boris is it to chris whitty in prioritising - chris whitty in prioritising limiting _ chris whitty in prioritising limiting what you do in the to christmas and limiting how often you out as_ christmas and limiting how often you out as boris— christmas and limiting how often you out as borisjohnson christmas and limiting how often you out as boris johnson does christmas and limiting how often you out as borisjohnson does not christmas and limiting how often you out as boris johnson does not want to antagonize his backbenchers after a tricky— to antagonize his backbenchers after a tricky week he has had. but dentistry— a tricky week he has had. but dentistry is happy for him to go out there and _ dentistry is happy for him to go out there and for the message across even _ there and for the message across even though he is getting the blame from the _ even though he is getting the blame from the tory backbenchers. the reality— from the tory backbenchers. the reality is — from the tory backbenchers. the reality is whatever the scientists say is _ reality is whatever the scientis

every time i see chris whitty now, because of| i see chris whitty now, because of his demeanour, he's a very nice chat and clearly very authoritative but i cannot help looking at him in a black hat and a frock coat conducting a funeral. it's not, i don't say it in a funny way but about his demeanour. he spends so much of his time warning us about terrible things, the danger of course is if we kind of tune out the message because it is not palatable, thenit message because it is not palatable, then it actually is really important that we listen and more importantly understand the point he is making if we have any hope of mitigating the effects of a pandemic that we cannot prevent. i effects of a pandemic that we cannot revent. ., , ., , ., prevent. i mean if you listen to some of the — prevent. i mean if you listen to some of the more _ prevent. i mean if you listen to some of the more shrill - prevent. i mean if you listen to some of the more shrill tory i some of the more shrill tory backbenchers, the real far out libertarian french that's been voting — libertarian french that's

chris whitty— in otherwords, more measures. chris whitty got— in otherwords, more measures. chris whitty got a _ in otherwords, more measures. chris whitty got a verbal kicking from some _ whitty got a verbal kicking from some conservative mps in the commons for his— some conservative mps in the commons for his suggestion about limiting sociai— for his suggestion about limiting social mixing in the run—up to christmas _ social mixing in the run—up to christmas. they say this is effectively a lockdown by stealth. labour _ effectively a lockdown by stealth. labour are concentrating more on the politicians _ labour are concentrating more on the politicians than the advisors. they say they— politicians than the advisors. they say they want the chancellor to come back from _ say they want the chancellor to come back from california and provide more _ back from california and provide more cash — back from california and provide more cash for companies that have been _ more cash for companies that have been affected by cancellations. but it's not _ been affected by canc

in the words of chris whitty, — rebellion. in the words of chris whitty, or— rebellion. in the words of chris whitty, orto rebellion. in the words of chris whitty, or to paraphrase him, there is lots _ whitty, or to paraphrase him, there is lots of— whitty, or to paraphrase him, there is lots of covid news tonight, and all of— is lots of covid news tonight, and all of it— is lots of covid news tonight, and all of it is— is lots of covid news tonight, and all of it is bad. when you are looking — all of it is bad. when you are looking at— all of it is bad. when you are looking at more restrictions, there is a chance — looking at more restrictions, there is a chance of another lockdown over christmas _ is a chance of another lockdown over christmas i— is a chance of another lockdown over christmas. i do wonder if we are actually— christmas. i do wonder if we are actually going to make christmas without _ actually going to make christmas without further restrictions. boris johnson _ without further restrictions. boris johnson is — without further restrict

the daily telegraph writes that borisjohnson and chris whitty urge the public to scale back their socialising in the run—up to christmas. the i adds that the chief medical officer is telling the nation not to "mix with people you don't have to". the guardian also leads on this story, writing that the prime minister continues to insist formal restrictions on gatherings are unnecessary. the daily express writes that mrjohnson is urging people to "think ca refully" about going to christmas parties. and the metro reports on the mortuary vulture david fuller, who will die injail after abusing more than 100 corpses of women and murdering two women. so, let's begin. henry, kick us off tonight with the front of the financial times. covid cases hit record 78,000 as 0micron sweeps the country. fix, cases hit record 78,000 as omicron sweeps the country.— sweeps the country. a record date with that figure _ sweeps the country. a record date with that figure and _ sweeps the country. a record date with that figure and the _ sweeps the country. a record date with that figure and the case - with that f

whitty for advice _ like more to chris whitty for advice. he is, afterall, the scientist _ advice. he is, afterall, the scientist in the room. we advice. he is, after all, the scientist in the room. we are going to turn to the _ scientist in the room. we are going to turn to the front _ scientist in the room. we are going to turn to the front page _ scientist in the room. we are going to turn to the front page of - scientist in the room. we are going to turn to the front page of the - to turn to the front page of the mirror, john. it's going to take us to another page, another front page in a moment, but ijust want to beat this out to summarise it for our viewers. basically referring to an incident, a party that took place, and events, rather, an event that took place last year, and the met police i sent to close two people about what's been described as a rockets bash thrown by tory aides whilst in lockdown last christmas, as well as the tory headquarters probe, the paper says sparked by one of their own investigations, officers are in touc

