be found? and coming up on the bbc news channel: with the opening ceremony due to get under way shortly the curling continues, team gb winning the latest round robin match in the next event. in the mix to events. good morning and welcome to an earlier than usual edition of the bbc s lunchtime news. the prime minister must shape up or ship out that s what the senior conservative mp huw merriman told the bbc this morning, as questions continue about boris johnson s leadership. he is looking at how to rebuild his team after the resignation yesterday of four of his top aides. mps supportive of the prime minister are suggesting he s making necessary staff changes following a damning report by the senior civil servant sue gray into rule breaking parties at number ten during the pandemic. but munira mirza quit because of the prime minister s false claim that sir keir starmer failed to prosecutejimmy savile when he was director of public prosecutions. and this morning a fifth
spotify slumps. we start with the soaring cost of living here in the uk because in a few hours time the energy regulator ofgem is set to announce the biggest ever rise in energy bills. every six months it reviews the maximum price suppliers can charge consumers. and with gas prices at record highs the industry s predicting bills could rise as much as 50%. the bbc has been told the government is planning financial help for consumers. but there are doubts over whether the measures will be ready by the time higher prices start on the first of april. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports from glasgow. i m lucky if i have breakfast in the middle of the afternoon to keep me going, and a snack at night. having cut down on food, zahada safdar is now facing reducing herfuel. the hot water bottle eases the pain from her severe arthritis, as she can t afford to properly heat her flat after a 20% rise in bills. a single mum with limited income, it s very diffic
celtic take control of the title race in scotland. they beat their old firm rivals rangers 3 0 to go top of the table for the first time since august. rangers 3 0 to go top of the table there rangers 3 0 to go top of the table is some rain in but there is some rain in the forecast but through the day a lot of it will fade and we will see sunny spells developing and it will be breezy, mild until heavier rain comes in from the west later. mil mild until heavier rain comes in from the west later. mild until heavier rain comes in from the west later. all the details throu~hout from the west later. all the details throughout the from the west later. all the details throughout the programme. - it s thursday, the 3rd of february. our main story. the energy regulator ofgem will announce what s expected to be a record increase in gas and electricity bills later this morning. the energy price cap could go up by as much as 50%, making an average bill almost £2000 a yearfor househo
it it has made it ten times worse. having to face bills, there is not anything that has not gone up and it is going up again. millions of people are already feeling the squeeze and i am in leicester speaking to businesses and consumers about the rise in the cost of living. with all these price hikes on the horizon lt us know how you re planning to cope with the increases. on twitter, it s @annitabbc or #bbcyourquestions. also this hour. the brexit trade arrangements for northern ireland are thrown into confusion after a unionist minister orders his staff to stop checks on goods coming from the rest of the uk. at the winter olympics, team gb s mixed curlers continue their perfect start to the games with victory over canada. and a vaccine that could save the lives of young elephants vets at chester zoo embark on a world first trial. hello millions of households facing a spike in energy costs will today find out how much they will have to pay. the energy regulator ofgem will a
by the senior tory mp tobias ellwood. soaring energy bills. a large part of the rise in the cost of living. we ll look at where help is being provided. school s not out in wales, with a trial to lengthen the school day by five hours a week. and the start of the winter olympics torch relay heralding the official start of the games in two days time. and coming up on the bbc news channel: how green is your club? how tottenham and liverpool find themselves top of football s sustainability table. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the government is this lunchtime announcing its plans to close the gap between rich and poor areas of the country, as part of its so called levelling up agenda. the policy, which the prime minister has described as a defining mission, will take until 2030 to deliver, and aims to tackle regional inequalities and help overlooked communities. there are 12 missions or targets which include. increasing regional devolution with plans to crea