that was jonathan blake with that report, and he joins that was jonathan blake with that report, and hejoins me now. many people are saying, are we still being too ambitious? to say a trade deal will be agreed, jonathan, and then ratified? deal will be agreed, jonathan, and then ratified ? because deal will be agreed, jonathan, and then ratified? because there are a lot of bits to fall into place to get to that point. the timescale is crucial. that is why there is a real sense of urgency around these issues now. the deadline is december the sist now. the deadline is december the 31st when the transition period comes to an end. the rules by which we have been trading and doing dealings with the eu for the entirety of this year will cease to apply. so there will be change either way, regardless of whether a free trade agreement is agreed between the uk and the eu between now and then. as you point out, it is not just a now and then. as you point out, it is notjust a case of reaching that agreement, it is the need for it to be signed off, approved, ratified by all the member states of t

jonathan blake, bbc news. 0ur correspondent, simonjones, is in dover. how ready are uk ports this evening? well, that is the big question, and we are going to see the moment of truth in a few hours, at 11pm uk time. throughout the day, we have seen a steady stream of lorries heading into the port, and these are some of the last lorries that are going to travel from the uk over to france and the eu under the current arrangements. at the moment, it is described as frictionless travel, but the reality is, and the warning is, that come these changes that begin at 11pm, this travel could have a little more friction. these lorry drivers will have to have paperwork with them to show they have got the right customs declarations, the right permissions to importand declarations, the right permissions to import and export their goods. that will take time and effort to fill out that paperwork. the fear is that a proportion of drivers arriving at ports like this will not have the correct paperwork, the correct documentation. if that is the case, there will be turned

here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. with the end of a national lockdown in england comes a new three tier system of restrictions to get used to. from this morning, 99% of the population is under the highest two levels of controls for at least the next two weeks. here is how the new system of restrictions will work. shops, gyms and hairdressers will be allowed to reopen across the country. in tier i, the lowest level of restrictions, groups of up to six people will be able to meet indoors or outdoors, pubs and restaurants can opener, with last orders at 10pm, and closing at 11pm. can opener, with last orders at 10pm, and closing at "pm. in tier 2, groups of up to six people will still be able to meet outdoors but not indoors, u nless meet outdoors but not indoors, unless in a support bubble. pubs can only reopen if they are opening as a restaurant and alcohol can only be served with alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal. in the highest level of restrictions, pubs and restaurants will be forced to provide tak

here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. in downing street yesterday, the prime minister chaired what has been described as a stock—take on the uk's readiness to end its relationship with the eu without a trade deal. visiting a manufacturing plant in northumberland, he said while it's not the outcome he had wanted, britain would be prepared. four royal navy patrol boats will be ready to protect uk fishing waters, it was confirmed last night, as part of what the ministry of defence said was "extensive preparation for a range of scenarios at the end of the transition period". in brussels, the eu rejected borisjohnson‘s attempt to meet key leaders individually to try to make progress. while some member states sound more worried than others about a no—deal outcome, they are united in their approach. plans to manage traffic queues are being tested this weekend — one of many possible consequences whether or not a free trade agreement is reached. but still, so much is uncertain with less than three weeks to go. jonathan bla

jonathan blake, bbc news. baroness geezla stuart, chairman and leader of the vote leave campaign, joins us now from malvern in worcestershire. stop baroness your thoughts as we edge to stay after a long campaign for you? the last four and half yea rs for you? the last four and half years been quite extraordinary if you think about it from a referendum toa you think about it from a referendum to a general election, three prime ministers, and we have now found that the resolution to this in a good way i think because we are leaving the european union with a trade deal and a joint press conference between borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen i thought was very significant when both spoke about whilst still at an end it was also the beginning of the new relationship. alderney leaving i think it us a good framework to be significant economies on the main end of europe and they will continue to cooperate. the rapture, the division, was it worth it for theoretical sovereignty because this deal, fought so hard in dif