laura wright setting the scene from chris whitty's press conference last night. that is it for me for this 2020 -- 2021. it has been a long, enduring year. thanks to everyone who has worked from home tirelessly, who has worked in the office, who has battled through covid and this pandemic, we will battle on in 2022. a very festive greetings from dubai. ♪ hey, angie! you forgot your phone! hey lou! angie forget her phone again? yep. lou! mom said she could save up to $400 on her wireless bill by switching to xfinity internet and mobile. with nationwide 5g at no extra cost. and lou! on the most reliable network, lou! smart kid, bill. oh oh so true. and now, the moon christmas special. gotta go! take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes switching fast and easy this holiday season. >> good morning, welcome to bloomberg markets europe. i'm anna edwards live in london. mark cudmore joins us from singapore to take us to all of the market action this hour. the cash trade is just less than an

chris whitty. we and from england 's chief medical professor chris whitty.— and from england 's chief medical professor chris whitty. we were, you said subtle and _ professor chris whitty. we were, you said subtle and i _ professor chris whitty. we were, you said subtle and i think _ professor chris whitty. we were, you said subtle and i think it _ professor chris whitty. we were, you said subtle and i think it was - said subtle and i think it was stark, to be honest, in terms of tone. the prime minister was talking about the national with boosters, chris whitty was saying don't mix unless you have to before christmas, talking about people having to prioritise who they socialise with. i guess it is not a matter of official government guidance, certainly no official restrictions but it is making people think, if you want to see your family for example, over christmas, do you socialise with your friends first or does it put you at risk of catching the virus that is rampaging through the virus that

chris whitty — now sir chris — has given his reaction to his knighthood. he said... among the many olympic stars to receive an honour is the gold medal—winning diver tom daley. he spoke to bbc breakfast�*s sally nugent about being given an obe. iam i am extremely proud to be honoured with an obe. i think it's also that now being in obe i think it's a responsibility to make the whole car in a better place for lgbt for women, for all people of colour in a more inclusive and accepting environment with accepting this obe it is now my responsibility to help create change and help create this environment where everybody can be anything that they want no matter where they came from.— anything that they want no matter where they came from. that's quite an aspirational— where they came from. that's quite an aspirational thing _ where they came from. that's quite an aspirational thing to _ where they came from. that's quite an aspirational thing to mark - where they came from. that's quite an aspirational thing to mark out i an aspirational thing to mark out that you a

chris whitty said — people running up to it? chris whitty said that _ people running up to it? chris whitty said that people - people running up to it? (ct 3 whitty said that people should prioritise what matters to them. do not mix with people you don't have to it was his clear message. the prime minister said repeatedly he is not closing hospitality, not cancelling events, but think carefully, he said, do lateralflow tests, wash your hands, open windows, he said his plans over christmas were pretty modest. yesterday of course, nicola sturgeon asked people in scotland to limit socialising to just three households. socialising to 'ust three households._ socialising to 'ust three households. , . ., , socialising to 'ust three households. , . . , ., ~ socialising to 'ust three households. , . . , ., ,, scotland, wales and northern ireland already have covid passports, and from today people in england need what's being called a covid pass to get into large venues, like nightclubs and stadiums. all adults must prove they are fully vaccinated, or have a negative covid test from with

the government come i don't think chris whitty, has he changed his view in the last 24 hours? you know 24 hours ago we had the boat. the prime minister can't, and his own party and now we have this deeply worrying press conference. sam and now we have this deeply worrying press conference.— and now we have this deeply worrying press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very — press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very confused. _ press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very confused. i _ press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very confused. i know- press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very confused. i know you - press conference. sam very confused. -- cim very confused. i know you are| —— cim very confused. i know you are there are a section of your colleagues of how the health brief who have said to me and interviews into lots of other people in interviews, and every occasion the government is acted too late. they haven't blamed the scientists for that they've never said the government was following the scientific advice but it acted too late. b

chris whitty was very clear _ family gatherings and so on? (ct 3 whitty was very clear today family gatherings and so on? (i 3 whitty was very clear today in family gatherings and so on? (ct 3 whitty was very clear today in the conference. he said he recommended people prioritise what matters to them. he said don't mix with people you don't have to. the prime minister said he would not be shutting hospitality, he would not be cancelling events but he said people should be cautious doesn't wash your hands, do regular lateral flow tests, make sure places are ventilated for that yesterday, the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon asked people in scotland to limit socialising to three households, but that is guidance only. but if these numbers quickly rising more pressure builds on nhs then talk of more restrictions will get louder. then talk of more restrictions will get louder-— then talk of more restrictions will aet louder. ,, , . ., , get louder. sure, 0k. fergus walsh our medical— get louder. sure, 0k. fergus walsh our medical editor

