♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

announcer: and now, "bbc wor news". ♪ >> prince andrew is losing his royal and military titles. buckingham palace says he is handing his titles back to the queen and he will no longer be known as his royal highness. he must face a lawsuit over an allegation he denies. boris johnson is facing calls to resign after admitting he attended a party during the first lockdown, but his supporters in government have be rallying around. >> he accepts that he shouldn't have done that, but it was done in good flight -- in good faith.

people had been working incredibly hard. >> tensions rising between the u.k. and the u.s.. ♪ buckingham palace has announced that prince andrew is returning his royal and military titles to the queen and will no longer be referred to as his royal highness in any official capacity. it comes a day after prince andrew's lawyers failed to persuade a judge in america to dismiss a civil lsuit against him that accuses him of sexually abusing a teenager two decades ago. buckingham palace says he will defend the civil court case is a private citizen. reporter: the duke of york today . behind the scenes, there were

clearly discussions with his advisers and with other members of his family. it's clear the possibility of retaining his honorary military positions had been accepted by the queen, particularly after yesterday's court ruling in new york. he is therefore no longer the honorary cart love the grenadier guards. that will be a relief to them, his continued linkso the regiment hadecome an embarrassment. a statement from buckingham palace a short time o said, with the queens equivalent of treatment -- the queens approval and agreement, it has been returned to the queen. he will continue not to undertake any other duties and is defending this case as a private citizen. that certainly seems to suggest that andrew is determined to fight on, but steps are being taken to insulate as far as possible the royal from further embarrassment.

>> here is more on the loss of prince andrew's military titles. >> in the military sphere, he would've been visible this year into major respects. he is colonel of the grenadier guards and he would've had to have been or should have been operating in that capacity at trooping the color. it's not just an ordinary or routine ceremony, although this time it is in the queens platinum jubilee year. i think there is pressure from all sides, very subtle, and the quee and the prince of wales would have been well aware of this and they said now it is time to step down because he is fighting this case. the second one, sadly for him,

he is a veteran of the falklands campaign and he would have been prominent in the 40th anniversary which is really getting unrway this year. >> thank you for explaining the two areas this impacts. i wonder if you think those in the military will be regrading this decision? >> i think actually some of them will be mightily relieved. i'm not an intimate, but i have several very good friends, actually still serving in the household division, which includes the five foot guard regiments. and the head of the army, i think they would have been embarrassed with this because they know it not only affects the soldiers, the men and women serving them, but their spouses,

families, and above all, veterans. veterans are an important link with society. that's not an abstract, they help bring in the recruits. it is timely. it's not just a damage mitation exercise. the queen is actually well in touch with the soldiers come in particularly the household division. >> robert, you study the military very closely and of course no there is a conntion between the royalty -- royal family and the military that is passionately felt and goes back many, many years. what do you make of this moment for that relationship with one of the sons stepping back from that relationship? >> well, it's not a good look, is it? it does indicate something, that prince andrew has got a fight on

his hands, because it is quite clear that roberts is going to have her day in court. really a one woman band, julie kate brown of the miami harold interviewed the team and they are determined to get this out asy see it. ♪ >> boris johnson's cabin and has been in support as the prime minister faces calls for him to quit. on wednesday he admitted to attending a drinks gathering at downing street when england was in a lockdown back in 2020. >> with hindsight, he regret going out to the garden and coming back into the office. i think he is right to do that, recognizing, as he said, not

just the frustration, anger and upset that people have had. there is also the investigation being taken forward, once we know the details of that, we will come back to parliament. >> this was the primary moment, the prime ministerial apology in part. >> with the garden as an extension of the office, which has been in constant use because of the role of fresh air in stopping the virus. i went into that garden just after 6:00 on the 20th of may, 2020, for going back into my office 25 minutes later to continue working. i believed implicitly that this was a work event. that speaker, with hindsight, i should have sent everyone back

inde. >> there is boris johnson admitting for the first time that he'd attended a drinks gathering in the garden at downing street in 2020 when it was under strict restrictions. he is also said he thought it was a work event, which many don't accept. >> he is damaging the entire conservative brand with an unwillingness to accept the strict your set others have lived under. >> sir roger gale. >> first of all, making an apology is the right thing to do. unfortunately, he then went on to say that he spent 25 minutes at what he described as a work event, and it was in fact a party. having said on the eighth of december out of the dispatch box that he was not aware of any parties in downing street, when he clearly attended one. >> an investigion will