jonathan blake, bbc news. so talks are starting this afternoon — and we know there a number of sticking points in the negotiations which are proving to be hard to reconcile. the first is fishing. it's just a small part of the uk's economic activity , but a symbolic one, with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. perhaps the biggest issue is fair competition, also known as the "level playing field". the eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that there's no unfair advantage. and then there's what's known as the governance of the deal — if an agreement is reached, who will police it? tony connelly is europe editor for the irish broacaster rte. and hejoins us now. which is proving the biggest obstacle, in your view, tony? i think that the so—called level playing field is clearly the most fundamental issue even though fisheries is a very emotive question for both sides it has become a totemic issue in these negotiations but, of c

jonathan blake, bbc news. so, talks are starting again this afternoon — and we know there a number of sticking points in the negotiations which are proving to be hard to reconcile. the first is fishing. it's just a small part of the uk's economic activity, but a symbolic one, with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. perhaps the biggest issue is fair competition, also known as the ‘level playing field'. the eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that there's no unfair advantage. and then there's what's known as the governance of the deal, if an agreement is reached who will police it? theresa villiers is a conservative mp and a former environment and northern ireland secretary. she also supported brexit. four months, five months of talks. how close are we. it looks like there are some very significant gaps between the two sides but the eu is an organisation which does tend to grind on and get a deal in the end so grind on and

jonathan blake, bbc news. our political correspondent helen catt said in the last 48 hours there seems to have been a hardening position on both sides of the negotiations. i spoke to her earlier. think about the so—called scallop wars, clashes between fishermen in devon in england and in normandy in france over the fishing of scallops in the channel. so there are instances of this in the past. but it certainly seems that in the last 48 hours, a sense of a hardening of position of both sides. in the uk, decided that borisjohnson has chaired that committee to take stock of no deal of readiness and this news about the naval boats on standby does suggest that it's trying to send this message of, "look, the uk is ready, "it is prepared to go it alone." in the same way, that on the eu side, emmanuel macron and angela merkel saying, "no, we're not going to have "individual conversations with borisjohnson" hardens up the position of, "no, we are a solid block and we are not "going to be picked off, if you like, one

our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. back in brussels, the uk's chief negotiator, lord frost, arriving for what has been described as the last roll of the dice in trade talks with the eu. we've worked very hard to get a deal, we will see what happens with negotiations today, and we will be looking forward to meeting our european colleagues later on this afternoon, thank you very much. the government says there is still a deal to be done in what a cabinet minister said this morning were the final days of negotiations, but only if the eu accepts the uk has to make its own decisions. we want to be doing a free trade agreement as a sovereign equal with the european union and, so, anything that undermines our ability to control our own waters, for instance, or undermines our ability to make our own laws isn't something we can accept. after an hour on the phone together last night, borisjohnson and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, said there were still serious differences. but agreed their teams

jonathan blake, bbc news. tonight, at the end of the brexit transition period, trading goods between the uk and the eu will no longer be frictionless. while the new trade agreement ensures there will not be tariffs or quotas on goods, there will still be more checks and paperwork. some hauliers are nervous about the changes, as our transport correspondent, caroline davies, reports. is this the calm before the storm? after weeks of queues, a quiet eurotunnel. the way goods are moved in and out of the country is about to change and requires new paperwork, but here they say they are ready for it. it will add no more time to theirjourney, because it takes place where we are already doing safety and security checks, so it's all lumped together. we don't really expect to see things build up until late on in the first week or early in the second week of january. but some are not so confident. concerned that delays will cost money, rob's haulage company decided not to run lorries from the uk to the eu for the first we

our political correspondent, jonathan blake has the story. checking out for now, the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, left his london hotel this morning after talks on a future trade deal were put on hold last night. what does that mean for the chances of a deal? any hope for a deal? good morning. we keep calm, as always, and if there is a way, still a way, we will see. "we will see," he said. his parting words as he returned to brussels gave nothing away. but a statement from both sides last night made clear there are still big differences to overcome, significant divergences remain between the two sides, lord frost, the uk's chief negotiator, and michel barnier said. so, it is over to these two, the political masters on both sides of these talks. the prime minister and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, are due to speak on the phone this afternoon to determine whether a deal can be done. it will be decided politically, not in the negotiating chambers. there will be compromises, i suspect, on both sides. wh