all this is the chief medical officer chris whitty _ 300. all this is the chief medical officer chris whitty wants - 300. all this is the chief medical officer chris whitty wants the . officer chris whitty wants the cabinet of a likely increase in covid hospital numbers, a view echoed by other senior officials. irate echoed by other senior officials. we are echoed by other senior officials. - are concerned with the large volume of individuals who are being affected —— make infected every day in the population that we are going to have a very difficult four weeks ahead of cases in the community, which will of course cause need to stay away from work and work and school and then for those cases to transfer into admissions to hospital. transfer into admissions to hos - ital. transfer into admissions to hosital. ~ , transfer into admissions to hosital. ~' , , hospital. their key message is, get our 'ab hospital. their key message is, get yourjab come _ hospital. their key message is, get yourjab come up — hospital. their key message is, ge

the difficulty had -- the difficulty was that he had -- chris whitty had a message different. that was to come a he said, de-prioritize contacts that -- that was, he said, de-prioritize contacts not important to you if you want to prioritize those that are such as meeting family on christmas day. only meet the people who are really significant to you. that i think is a bit of daylight between the two positions. the prime minister was saying, carry on. be cautious, take a test, but go to parties. the chief medical officer's advice will increase, i think, the pressure that people will feel. people may well listen to that. the government meanwhile is hoping the messenger -- the measures it has in place now will be enough at least to see through this initial period. ros: in the european union we heard from the president of the european commission urszula von the lion. -- ursula von der leyen. >> omicron seems to be doubling every two to three days. that is massive. we are told by mid-january we should expect omicron to be the new dominant there -- variant in europe. ros: ursula vo

the uk's chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, told mps that he expects the peak to come "incredibly fast" but subside more quickly than previous variants. borisjohnson has again urged more people to get vaccinated but he insisted the government is not planning to lock down england again. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh, on another record—breaking day. what do you want for christmas? for millions, it's a booster. these people in newcastle today were prepared to wait for hours for a covid vaccination bus. it was a record day for boosterjabs but also covid cases. boosters offer the best protection against 0micron, but there is huge uncertainty whether they will blunt it enough to keep hospital admissions below last january's peak. even if it is milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number going into hospital on a single day. that is certainly possible. it may be less than that but it is certainly possible. the numbers of confirmed 0micron patients in hospital are still low for now. it will be weeks before we have hard e

let's return to evidence england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, has been giving to mps on the health select committee about the spread of omicron. at a news conference at downing street yesterday, he urged people to be cautious about socialising before christmas. professor whitty said the uk could surpass the daily peak number of people admitted to hospital with covid—19. he told the commons health and social care committee: �*it is possible because it is going to be very concentrated... even if it is milder, because it's concentrated over a short period of time'. asked about socialising, he said it's "sensible" to cut down on work or other interactions, like social events, that might be "less important" to you. and prof whitty underlined the importance of getting a booster — and warned "even if the boosters do hold" a lot of people will fall ill simultaneously. cases of omicron have been doubling every two to three days but professor whitty explained how the numbers will start decreasing. the doubling rate will slow down for two reasons. the first is that peo

that really matter to you —— my chris whitty. in other words, matter to you —— my chris whitty. in otherwords, do matter to you —— my chris whitty. in other words, do less, fewer christmas lunches, fewer trips to the pub, may be less christmas shopping and on the other hand, you get the prime minister saying here are the tools we are giving you, like lateral flow tests, to do those things safely, so there is a difference of emphasis once you drill down into what taking personal responsibility actually means. i think a theme that will develop throughout the day to day is increasing pressure on the government over financial support for businesses as a result because, when people are hearing that, they are stopping going out. uk trade hospitality, the trade body for the industry, say they expect december takings to be 40% down on average and that is a big blow at a big time of yearfor that and that is a big blow at a big time of year for that industry. also, i think they will be increasing personal pressure on the chancellor

whitty, to get an update on the cases and crucially the hospitalisations and that will be the key bit will look at because last time cabinet met to discuss whether or not there were any further restrictions needed for england, the big agreement across cabinet at the time was that they didn't want to introduce any further restrictions for england yet unless they saw data on hospitalisations and start to rise rapidly to the extent they could risk overwhelming the nhs. it'll be interesting to see where that data stands today although any further rise in cases tends to be seen in hospitalisation slightly later so it could still be a couple of days before we see that. we will be talking later in this hour about the scientific judgment on the data and at what stage we might have the confidence to see this is a mild invariant and it has less health applications. we are not at that stage yet so in a sense it is a real dilemma about how heavily you come down. i heard one of the scottish executives, scientific advisers, saying every previous evidence of covid has been that you need to act quick

