops assemble and the political plots swirl, the west is still left guessing. paul adams, bbc news. a bbc investigation has found that children as young as 10 are being groomed in romania to be trafficked to the uk for sex. on arrival, they're kept as slaves available for clients. british police say sex trafficking is now so rife, they're struggling to bring those responsible tojustice, with more suspected victims coming from romania last year than any other country. a warning — some details injean mackenzie�*s report, you may find distressing. this country carries a dark shame. young girls are preyed on, taken from their families and sold for sex. daniela is hiding at this safe house in a remote corner of romania. she and all the children here have been tricked into prostitution by traffickers pretending to be their boyfriends. this sinister method of recruitment is called the lover boy. i have a 13—year—old girl right here who's desperately trying to get back to her 52—year—old lover boy. when she runs away, she tells the police, "i love him". that's a photo of her with her trafficker? yeah. she calls him iubi. "iubira" means love. the girls are groomed for export. many are brought to the uk, where the big money is. elena was rescued from a flat in the west midlands after being left for dead by her trafficker. how many men used to come each day? police! in birmingham, police are on a rescue mission. inside, they find four romanian women who they think have been trafficked. 2a missed calls. yeah, that'll be their punters. but the women say they're here voluntarily, meaning officers have no choice but to leave them here. this is happening in every corner of the country. sex trafficking is rife in the uk. i don't think we've got anywhere near the true picture of how many victims there are there. we don't know where to go to, we don't know where to visit. the houses, it'sjust a normal house in a normal street. people will have neighbours who are victims of sex trafficking. getting the women on side is colin's best chance of catching the traffickers. you ok? but it rarely works. cases hardly ever make it to court. it's ok, it's ok, don't worry, don't be scared. the girls�* distrust of police starts long before they reach the uk. back in romania, we found sometimes, when they disappear, police don't investigate. this family has a remarkable story. they've just been to rescue their daughter from traffickers by themselves after the police, they say, refused to help them, something police deny. andrea was taken when she was just 12 years old. but there are many who never return. while romania is making an effort to train more police officers, this is doing little to disrupt the trade. romania's shame has now landed on britain's doorstep. jean mckenzie, bbc news. you can watchjean�*s documentary — sold: sex slaves for sale. that's on bbc two tomorrow night at 11.15, or you can see it now on the bbc iplayer. and details of organisations offering information and support on this issue are available online at bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call forfree, 0800 077 077 any time to hear recorded information. let's take a look at some of the day's other top stories. five teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal stabbing of a 16—year—old boy in greater manchester. kennie carter was found injured in a street in stretford yesterday evening, and died later in hospital. the police are urging anyone with information to come forward. the queen has flown by helicopter to sandringham from windsor castle, where she's expected to spend the next few weeks. rising covid infections meant the traditional family christmas at her norfolk estate had to be cancelled as a precaution. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says the impact of covid restrictions on business and hospitality have been "worth it" in the the battle against the virus. on the eve of some rules being eased, she said she understands the measures have had a "very adverse" effect, but that they've helped put scotland "firmly on the downward slope". our correspondent alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. what are the measures being lifted tomorrow? ~ , , . ., , tomorrow? well, these restrictions were ut tomorrow? well, these restrictions were put in — tomorrow? well, these restrictions were put in place — tomorrow? well, these restrictions were put in place around _ tomorrow? well, these restrictions were put in place around christmasj were put in place around christmas time because of the omicron variant. but because cases are now coming down, the first minister has been able to ease some restrictions last week and she will ease the rest of those restrictions from tomorrow. from tomorrow, nightclubs will be able to reopen once again. but you will still need a proof of vaccination and the booster will now be part of that. also, large indoor live events will be able to get back to normal from tomorrow. live events will be able to get back to normalfrom tomorrow. there live events will be able to get back to normal from tomorrow. there will no longer be a cap on the number of people that can attend. and social distancing between different groups indoors will also be removed. that will obviously help places like theatre and hospitality. the first minister has stood by her decision to put these restrictions in place. she has said it was worth it, even though she knew it was extremely difficult for businesses, particularly for hospitality. but the scottish conservatives said today that the first minister just can't bring herself to admit that these restrictions that she put in place over christmas were totally unnecessary. place over christmas were totally unnecessary-— place over christmas were totally unnecessary. place over christmas were totally unnecessa .~ . ., unnecessary. alexandra mackenzie in glas . ow. the government's latest coronavirus figures show there were almost 74,800 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, but that figure doesn't include scotland. 75 deaths were reported — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, though there will be some who died of other causes. on vaccinations, almost 36.9 million people have had a boosterjab, which means just over 64% of those aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. it's two years since china locked down the 10 million inhabitants of the city of wuhan, where covid first emerged. the move helped keep the national death toll low — according to official figures, just under 6,000. but as beijing prepares to host the winter olympic games next month, fighting the virus has become a major priority. here's our china correspondent, robin brant. 