jonathan blake, bbc news. so talks are starting this afternoon — and we know there a number of sticking points in the negotiations which are proving to be hard to reconcile. the first is fishing. it's just a small part of the uk's economic activity, but a symbolic one, a totemic one, with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. perhaps the biggest issue is fair competition, also known as the ‘level playing field'. the eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that there's no unfair advantage. and then there's what's known as the governance of the deal, if an agreement is reached who will police it? let's get the thoughts now of eric albert — le monde‘s city correspondent based here in london. no, based here in london. it is not new conditions. fra is no, it is not new conditions. france is playing bad cop as they have been playing for very long time. germany is playing good cop. the years we have been hearing about the divergenc

jonathan blake, bbc news. so, talks resumed this afternoon — and we know there a number of sticking points in the negotiations which are proving to be hard to reconcile. the first is fishing. it's just a small part of the uk's economic activity, but a symbolic one, with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. perhaps the biggest issue is fair competition, also known as the "level playing field". the eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that there's no unfair advantage. and then there's what's known as the governance of the deal, if an agreement is reached who will police it? let's get more on those talks from our correspondent in brussels nick beake. brexit tree talks under way once again here at the european commission headquarters. lord frost, the uk chief negotiator, is back in brussels, just after he had got off his train earlier today, i asked whether he thought compromise was in the air. i asked him whether boris johnson ha

jonathan blake our political correspondent, thanks very much. with a deal so far not in place there is uncertainty for businesses on both sides of the negotiations. lord bilimoria is the president of the confederation of british industry — which represents nearly 200 thousand businesses across the uk. he said businesses need answers. it is 4.5 years since the referendum and we still haven't been able to agree this. the uncertainty is just so, so scary, so worrying. and what a time for this to be happening! the 31st of december, right between christmas and new year, when right around the world many countries sort of shut down, and at a time like that you've got to cope with all this uncertainty and all this disruption. if we have a deal, at least there is some certainty. even if we have a deal, we have to adjust to it. i mean, the government have sent out a letter to every business in the country saying "check, change, go". well, check what? change what? go where? we need to know now! this has now got to be done and there's got to be compromise

with me now is our political correspondent jonathan blake. not much said but then not much to say? no, we're treading water at the moment. significant divergences between the two sides, we are told. i think we can take that to mean that there are big gaps between their positions on those three key sticking point which we have been talking about throughout. they are worth reminding ourselves of is. the fishing access of eu countries voting uk waters, the governance of enforcement of any deal that is done and competition rules, the so—called level playing field, so now we have a situation where their negotiating teams are putting their feet up on the day and it is over to their political masters. borisjohnson the prime minister and ursula von der leyen the president of the european commission to talk and see if they can even indicate into each other that there is room for a deal to be done. it will require compromise most likely from both sides in one or all of those issues and this is being seen as a key moment where i think there will either be a breakthrough and the talks will r

jonathan blake, bbc news. nick beake is in brussels. the prime minister here says it is up the prime minister here says it is up to the eu to come to the table with something. how is that going down where you are? well, you get the feeling that now more than ever, neither side wants to weaken their negotiating position so we are getting more tough talk. we heard michel barnier say this is the moment of truth, the fine a few hours. he can see a narrow pathway toa hours. he can see a narrow pathway to a deal but he also reminded eve ryo ne to a deal but he also reminded everyone that the unity and strength of the european union is more important than any future relationship with the uk. he talked about fishing once again and some people might think it is very odd that it seems to have all come down to this but we have known all along that this is a very politically sensitive and significant topic, even though fishing makes up a very small part of both the uk and eu economies. michel barnier says he wa nts economies. michel barnier says he