chris whitty— do go out, like taking a test. chris whitty is _ do go out, like taking a test. chris whitty is saying go out less, boris johnson _ whitty is saying go out less, boris johnson is — whitty is saying go out less, boris johnson is saying, here is how you io johnson is saying, here is how you go out _ johnson is saying, here is how you go out safely. two slightly different versions of the message about— different versions of the message about your own risk assessment. as a result— about your own risk assessment. as a result of— about your own risk assessment. as a result of that, hospitality in particular is seeing a lot of people cancelling — particular is seeing a lot of people cancelling their bookings. uk hospitality, the trade body, expect takings _ hospitality, the trade body, expect takings to— hospitality, the trade body, expect takings to fall by 40% in december. december— takings to fall by 40% in december. december is a crucial month for the hospitaiity— december is a crucial month for the hospitality industry. so you are seeing — hospita

i think professor chris whitty said this the other day, one of the things about epidemics is that there is evidence to go up quite quickly often go down quite quickly at the other sides of the peak. so having a balance of not having a peak that threatens the integrity of the health service and throws a lot of other essential services into disarray, at least same time as trying to ensure we get over this fairly quickly is not going to be easy. fairly quickly is not going to be eas . ., ~' fairly quickly is not going to be eas . . ~ , ., fairly quickly is not going to be eas. . ~ i. ., fairly quickly is not going to be eas. . ., , ., fairly quickly is not going to be eas. . ., easy. thank you for sharing your thou~hts easy. thank you for sharing your thoughts with — easy. thank you for sharing your thoughts with others. _ rising concern about the rapid spread of the 0micron variant in london has prompted mayor sadiq khan to declare a major incident in the capital. he said, "the 0micron variant has quickly become dominant, with cases increasing rapidly and the number of patients in our h

chris whitty says substantial numbers of people will be hospitalized over the holiday period. the u.k. reported more than 78,000 new coronavirus cases on wednesday. that's the most since the beginning of the pandemic. scientists in south africa have found a combination that may give stronger protection against the omicron variant. it is a two dose course of the pfizer and biontech vaccine, as well as a previous inspection with the coronavirus. they say that would provide 73% protection against symptomatic disease from omicron, and 95% against severe infection. president biden says he will back senate democrats taking on voting rights legislation, if they have the votes for passage. because that the single biggest issue. the party is looking for a victory since the president's nearly two triggered our economic agenda is stalled by fighting among the democrats. this may be the biggest deal ever in music for an individual artist. bruce springsteen reportedly has sold his masters and music publishing to sony. according to billboard, the price is around $500 million. last year, bob

whitty, yesterday 0fficer, chris whitty, yesterday when he said effectively don't mix if you don't have to, and that was leaving hospitality especially in the lurch. they are also worried about the prospect of any future restrictions, and they are effectively getting buffeted by many of their own constituents. i spoke to an mp first thing this morning at westminister who said he had a transport company that often took people to and from christmas parties, and they had a 70% drop off in business. the chancellorfeels he can no longer stay on the other side of the atlantic, given pressure from his own backbenchers as well as from the opposition. his own backbenchers as well as from the opposition-— the opposition. many thanks for that. nearly a quarter of patients brought to hospital in an ambulance are facing dangerous delays getting into hospital in england, nhs data shows. ambulances are meant to hand over patients within 15 minutes of arriving. but in the past week, 23% out of nearly 8a,000 patients brought in waited over 30 minutes. joining me now is dr denise langhor, emergency med

that was something professor chris whitty told the cabinet this morning that he told mps when he did a call with them just before this debate started. sajid javid was trying to explain to his backbenchers that in his view, this was a relatively limited package of measures that were proportionate, the description were proportionate, the description we have heard, and it would be time limited. these expire injanuary. it was particularly the issue when the covid pass that he tried to take on some of the concerns of tory mps and he was emphatic that this was not a covid passport, that people going to nightclubs or big indoor venues good at present held negative lateral flow test or proof of vaccination but it then became clear there were deep conservative reservations and he was a flavour of what the tory backbenchers said... this he was a flavour of what the tory backbenchers said. . ._ backbenchers said... this was effectively _ backbenchers said... this was effectively the _ backbenchers said... this was effectively the first _ backbenchers said... this was effectively the first big -

reporting in the times to break away from the telegraph or one second that chris whitty and sir patrick balance are also not commenting on the lack of restrictions. there is one quote here saying "i didn't get the impression that the two of them were convinced we were making a mistake even if they probably thought on balance we probably are." the reason the jury is out to because in the daily telegraph, they have some of the for gary's cases and hospitalisation. wejumped to a peak of the beanie that we week, 93,000 cases uk wide, and then we come back a little bit to the 90,000 new cases each day, but that thing we are looking at us hospitalisations. at the telegraph saysis hospitalisations. at the telegraph says is that the rent 7801 people in hospital with a bit as of december 20. 1% up from hospital with a bit as of december 20.1% up from a week hospital with a bit as of december 20. 1% up from a week earlier. there is a two—week lag, and that is what we are very outcome at the moment, we are very outcome at the moment, we are not seeing it in people going to hospitals. that we are