27 days into lockdown, confined to her apartment. this woman is one of millions in china still subject to the ultimate covid control. translation: when covid hit wuhan, the country didn't have much experience dealing with the outbreak. but now it's different, it's better. outbreak. but now it's different, it's better-— it's better. she is in xian, a city famous for _ it's better. she is in xian, a city famous for its _ it's better. she is in xian, a city famous for its motionless - it's better. she is in xian, a city famous for its motionless army | it's better. she is in xian, a city i famous for its motionless army of terracotta warriors. but norman life for 30 million people there has come to a halt. —— normal life has come to a halt. —— normal life has come to a halt. there is also fresh evidence that some people have had enough. so is zero covid in china the new normal?— the new normal? china is still manufacturing _ the new normal? china is still manufacturing and _ the new normal? china is still manufacturing and these - the new normal? china is stilll manufacturing and these cases the new normal? china is still - manufacturing and these cases can be isolated was that that is why zero covid make sense. but isolated was that that is why zero covid make sense.— isolated was that that is why zero covid make sense. but this country has deeper— covid make sense. but this country has deeper problems _ covid make sense. but this country has deeper problems to _ covid make sense. but this country has deeper problems to deal- covid make sense. but this country has deeper problems to deal with, | covid make sense. but this countryl has deeper problems to deal with, a huge debt, a faltering property market as well as the hypervigilance against more covid spikes. it's difficult to take a scientific survey, but there does appear to be widespread support for the government's policy on covid, because you get this and it looks quite normal, but no one knows the answer to the big question — how long will it go on for? answer to the big question - how long will it go on for? translation: i think the epidemic _ long will it go on for? translation: i think the epidemic control - long will it go on for? translation: i think the epidemic control in - i think the epidemic control in shanghai is very good. the government uses big data to quickly trace and control people who are close contacts. the trace and control people who are close contacts.— trace and control people who are close contacts. . . , close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns — close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns are _ close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns are quite _ close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns are quite bad. - close contacts. the negative impacts of lockdowns are quite bad. people | of lockdowns are quite bad. people are worried- _ of lockdowns are quite bad. people are worried. two _ of lockdowns are quite bad. people are worried. two years _ of lockdowns are quite bad. people are worried. two years on, - of lockdowns are quite bad. people are worried. two years on, the - are worried. two years on, the borders here remain all but closed. in the run—up to hosting the olympics, china has shown how far it is willing to go. international mail is willing to go. international mail is the new enemy. authorities in beijing this week claimed a package from canada brought omicron in. we were in contact with someone in another city who was ordered to stay behind her sealed front door, simply after receiving a delivery from abroad. she didn't want us to name her. deeply frustrated, she sent us a text message saying it is good for epidemic control, but it's not a good thing from a human rights perspective. robin brant, bbc news, shanghai. with all the sport, here's lizzie greenwood—hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks, clive. good evening. we're starting with football, which means you need to avert your attention if you want to wait for the scores on match of the day 2, because they're coming now... chelsea beat tottenham for the third time in three weeks to keep up the pressure on the top two in the premier league. 2—0 the score at stamford bridge, chelsea's first goal a spectacular effort by hakim ziyech. elsewhere, arsenal were held to a goalless draw at bottom side burnley. liverpool beat crystal palace and leicester drew with brighton. arsenal rescued a point at manchester city to increase their lead at the top of the women's super league. they were losing 1—0 in injury time when tobin heath scored the equalizer. arsenal are now two points ahead of manchester united in second. champions chelsea drop to third. world number one ashleigh barty is on course to become the australian open�*s first home champion for 44 years. she's through to the quarter—finals, along with another favourite in melbourne, rafa nadal, who's still searching for that record—breaking 21st grand slam tennis title. joe wilson reports. hear that? it's all australia's expectation. it's all for ash barty. herjob of course was to serve to play to ignore everything but the ball. ., ., play to ignore everything but the ball. . , play to ignore everything but the ball, .,, i- play to ignore everything but the ball, ~ play to ignore everything but the ball. ,, first play to ignore everything but the ball._ first set . ball. cool as you like. first set 6-4. 0k, _ ball. cool as you like. first set 6-4. 0k, australia, _ ball. cool as you like. first set 6-4. 0k, australia, get- ball. cool as you like. first set| 6-4. 0k, australia, get carried ball. cool as you like. first set - 6-4. 0k, australia, get carried away 6—4. ok, australia, get carried away just a bit. her opponent, 6—4. ok, australia, get carried away justa bit. her opponent, may 6—4. ok, australia, get carried away just a bit. her opponent, may well win a grand slam one day. women's ten is has so many possible teas, but he is ranked number one for a reason. when she finds her best level, who can live with it? second set 6—3 into the quarterfinal. but melbourne sees a future. ash barty is the only champion they can imagine. after 20 years in professional tennis, something new for rafael nadal. 