jonathan blake, bbc news. our political correspondent helen catt said in the last 48 hours there seems to have been a hardening position on both sides of the negotiations. i spoke to her earlier. think about the so—called scallop wars, clashes between fishermen in devon in england and in normandy in france over the fishing of scallops in the channel. so there are instances of this in the past. but it certainly seems that in the last 48 hours, a sense of a hardening of position of both sides. in the uk, this idea that borisjohnson has chaired that committee to take stock of no deal readiness and this news about the naval boats on standby does suggest that it's trying to send this message of, "look, the uk is ready, "it is prepared to go it alone." in the same way, that on the eu side, emmanuel macron and angela merkel saying, "no, we're not going to have "individual conversations with borisjohnson" hardens up the position of, "no, we are a solid block and we are not "going to be picked off, if you like, one b

our political correspondent, jonathan blake, reports. checking out for now, the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, left his london hotel this morning after talks on a future trade deal were put on hold last night. what does that mean for the chances of a deal? any hope for a deal? good morning. we keep calm, as always, and if there is a way, still a way, we will see. "we will see," he said. his parting words as he returned to brussels gave nothing away. but a statement from both sides last night made clear there are still big differences to overcome, significant divergences remain between the two sides, lord frost, the uk's chief negotiator, and michel barnier said. so, it is over to these two, the political masters on both sides of these talks. the prime minister and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, are due to speak on the phone this afternoon to determine whether a deal can be done. it will be decided politically, not in the negotiating chambers. there will be compromises, i suspect, on both sides. wh

jonathan blake, thank you very much. let's speak to anna collinson, mark dra keford let's speak to anna collinson, mark drakeford said let's speak to anna collinson, mark dra keford said that let's speak to anna collinson, mark drakeford said that more than 2100 people, equivalent to five full general hospitals, are being treated in the nhs with covid — it is about the capacity of hospitals, that is what is worrying people. absolutely, we we re what is worrying people. absolutely, we were talking about this earlier. we are seeing infections rising across the country, but wales and the south—east of england are particular concerns, and again, with hospital admissions, we have been seeing those increase as well, again, across the uk, particular concerns in the midlands, london and the south east, and as i said previously, beds are not as fully occupied as they work last year, but there is some wiggle room across the board. when you are thinking about particular areas, hotspot areas like what you are referring to in wal

jonathan blake in westminster. phil mackie is in birmingham for us. we just heard that there is concern about parts of the midlands and stoke—on—trent. are the folk in birmingham worried? can you hear me? clearly not, we will try and get back to phil later. liz kendal, labour mp and shadow minister for social care, joins us now. there seem to be concerns about other parts of the country, where perhaps this new variant of covid—19 is spreading. are you expecting a widening of the tier 4 restrictions to other areas in england? that is what we are expecting, and it is essential that the government moves swiftly on this. if the independent scientific advisers sage recommend that more areas going to tier 4 or that more areas going to tier 4 or that we have to go further, the government must act swiftly. we have seen extremely worrying rises in the number of people infected ring admitted into hospital, being on ventilators, and tragically dying. the government needs to move much more swiftly than it has in the past to save lives and make sure pressure

jonathan blake, bbc news. 0ur correspondent vivienne nunis is in dover. just give me a sense of what it is like there in these final few hours, and these sorts of changes there. welcome a matthew, there has not been a mad scramble of lorries, we might see some coming down the past behind me committees of the last lorries that cross over into the eu before we see that big change later this evening. there's one very departing, the very last ferry leaves at about eight o'clock tonight. that will be contending the last lorries, they don't need that documentation. after that everything changes. at 11 o'clock tonight local time the trading relationship with ee will profoundly change and this is exporting into the eu or need to have a whole lot more administration, bureaucracy, customs declarations and so a lot more paperwork to deal with. previously of course it has been like exporting onto the continent, at the same as moving goods from london to manchester, but that will all change tonight. inch of those businesses something perhaps the next couple of weeks t