whitty and the other senior scientist say and we do see a huge surge in cases and a real pressure on the nhs and a lot of those mps they were this is outrageous and we don't want any more restrictions, they will be wondering and people will be looking at them as saying what were you thinking? the premise that it was right. the scientists were right and the nhs is overwhelmed. so borisjohnson rather intriguingly may be saved by an appalling search that he won't want obviously but people being in hospital and all of the die but if a worst—case scenario does happen the more stress will have been proven right to have gone early and gone hard. �* , ., ., right to have gone early and gone hard. �*, ., ., ., . ., hard. let's go to the financial times story- _ hard. let's go to the financial times story. which _ hard. let's go to the financial times story. which is - hard. let's go to the financial times story. which is three i hard. let's go to the financial l times story. which is three rate rises next year and pressure mounts on back of england. maybe people have already factored in

whitty "going on tv with coronavirus..." the government rhetoric was putting a shield around care homes, it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. did you hear him say, "let the bodies pile high "in their thousands" or "it's only killing 80—year—olds"? i heard that in the prime minister's study. downing street categorically denied that he had said let the bodies pile high and said that they tried to minimise a loss of life. injune, there was a chance to cool off. the prime minister hosted leaders of the g7 nations at a summit in cornwall, meeting the new us president in person for the first time. i felt it wasn't about me, it was about america. i felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm, that america was back at the table and fully, fully engaged. back in westminster, a good old—fashioned tabloid scoop by the sun was about to bring the career of one of the government's most prominent cabinet ministers to a swift end. the health secretary matt hancock was pictured kissing

all this as the chief medical officer, chris whitty, warned the cabinet of a likely increase in covid hospital numbers, a view echoed by other senior officials. we are concerned with the large volume of individuals who are being infected every day in the population, that we're going to have a very difficult four weeks ahead with cases in the community. their key message is "get yourjab", with military personnel helping in taunton and at other centres. they'll hope they can keep up with the spread of the virus. then, starting in scotland, appeals for people to reduce mixing indoors with other households, and to think carefully about who they socialise with. the warnings were stark. i am not asking you to cancel or change your plans for christmas day, boxing day, or whenever you have your main festive celebration. but, in the run—up to and in the aftermath of christmas, i am asking, i am appealing to everyone to cut down, as far as possible, our contacts with people in other households. my key request to all of you today is, as far as you can, please minimise your indoor social intera

england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty said those records, and more, will be broken over the coming weeks as rates rise. the prime minister said the government was �*throwing everything' at the vaccine rollout across the uk, to curb the spread of the new variant with over 650—thousand jabs being administered across the country yesterday. despite the significant rise in cases, there was no indication of any further restrictions in england. our political editor laura kuenssberg has this report. are we staring down the barrel of a terrible outbreak of the virus? are we looking at the signs of impossible pressure for the nhs? is the prime minister watching out of control as his credibility fall away? with record cases, borisjohnson, eager again to emphasise what he wants you to do. we are throwing everything at the wave of omicron - that continues to roll - in across the united kingdom, and wherever you are, _ we will be there with a jab for you. so please, get boosted now. demand for the booster has surged, but so has the variant, more cases recorded today than at a

speaking to mps, professor chris whitty said that the present wave of the omicron variant was likely to peak quite quickly, but that it could also reduce faster than previous peaks. health officials have warned that nhs services may be badly affected by staff illness as omicron spreads rapidly, and that they are trying to keep routine hospital services going as much as possible. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. with the number of new covid—19 infection is surging, how will the nhs and social care cope? with a highly infectious new variant, one of the biggest concerns is what will happen when — as seems inevitable — large numbers of staff fall ill, while at the same time hospital admissions are climbing. we will keep as much of our routine services going as possible, that's what we did last january during the last big wave. but inevitably, if we get many more admissions over the coming weeks, we will see some disruption. from today, we have new drugs available that we can give to the highest risk people in the community, which will also prevent hospital admission

whitty injecting me live on tv with coronavirus". the government rhetoric we were putting a shield around care homes, blah, blah, it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. did you hear him say, "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" or "it's only killing 80—year—olds"? i heard that in the prime minister's study. downing street categorically denied that the prime minister had said "let the bodies pile high" and said that they tried to minimise a loss of life. injune, there was a chance to cool off. the prime minister hosted leaders of the g7 nations at a summit in cornwall. meeting the new us president in person for the first time. i felt it wasn't about me, it was about america. i felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm, that america was back at the table and fully, fully engaged. back in westminster, a good old—fashioned tabloid scoop by the sun was about to bring the career of one of the government's most prominent cabinet ministers to a swift end. the health secretary m