16 points to win a tie—break, a staggering first set against adrian mannarino. from there, the frenchman understandably faded, nadalthrew there, the frenchman understandably faded, nadal threw in three sets. because he had a 21st grand slam title at 35? well, you've got to be in it to win it and unlike federer and djokovic, nadal is. joe wilson, bbc news. it's the last day teams can qualify for the knock—out stages of rugby union's european champions cup. sale sharks were already guaranteed a place and they'll go through full of confidence after thumping a depleted ospreys side 49—10, including seven tries. sam simmonds scored a hat—trick for exeter, who go through to the last 16 despite eventually losing 37—26 to montpelier — the french side qualifying at the expense of glasgow. wasps are also out after losing at munster. and you can follow england's cricketers�* second t20 international against west indies on the bbc sport website. but that's it from me. back to you, clive. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. this is bbc news. a british man has been killed in thailand. it's reported he was attacked in the town of kan—chanaburi, in the west of the country. the foreign office says another briton was injured and is being treated in hospital. matt graveling has more details. hours earlier, this crime scene in the west of thailand saw two british men sharing a drink. but then, thai police say at around 3am, a row with another man saw one friend killed and the other taken to hospital. local reports suggest the argument began over music being played too loudly and ended in a deadly attack. police recovered a sickle at the scene. police have named the victim as 49—year—old marcus evans from weston—super—mare, who officers say had lived in thailand for three years. his friend, shaun dagnan, suffered a serious injury. his partner says he has a wound to his head, but is doing well in hospital, where he gave a statement. today, police held a press conference expressing their condolences for the region's tourists and promising to bring justice. a thai man in his early—20s with a history of mental health issues was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder. he remains in custody and is due to appear in court tomorrow. matt graveling, bbc news. heavy fighting is taking place in north—eastern syria, between islamic state militants, and kurdish forces backed by us war planes. the fighting began on thursday when the extremists (map)attacked the fighting began on thursday when the extremists attacked a prison in the city of hasaka, and attempted to free thousands of is prisoners, as mark lobel reports. scenes syrians never wanted to see again. jihadists attacking a prison containing thousands of militants on thursday. there was a swift and determined fight back by kurdish—led forces guarding the area. taking on islamic state fighters in one of the group's biggest operations since their self—declared caliphate was defeated almost three years ago. from above, us—led coalition aircraft supported the syrian defense forces. many prisoners were recaptured with troops in pursuit of other fugitives that had fled to surrounding houses. families moved to safety in fear of their lives. translation: there's been shelling and killing since yesterday. - the jihadists killed four orfive people in our neighbourhood, liquidated them. while this was playing out, across the border in iraq, is claimed responsibility for an ambush on a military post in which 11 soldiers were killed. in syria, it's claimed the prison is largely under control. however, is claim they're holding hostages. the kurdish authorities had long warned that they did not have the capacity to hold, let alone put on trial, many of the suspected fighters under their watch. there's also a concern that this much—feared jihadist group is ramping up once again. mark lobel, bbc news. the omicron variant has moved the coronavirus pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in europe — that's according to the world health organization. its europe director hans kluge said it was plausible the region is moving towards a �*kind of endgame�*. his colleague dr maria van kerkhove spoke to the bbc a little earlier. this is a very different virus and it�*s evolving differently. ——differently than influenza. in a sense where we have a lead time in terms of our ability to develop the vaccines and make these educated guesses about how the vaccine composition should be for influenza, so we could prepare. this virus is not giving us that opportunity. this virus is spreading really intensely. i think what is the challenge as we move into this next phase is, how do we get the balance right with the measures that are needed to reduce the spread? masks are widely available now. they were not at the beginning of the pandemic. we are asking people to be very cautious. this pandemic will end. we will not be in this cycle forever. and we�*ll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers jonathan walker, political editor at the birmingham mail and henry zeffman, chief political correspondent at the times — that�*s coming up after the headlines. time for a look at the weather with helen. hello. a predominantly cloudy picture, a dry picture for most, some breaks in the cloud, temperatures tumbling towards freezing, pockets of fog with light winds, they won�*t easing towards the north despite the presence of the weather front. not as strong as they have been during the day on sunday. patchy rain but to the north sunshine. a few brighter spells and sunshine coming to the east of scotland, perhaps north east england. could be quite cold and gloomy under the cloud elsewhere, on the 11—5 . perhaps as high as 9—10 further north. still, that weak weather front with us, not just through the day ahead put into monday night, cell on tuesday, pushing further into north—western areas, meandering cloud further south where they breaks, a patchy frost, into tuesday morning and pockets of fog. it may be we get towards the middle of the week and a weather system comes in and starts to clear some of that low cloud away. hello. this is bbc news. we�*ll be taking a look at tomorrow morning�*s papers in a moment. first, the headlines. two senior figures in the cabinet are calling for a full investigation into claims that a conservative mp was sacked as a minister, in part, because she�*s muslim. the foreign office says it has information that russia is plotting to install a puppet government in ukraine. the world health organization�*s european director says it�*s plausible that the region is moving towards a "kind of pandemic endgame". as scotland prepares to ease covid rules, the first minister says the impact on business has been worth it.