jonathan, as always, thanks so much for talking us through that. jonathan blake in westminster. an egyptian man dubbed bin laden's spokesman in europe has returned to the uk following his jail sentence in the united states. adel bary was released from a us prison and deported after a senior new yorkjudge concluded the prisoner had a high risk of contracting covid—19. in 1998, bary was the europe—based publicist for al-qaeda leaders and told journalists that the terror group had bombed us embassies in east africa. tributes are being paid to the victims of a house fire in cambridgeshire which has claimed the lives of two young children. the blaze broke out in st neots yesterday morning, with around 40 firefighters battling to dampen down the flames. an investigation into the fire has concluded that the likely cause was an electrical fault. jon ironmonger reports. the sudden senselessness of this fire has floored the residents of a tight—knit community who woke up yesterday to smoke and tragedy. well, you only have to look at the blackened walls of this property to understand

our political correspondent jonathan blake joins us to work. our political correspondent jonathan blakejoins us now from westminster. an extension of the tier 4 restrictions was to be expected. are these the areas that perhaps we were all thinking would now be included ? perhaps we were all thinking would now be included? yes, the expectation was certainly this afternoon after the covid meeting of senior cabinet ministers, chaired by the prime minister and government officials and advisers as well, that it would be confined to the south and south—east of england, for now. those areas to move into tier 4. so, as you have outlined there, some of those areas going into tier 4 that weren't already in that bracket, sussex, oxfordshire, norfolk and suffolk, all of surrey now, all parts of essex as well, cambridgeshire and hampshire, although not the new forest, will now be under that highest level of restrictions, and you saw the graphs in the press conference there. it's clearly a response to the new variants of coronavirus, which in the words of

jonathan blake, bbc news. the us food and drug administration has authorised the pfizer—biontech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. the agency had come under intense pressure from the trump administration to approve the vaccine's use, and president trump said the first vaccinations will take place in less than 2a hours. 0ur washington correspondent nomia iqbal has more. this emergency authorisation has taken a bit of time. the fda has approved the vaccine after being advised to do so by an outside advisory group of independent medical experts. they had analysed the effectiveness of the vaccine. it also looked at the potential side effects, including those reports of two british patients who had allergic reactions after receiving the pfizer jab. and allergic reactions after receiving the pfizerjab. and after the recommendation came this intense political pressure by president trump. he had called the fda a" big old slow total" and was demanding he approve the vaccine. he had this to say, once the green li

jonathan blake, bbc news. nick beake now with the latest. well, you get the feeling that now more than ever, neither side wants to weaken their negotiating position so we are getting more tough talk. we heard michel barnier say this is the moment of truth, the final few hours. he can see a narrow pathway to a deal but he also reminded everyone that the unity and strength of the european union is more important than any future relationship with the uk. he talked about fishing once again and some people might think it is very odd that it seems to have all come down to this but we have known all along that this is a very politically sensitive and significant topic, even though fishing makes up a very small part of both the uk and eu economies. michel barnier says he wants long—term security for the fishing fleets of the eu. of course, borisjohnson says that every independent coastal nation needs to be able to control its waters. he says the eu really needs to change its position fundamentally if there is to be

let's get the latest now from westminster and jonathan blake is there. jonathan, more areas added to the list of tearful restrictions, the toughest coronavirus restrictions. any surprises? no, broadly in line with what we were expecting. the only surprise is there aren't even more areas going into the tfr level of restrictions. that was reflected in some of the questions are matt hancock faced in the news briefing from downing street. if the new variant of coronavirus is spreading at such a dangerous rate, as he put it, why are not more part of the country coming under tighter restrictions? the government believes this is a proportionate response for now and those areas moving up from tieri and two, into tier 3 is a pre—emptive strike to attempt to suppress the number of cases in those areas and stop the virus spreading as widely as we have seenin virus spreading as widely as we have seen in london and other parts of the south—east of england. but matt hancock said tier 3 is not enough in itself to stop the spread of the new variant of the virus, whi

jonathan blake, thank you very much for now. let's pick up with a lot of what we've been talking about, and particularly what we heard with our health correspondent, anna collinson whojoins me now. a lwa ys always interesting to listen to professor chris whitty at these conferences, and he was stressing come i thought it was interesting that he said, just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. and that was the sort of essence of what he was driving up this afternoon. absolutely. it was a real message of caution. we heard it on monday at the downing street briefing with chris whitty, and we heard it again today even more. yeah, they were really keen to get that across, and they wanted to get real advice. i mean, that across, and they wanted to get realadvice. i mean, ithink the thing that's what's happened is they have not been able to do a u—turn on the rules, so instead, what they're trying to do is provide people with the advice and tools that they can do to protect themselves and protect their loved ones