whitty "going on tv with coronavirus..." the government rhetoric was putting a shield around care homes, it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. did you hear him say, "let the bodies pile high "in their thousands" or "it's only killing 80—year—olds"? i heard that in the prime minister's study. downing street categorically denied that he had said let the bodies pile high and said that they tried to minimise a loss of life. injune, there was a chance to cool off. the prime minister hosted leaders of the g7 nations at a summit in cornwall. meeting the new us president in person for the first time. i felt it wasn't about me, it was about america. i felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm, that america was back at the table and fully, fully engaged. back in westminster, a good old—fashioned tabloid scoop by the sun was about to bring the career of one of the government's most prominent cabinet ministers to a swift end. the health secretary matt hancock was pictured kissing

whitty going on tv with coronavirus... the govermnment rhetoric was putting a shield around care homes, it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. did you hear him say, "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" or "it's only killing 80—year—olds"? i heard that in the prime minister's study. downing street denied that he had said let the bodies pile high and said that they tried to minimise a loss of life. injune, a chance to cool off. the prime minister hosted leaders of the g7 nations at a summit in cornwall. meeting the new us president in person for the first time. i felt it wasn't about me, it was about america. i felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm, that america was back at the table and fully engaged. back in westminster, a good old—fashioned tabloid scoop by the sun was about to bring the career of one of the government's most prominent cabinet ministers to a swift end. the health secretary matt hancock was pictured kissing his aide, gina coladangelo in h

all this as the chief medical officer, chris whitty, warned the cabinet of a likely increase in covid hospital numbers, a view echoed by other senior officials. we are concerned with the large volume of individuals who are being infected every day in the population, that we're going to have a very difficult four weeks ahead with cases in the community. their key message is "get yourjab", with military personnel helping in taunton and at other centres. they'll hope they can keep up with the spread of the virus. then, starting in scotland, appeals for people to reduce mixing indoors with other households, and to think carefully about who they socialise with. the warnings were stark. i am not asking you to cancel or change your plans for christmas day, boxing day, or whenever you have your main festive celebration. but, in the run—up to and in the aftermath of christmas, i am asking, i am appealing to everyone to cut down, as far as possible, our contacts with people in other households. my key request to all of you today is, as far as you can, please minimize your indoor social intera

whitty injecting me live on tv with coronavirus". the government rhetoric we were putting a shield around care homes, it was complete nonsense. quite the opposite, we sent people with covid back to the care homes. did you hear him say, "let the bodies pile high in their thousands" or "it's only killing 80—year—olds"? i heard that in the prime minister's study. downing street categorically denied that the prime minister had said "let the bodies pile high" and said that they tried to minimise a loss of life. injune, there was a chance to cool off. the prime minister hosted leaders of the g7 nations at a summit in cornwall. meeting the new us president in person for the first time. i felt it wasn't about me, it was about america. i felt a genuine sense of enthusiasm, that america was back at the table and fully, fully engaged. back in westminster, a good old—fashioned tabloid scoop by the sun was about to bring the career of one of the government's most prominent cabinet ministers to a swift end. the health secretary matt hancock

borisjohnson is going to be with patrick vallance and chris whitty, the medical officers. it is not a cabinet — the medical officers. it is not a cabinet meeting, and he is going to have to _ cabinet meeting, and he is going to have to wait up, with the very limited — have to wait up, with the very limited data — because the data he receives _ limited data — because the data he receives tomorrow morning will not show the _ receives tomorrow morning will not show the hospitalisations as a result— show the hospitalisations as a result of— show the hospitalisations as a result of mixing and niggling over the christmas holiday period. —— mixing and mingling. he has three options _ —— mixing and mingling. he has three options - _ —— mixing and mingling. he has three options - do— —— mixing and mingling. he has three options — do nothing, offer some guidance — options — do nothing, offer some guidance on bringing new rules. the latter— guidance on bringing new rules. the latter what— guidance on bringing new rules. the latter what is going

look, i think what both chris and i, chris whitty and i are saying is that there is a big wave of 0micron coming through. people need to be prudent, they need to think about your budget of risk, as it were, sam. we are not in a position that we were in last year of closing everything down and trying to mandate exactly what people do. we want to leave much more to people's responsibility and choice but we want them to be aware of the facts, and the facts are that 0micron, it does represent a very considerable risk and people need to be aware of that risk. they need to take the steps and above all, they need to get boosted now. final question, tory mps are saying publicly that conversations have begun about your future — whether you should stay in thatjob. if it was the interests of the country, if it was in the interest of the conservative party, would you resign? sam, can ijust remind you of everything i have been saying throughout this interview. which is that is exactly the kind of question that qualifies, that breaks the golden rule. what we are focusing on is getting thejob done. on