determine whether rules were broken at that gathering and other gatherings and parties. the report is due next week. orest johnson has said he was acting within the guidelines at all times. and he has the support of two very senior members of his cabinet. the foreign secretary tweeted that she stood behind him 100% while the chancellor used efferent language, saying the prime minister was right to apologize and i support his request f patients while sue gray carries out her inquiry. also defending him is the mp simon clark, chief secretary to the treasury and number two to the chancellor. >> there was no question in my mind, boris johnson was acting in good faith, to thank the people who would be helping to guide the country through the crisis, working incredibly hard. he accepts that he oughtn't to have done that, but there's no

possible malice or intention to do anything other than give a thank you to people who had been working incredibly hard, and that's what he did. >> boris johnson has said he won't quit, that he may be forced out by his own party, in theory, anyway. let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. 54 conservative mps would have to send letters to what is called a 1922 committee that consists of all the backbench conservatives mps. we will see how that plays out. we don't know how man letters have gone insofar. we can reasonably as four, which is a long way short of the figure required. but bloomberg is reporting that while a minority have called for boris johnson to go now, most are waiting on the official report. we will have to wait and see how the mps respond. in the past few hours, the metropolitan police have said it won't investigate any gatherings or parties unless this inquiry

reduces evidence of criminal offenses. for more on that, here's our political correspondent. reporter: the police said they had received a number of correspondences about this particular event on may 20 that we know now has been widely reported. the prime minister has excepted he was present for about 25 minutes at that drinks event. the police have said they are waiting for the outcome of this independent inquiry by sue gray, the top civil servant who is now responsible for investigating whether or not any breaches to lockdown restrictions have happened over the last two years. what is interesting to note is exactly what the inquiry can look out. she is a top civil servant, what she can do is establish the facts of what happened, if parties took place, where they took place, who attended and what the purpose of these events was. she can also say once the

coronavirus restrictions were in place at the time of any of these events, what she cannot do is explicitly say in this report if any laws were broken. that will be something for the legal system. she can, however, refer any sort of sin she gets that any behavior broke any kind of laws that were in place at the time. she can't referred that to the metropolitan police with her view being that any crimes that took place would be a matter for them. the language surrounding this at the moment that both sue gray and the metropolitan police can't essentially say whether or not any laws were broken. she could come to the conclusion of whether in her personal view any of the events that took place did contravene any coronavirus restrictions which were in place at the time. ♪ >> relations between russia and the west are going through a

challenging phase, to put it mildly, with russian troops massed on the border of ukraine and nato offering concessions to secure russia's security. there is continued disagreement on fundamental issues. to get a sense of where things stand, our report has been speaking to russia's ambassador to the u.k. >> mr. ambassador, is the russian federation preparing to invade ukraine? >> we haveiven this answer many times. it is not in our intention, that is all i can say at the moment. reporter: the deputy foreign minister in vienna today says his country will need to take unspecified necessary measures of russia's demands are not met. what does that mean? >> that is true, because as our colleague has already explained,

it continues to put in danger our security. it's very dangerous for russia. on the other hand, the fundamental obligation that has been signed by all leaders of the european states, including the united states and canada, by the way, in 1999 about indivisibility of security, about the security of each state is linked to the security of the other states. all of this has been turned down by nato. >> what does unspecified measures mea >> i cannot talk about this on open air at this time.

our military people are preparing different answers to this. >> thanks to christian fraser. stay with me here on outside source. all people are getting vaccinated in canada, a judge has limited the access of a father to his son for not being vaccinated. ♪ france is relaxing its travel rules for vaccinated writs. they will no longer need a compelling reason to visit the country. a negative covid test taken 24 hours before leaving the u.k. is required. francis reporting 300,000 daily cases of covid at the moment.

the travel plans of many thousands of people who wanted to be traveling for christmas, for work, or to see friends and family that had not seen for a very long time. so travel and tourism businesses were very upset about it. it was a very bad time for them, just when there had been optimism in the air. so today a positive reaction, some airlines reporting they have already seen a spike in bookings forki holidays, which are ill very big at this time of year. so they are excited to get more positive news. ♪ >> we are here in the bbc newsroom. our big story is that buckingham palace says prince andrew has given back his remaining

military titles and will no longer be known as his royal highness. next we turn to canada. a father in quebec province has temporarily lost the right to see his child on the grounds that he's not vaccinated against covid-19. a judge said it would not be in the child's best interest to have contact with her father if he is not vaccinated. the father's facebook page displayed a number of posts posing the vaccine, which were used as evidence. beck is struggling with the surge in cases and has imposed a health tax on the and vaccinated. here's that announcement being made earlier this week. >> right now, these people are putting a very important burden on our health care network. i think it's normal that the majority of the population is asking that there be a consequence. >> let's hear from stephanie, a journalist in montreal who has

been reporting on the case for a while. >> is a first, according to family lawyers i spoke to. in this case we have a teenager, a 12-year-old, the mother had custody of him and the father had visitation rights. one we can out of two and also week during the holidays. he is the one who has brought the case to court because he wanted to see his child were often. but the mother opposed his request because he was not vaccinated. the judge ruled, a decision involving a child in is best interest decided it would not be in his best interest because the father was not vaccinated, and also in the specific context of the omicron variant that spreads barely -- very easily and very fast. so the decision is a first, but there are several factors that seem to have influenced the judge.