we went to sunday, thank you so much in westminster. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. so, if the transition period ends on the 31st december without a trade deal — what will it mean for our every day lives. 0ur deputy political editor, vicki young, has this assessment. trade deals make things run more smoothly for businesses. since leaving the eu, britain has agreed dozens of them, but the one that's arguably the most important of all has run into trouble. for decades, the uk and the rest of the european union have bought and sold goods across borders without checks or taxes known as tariffs. but if there's no deal, then companies will have to operate under rules set by the world trade organization. that means that most of the food imported to the uk from the eu would attract an extra tax. the british retail consortium has calculated that it will mean 48% on beef mince, 16% on cucumbers and 57% on cheddar cheese. when it comes to exports from the uk to the eu, it will mean a tariff of 10% on cars and 35% on dairy products. both sides are putting measures

jonathan blake, bbc news. paul white runs the thatched inn pub in ilfracombe near exeter in devon which is now in tier two. his pub has been closed in lockdown and will not reopen this week because of the new restrictions. you could reopen but you are not, so why not? i have decided that through the health and safety for staff and customers, and also from a... inaudible its not worth opening up at the moment and is not right for me to open. you say because of health and safety reasons for your staff. that's really interesting because when we have done interviews with lots of other people in the hospitality sector, they have felt it is really safe and the measures they have put in place should allow people to feel really confident about working or coming to these settings as customers. why do you cite health and safety concerns? 0nly purely because of our being... inaudible 0ur pub is the safest place to be... we have put everything in... inaudible iam inaudible i am sorry, we are having a lot of drop out with

jonathan blake, bbc news. well, after previously suggesting his party may support the government vote later today, late yesterday evening sir keir starmer tweeted, "coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public‘s health and that's why labour accepts the need for continued restrictions. we will always act in the national interest, so we will not vote against these restrictions in parliament tomorrow." which is code for ‘my mps willabstain'. chris mason is still with us but to explain the vote, is it expected, as people come out of a cabinet meeting, that the government will get these measures through? the short answer is yes, and yes there isa short answer is yes, and yes there is a cabinet meeting getting under way. the measures will almost certainly get through because of the labour decision to abstain, ie they will not proactively endorse the restrictions, also means they will go through because unless you had more than half of conservative mps pretty much opposing the government's own measures, the

blake reports.

with me now is our political correspondent jonathan blake. michel barnier not saying very much, but saying it elegantly. deliberately saying very little. he is off back to brussels as the negotiations here in london, which have been continuing intensively here have now been posed last night. they also said that significant divergences remain between the uk and the eu. given the diplomatic language tends to understate rather than overstate things, we can take it that there are still big gaps between the positions of both sides and those key sticking points. fishing access, eg boats in uk waters, the governance and enforcement of any deal, and competition rules, or the lab field as it is often referred to. the negotiating teams have gone as far as they can at this point with a remit they have been given by their political masters. they are now handing it over to them, boris johnson and ursula von der leyen, to see if those two crucial figures in this ongoing drama can give each other an indication that a deal can still be done. both will have t

with me is our political correspondent, jonathan blake. those are the three main difficult areas. where are we right now with the negotiations? this is, as you are outlining, for the uk, the final roll of the dice as a source close to the negotiations has put it. there is a feeling there are 48 hours in which there will be either progress or a breakdown. boris johnson and ursula are due to speak on the phone again tomorrow evening. between now and then we will get a sense as to whether this will go the distance and there is a deal to be done or the process will break down. a massive health warning on the statement we have been here before and the timetable could still slip that no one is denying that the timescale now is incredibly tight, as the environment secretary george eustice reflected on the andrew marr programme a short time ago. we are in the final few days in terms of being able to decide whether there can be an agreement. if the ambience warms up can be an agreement. if the ambience warms up again and great progress is made and it isjust about sorting out the detail we