all this as the chief medical officer, chris whitty, warned the cabinet of a likely increase in covid hospital numbers — a view echoed by other senior officials. we are concerned with the large volume of individuals who are being infected every day in the population, that we are going to have a very difficult four weeks ahead with cases in the community. their key message is get yourjab, with military personnel helping in taunton and at other centres. they'll hope they can keep up with the spread of the virus. then, starting in scotland, appeals for people to reduce mixing indoors with other households, and to think carefully about who they socialise with. the warnings were stark. i am not asking you to cancel or change your plans for christmas day, boxing day, or whenever you have your main festive celebration. but, in the run—up to and in the aftermath of christmas, i am asking — i am appealing to everyone to cut down, as far as possible, our contacts with people in other households. my key request to all of you today is, as far as you can, please minimise your indoor social i

whitty to get a picture of what the data is looking like and the key thing he is looking at will be hospitalisations. as we know, further restrictions have been introduced in other parts of the uk, in england, cabinet ministers have been holding tight and this is because ministers have really been wanting to see real—time data on hospitalisations, notjust models about what they could look like in future but evidence that they are starting to rise to a level they believe willjustify introducing further restrictions in england. is there a changing political climate within the government, the conservative party, in the sense we have seen perhaps increased scepticism on the tory backbenches and amongst some cabinet ministers about restrictions and the need for restrictions and scepticism about the science as well, sometimes? that's right. i think there is a political part to the story that needs to be reflected. certainly, as you say, several sources in government have acknowledged any further restrictions that could be needed for england would politically be very tricky to get throug

and also in this story chris whitty saying a very significant increase in hospitalisations are on the way. i think there was a figure and i think it was in the guardian say, susan hopkins saying the omicron variant infections could reach i million a day by the end of december. so very big figures being lobbed around. fine december. so very big figures being lobbed around.— lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that — lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that one _ lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that one of _ lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that one of the _ lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that one of the things - lobbed around. one thing i noticed earlier that one of the things the i earlier that one of the things the government did was to have chris would he do a briefing for mps and you just wonder of it whether it kind of actually might have backfired. if they feel that the science has been overplaying the threat in the sense that omicron has yet to be shown to be a threat to life even if it is going to make more people ill proporti

whitty to get a picture of what the data is looking like and the key thing he is looking at will be hospitalisations. as we know, further restrictions have been introduced in other parts of the uk. in england, cabinet ministers have been holding tight and this is because ministers have really been wanting to see real—time data on hospitalisations, notjust models about what they could look like in future but evidence that they are starting to rise to a level they believe willjustify introducing further restrictions in england. is there a changing political climate within the government, the conservative party, in the sense we have seen perhaps increased scepticism on the tory backbenches and amongst some cabinet ministers about restrictions and the need for restrictions and scepticism about the science as well, sometimes? that's right. i think there is a political part to the story that needs to be reflected. certainly, as you say, several sources in government have acknowledged any further restrictions that could be needed for england would politically be very tricky to get throug

as the 0micron wave accelerates, the uk's chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, has told mps that he expects the peak to come "incredibly fast" but subside more quickly than previous variants because of the boosterjabs. more than 745,000 people had their booster yesterday — a new record — as the long queues continue. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. what do you want for christmas? for millions it is a booster. these people in newcastle today were prepared to wait for hours or a covid vaccination bus. it was a record day for boosterjabs, but also covid cases. boosters offer the best protection against 0micron, but there is huge uncertainty whether they will blunt it enough to keep hospital admissions below last january's peak. hospital admissions below last january's peak-— january's peak. even if it is milder, because _ january's peak. even if it is milder, because it - january's peak. even if it is milder, because it is - january's peak. even if it is - milder, because it is concentrated over a short period of time, you could end up with a higher number going in

professor chris whitty, the chief medical officer and patrick vallance, the chief scientific adviser will brief mps tonight on the latest data but even if borisjohnson was convinced he had to act he would face considerable resistance amongst members of his own party and around his cabinet table, powerful voices are saying you cannot close down large sections of the economy based on small amounts of data so they are pushing for more data on hospitalisations, the severity of the illness, this might not come until next week before any firm decisions are taken. the other side of this, there are some cabinet ministers saying hospitalisations are going up in london, we cannot wait too long before we act, there are warnings about sickness levels as we are hearing in the nhs and the health secretary, if clinically advisable, is trying to push down self isolation times from ten days until seven days so it's clear boris johnson... loss of sound iain, thank you. so that's the view from westminster, but what of the devolved administrations across the uk? we'll get the latest from lorna gordon in

yes, and i think everybody, i mean chris whitty is said exactly the same in his last press conference, that is the major concern and we will be able to be more certain of that scenario, exactly what we are heading into, in the next few days and i think with the increasing amounts of data coming in, there is a real concern we will be heading into something which has the risk of overwhelming the health service. the nhs in england says boosterjabs will be available at nearly 3000 locations across the country this weekend, in response to the spread of the 0micron variant. 0ur reporter, ben boulos, is at a vaccination centre in north london which is staying open for 2h hours. here at this vaccination centre in north london, they have been going throughout the night, running what they call a 24—hour jabathon. they started at six o'clock yesterday evening and they are going right through until six o'clock this evening. already they have delivered 2500 vaccinations, they are aiming to deliver 5000 by the time they finish this tent. as you can see, here people arrive, they check in, register

