a huge response to the tv drama about the post office scandal that saw hundreds of innocent branch managers wrongfully prosecuted for theft. we ll hear from one who s fought forjustice for 20 years. whilst there are some brighter skies ahead for us all there is still some rain in the forecast today particularly across the south, i will have your full forecast here on breakfast. it s thursday 4th january. our main story. a row about emergency cover has broken out between nhs bosses and union leaders, as a strike byjunior doctors in england enters its second day. yesterday nhs leaders made 20 requests for striking doctors to return to the wards and help overstretched services but the british medical association accused them of misusing the system, which is known as derogation. a number of nhs trusts have reported long waiting times in a&e, with some declaring critical incidents. here s more from our health editor hugh pym. # hey, vicky, ooh, ahh # i wanna know when you ll pay u
good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. rishi sunak has appeared to rule out a spring general election. speaking on a visit to a youth centre in nottinghamshire, the prime minister said his working assumption is that there will be a general elction in the second half of this year. an election has to be held by january 2025. in his own new year speech, the labour leader sir keir starmer said he hoped the new year would give the country a chance to vote out the conservatives. let s go live now to our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, who s at westminster. the prime minister appears to be rolling out a spring election, how much of a surprise is that? we are ust a few much of a surprise is that? we are just a few days much of a surprise is that? we are just a few days into much of a surprise is that? we are just a few days into 2024 - much of a surprise is that? we are just a few days into 2024 but - just a few days into 2024 but already in westminster
there are literally hundreds at the moment of flood warnings and i suspect we will be adding to those this evening across southern england, as more heavy rain is expected. so keep watching the forecast, tune into your bbc local radio station for updates, but it s this swirl of cloud that s starting to push on from the south west and this will bring a spell of wet weather across southern england during this afternoon and then it s going to push its way east. elsewhere a case of sunny spells and scattered showers, blustery across the northern isles, here are a frequent rash of showers and it will be on the cold side, two or three degrees at the very best but generally for most of us we are looking at 7 9 c. let s zoom into the rain. on top of the rain we have gusty winds through the channel. the jersey met has issued for red warning for gusts in excess of 60 miles an hour. it s pushing through at pace, a couple of inches falling on saturated flooded areas could have an impact.
The decline of the bewick s is being blamed in part on their wetland habitat being destroyed. climate change is also altering their migration routes. longer summers in the russian arctic and warmer european autumns mean the swans don t have to come as far as slimbridge to find winter feeding grounds. it s just one lake and a single species, but chronicled over 60 years the bewick s fate is a telling snapshot of our rapidly changing planet. jonah fisher, bbc news, at slimbridge. time for a look at the weather. here s louise lear. great weather for webbed feet, i think, is the best description. it s really trying our patients at the moment. it seems to have been relentless. a lot of the countryside looking like this, fairly flooded.