doesn'tn that all similar cases will have the same result. >> help me understand those factors because surely it isn't just about the fact that the man has decided not to have the jab. reporter: exactly. first of all, the judge considered a lot, the actual context. we have a lot of cases in quebec, a lot of hospitalizations. everything is on the rise and hospitals are overloaded. in the specific context of the omicron viant, the judge decided it wasore dangerous for the child if you were to see his father. but also at play here was that the judge seem to believe that the judge -- the father was not going to respect the other senator -- sanitary measures in place. the father said he would, but the mother filed facebook posts and things showing that the man is again sanitary measures like

wearing a mask and against vaccines, so the judge did not believe him. he said that the father seems to be -- it did play against him. >> i just wanted to ask y about the broader situation with covid in quebec. what kind of restrictions are all of you living with at the moment? reporter: we do have a curfew starting at 10:00 p.m. at night until 5:00 in the morning. restaurants are closed, the bars are closed, access is limited. most stores are closed on sunday as well, even grocery stores. so there are lots of restrictions in place right now. we have a vaccine passport to axing a lot of places too. >> boris johnson is under

pressure here in the u.k. over parties held at dning street under a variety of different coronavirus restrictions. his political future is tied in large part to the outcome of an investigation being conducted by a senior civil servant. let's get a bit more detail on the investigation and the person in charge. there is one name that has been repeatedly mentioned by boris johnson supporters over the past week. >> sue gray. >> this is sue gray, a senior civil servant who has worked in both labor and conservative governments. here she is with the cabinet governor. the department that supports the prime minister and the cabinet is located next door to number it's the very center of government. sue gray is now the center of attention because she is investigating allegations about a number of differt parties and gatherings at downing street while england was under a variety of covid restrictions.

former navy minister douglas alexander used to work with her. >> she is an extraordinarily accomplished and capable civil servant. >> she has a reputation for vigorous internal investigations. she was once considered sleaze buster in chief. she ran a number of investigations including one in 2017 that led to the sacking of damien green who was a close ally of then prime minister theresa may. he denied having porn on his computer. now sue gray turns her attention to what happened on downing street during the pandemic. the prime minister and his wife shared she's in mine with staff in the downing street garden. five days later there was a bring your own booze party, also in the garden. in december there were several christmas gatherings or parties as well as an online quiz

attended by the prime minister via video camera. boris johnson has said rules we not broken. here's the paymaster general outlining the terms of her investigation. >> it will establish the facts, and if wrongdoing is established, there will be requisite disciplinary action taken. >> disciplinary action may be taken, but here is where it gets complicated. once sue gray has finished her report, it's not up to her what happens next. here is douglas alexander again. douglas: ultimately it is not a political judgment. what happens with the facts will then be detmined by the politicians. >> what happens next is up to the prime minister, other ministers, and mps to determine, which leads us to this question. >> is it boris johnson who will decide what happens with that

report? because a lot of people think that is absurd. >> or you could put it another way. >> so he will decide what happens to him if he determines he broke the rules. >> there is also the question of whether a senior civil servant working closely with the prime minister can act as an independent investigator. a former minister is concerned. he tweeted, to be clear, sue gray is not independent. she may be independently minded, but she is a civil servant reporting on her boss. not everyone agrees with that. one insider told the guardian, the biggest mistake they made if they wanted to cover something up was to appoint sue gray because she will investigate the claims and point the blame at those responsible. it's also possible the matter could be taken out of her hands. >> if evidence emerges of what

was potentially a criminal offense, it would be referred to the metropolitan police. >> for the moment we wait for sue gray to share her report. in his memoir, the former minister reportedly told another minister, took me precisely two years before i realized finally who runs brita. it is entirely run by a lady called sue gray. no doubt she would not categorize it that way. but is noted in to say that he report impacts the future of the u.k.. he may find laws were not broken, but if it finds that they were in the prime minister was a wling participant, force johnson's position will, under extreme pressure. a report has the potential to change the future. you can find more from me and the outside source team online.

thank you very much indeed for watching. see you soon. all the narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.