i suppose the caveat is what chris whitty said last week, that we could see record numbers in hospital, but we could also see shorter stays and perhaps fewer people in intensive care, because all of those issues around severity, which we still need to actually pin down. that is potentially possible, isn't it? record numbers, perhaps stays? isn't it? record numbers, perhaps sta s? ~ , ., stays? absolutely right, we are seeinu stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very _ stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high _ stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high numbers - stays? absolutely right, we are seeing very high numbers of i seeing very high numbers of infections. the likelihood is we will see more infections and cases than ever before. we know there are far fewer hospital admissions and hopefully deaths are rising per infection. so, from out of each case that arises. mostly, that is probably because the vaccines give greater protection against the more severe outcomes from covid. that seems to give greater protection against hospital admissions and deaths. whether omicro

the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, says there are now effectively two pandemics happening at the same time. this is a really serious thought at the moment. how big a threat, there are several things we don't know but all the things we do know are bad. and the principal one being the speed at which this is moving, it's moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace. therefore, between the time of first asked to take off and will be able to see and the point when we get to very, very, very large numbers will be quite sure when. i think that is part of the issue. the uk's main weapon against omicron has been boosterjabs, a third shot of the pfizer or moderna vaccines for adults, as outlined by prime minister borisjohnson. keep going, let's keep giving omicron both barrels and let's slow it spread and give the vaccines more time. and of course it's notjust the uk which is seeing a spike in cases. we'll look at how omicron is affecting other parts of the world in just a moment — after this report on how britain is trying to respond — from our health editor, hugh pym. with the rapi

whitty, and the medical director of primary care for nhs england. you can watch that press briefing from downing street live here on bbc news from 5.00 this afternoon. for the first time in history, a spacecraft has flown through the outer atmosphere of the sun. nasa says the parker solar probe, which was launched in 2018, had to withstand intense heat and radiation during the mission. scientists say it will help provide a better understanding of how the sun works. earlier my colleague annita mcveigh spoke to dr imogen whittam, an astrophycisist from the university of oxford and asked her how difficult this mission is. it is obviously hugely challenging to send a probe actually into the sun's atmosphere, because the temperatures can reach over1 million degrees, so you have got to design a spacecraft which is not only to withstand those temperatures but actually be able to use instruments and take valuable measurements while inside and experiencing those extreme temperatures. so there are two ways, the probe actually only spends a very small amount o

i have heard that from chris whitty and patrick balanced themselves. we are relying on real—time data that comes in from the nhs, hospitals and the like. that is the thing that we still have uncertainty around. the most important thing we are doing right now is boosting the vaccine roll—out. the third dose, 53% of adults have now had it. on saturday, 900,000 got their booster, and at the same time we have got this plan b. more wearing of masks and more crowded environments, the work from home where you can guidance, and i think that is the right approach to take. untilwe think that is the right approach to take. until we are at the point where we have got clearer data on the severity of omicron, that is the missing piece right now. of course, we are keeping it under review, hour tjy we are keeping it under review, hour by hour, day by day. do we are keeping it under review, hour by hour. day by day-— by hour, day by day. do you feel that tighter _ by hour, day by day. do you feel that tighter restrictions - by hour, day by day. do you feel that t

i think professor chris whitty said this the other day, one of the things about epidemics is that there is evidence to go up quite quickly often go down quite quickly at the other sides of the peak. so having a balance of not having a peak that threatens the integrity of the health service and throws a lot of other essential services into disarray, at least same time as trying to ensure we get over this fairly quickly is not going to be easy. rising concern about the rapid spread of the 0micron variant in london has prompted mayor sadiq khan to declare a major incident in the capital. gfx he said "the 0micron variant has quickly become dominant, with cases increasing rapidly and the number of patients in our hospitals on the rise again" in the past seven days, the number of covid patients in london hospitals has gone up by 29% a major incident is described as an event or situtaion with a range of serious consequences and is "beyond the scope of business—as—usual operations". it's an event which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responders. let'

england's chief medical officer chris whitty has warned the hospitals are facing a significant increase in the number of covid patients being admitted and long queues have continued at vaccination centres across the uk. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. high—level concern about the new variant is increasing and the rapid roll—out of boosterjabs is seen as a vital part of the official response. there was no shortage of people queueing for boosters in bristol today, though finding staff to do them hasn't been easy. it is difficult to recruit enough staff, both vaccinators and admin people. and they've all been working on this programme since the beginning of the year. and in swindon, a long queue as well and a wait of several hours. i've been here since nine o'clock, and i'm supposed to have work at two o'clock but they told me that the queue's going to be until 3.30. not happy. i've got better things to doi than stand here in a queue. just underfive hours, and when we got in there, there were only two people jabbing. long lines had built up after the acceleration of the booster o