with me is our political correspondent, jonathan blake. more negotiations today. very little time now. what is the latest state of play? the two sides are still talking. whilst that is the case, there is a chance of a deal being done but, as you suggest, time is increasingly tight as people have been pointing out that the deadline is december the 31st, when the transition period we are in at the moment comes to an end. any agreement would have to take effect after a ll agreement would have to take effect after all we would revert to world trade organization rules to do business with the eu in the future. there was a phone call between boris johnson and the european commission president last night. a difficult conversation by all accounts. they spoke for around an hour but did in the end agreed to get negotiating teams back together to see if a deal can be done. a source on the uk side close to the talks saying this is the final throw of the dice. there isafairdealto the final throw of the dice. there is a fair deal to be done networks of both sides but it will onl

our political correspondent jonathan blake has the story. checking out for now, the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, left his london hotel this morning after talks on a future trade deal were put on hold last night. what does that mean for the chances of a deal? any hope for a deal? good morning. we keep calm, as always, and if there is a way, still a way, we will see. "we will see," he said. his parting words as he returned to brussels gave nothing away. but a statement from both sides last night made clear there are still big differences to overcome, significant divergences remain between the two sides, lord frost, the uk's chief negotiator, and michel barnier said. so, it is over to these two, the political masters on both sides of these talks. the prime minister and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, are due to speak on the phone this afternoon to determine whether a deal can be done. it will be decided politically, not in the negotiating chambers. there will be compromises, i suspect, on both sides. wh

our political correspondent jonathan blake said the next couple of days would be crucial if both sides are to agree a trade deal. as far as the uk side is concerned, the final roll of the dice, as a source close to the negotiations has put it. there is a feeling that there are 48 hours, really, in which there will be either progress or a breakdown. borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen are due to speak again on the phone tomorrow evening. and between now and then, i think we will get a sense of whether this is going to go the distance, and there is a deal to be done, or whether the process will break down. massive health warning on that statement, that we have been here before and the timetable could still slip. but no—one is denying that the timescale now is incredibly tight, as the environment secretary george eustice reflected, speaking on the andrew marr programme a little while ago. i think we probably are now in the final few days, in terms of being able to decide whether there can be an agreement. of course, if the ambience warms up again and great progress is made, and it'sju

our political correspondent jonathan blake said the next couple of days would be crucial if both sides are to agree a trade deal. as far as the uk side is concerned, the final roll of the dice, as a source close to the negotiations has put it. there is a feeling that there are 48 hours, really, in which there will be either progress or a breakdown. borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen are due to speak again on the phone tomorrow evening. and between now and then, i think we will get a sense of whether this is going to go the distance, there is a deal to be done, or whether the process will break down. massive health warning on that statement, that we have been here before and the timetable could still slip. but no—one is denying that the timescale now is incredibly tight, as the environment secretary george eustice reflected, speaking on the andrew marr programme a little while ago. i think we probably are now in the final few days, in terms of being able to decide whether there can be an agreement. of course, if the ambience warms up again and great progress is made, and it'sjust a

let's go back to our political correspondent jonathan blake in westminster. he was sang his back to emmanuel macron, the president of france, on his birthday in fact,. yes, i'm not just wish you many happy returns. as you say, he spoke to president macron and described it as a very good conversation and that they understand each other‘s positions and want to resolve the problem is as fast as possible. and in response to laura kuenssberg's question, he said he hoped that could be done in the next few hours. so that was undoubtedly a key conversation, and it seems as if both the uk and france are moving towards a solution. and perhaps the lifting or partial lifting of the ban on people and goods travelling between the uk and goods travelling between the uk and france in the coming hours. but they are not there yet and it remains in place. we had the prime minister at pains to put this disruption in context, and perhaps to reassure people about the level of disruption that is being caused, which while undoubtedly significant, accou nts which while undoubtedly

jonathan blake, bbc news. three well—known hong kong activists have been jailed for their involvement in mass pro—democracy protests last year. the trio had been found guilty of unlawful assembly. joshua wong will serve more than 13 months in prison, agnes chow ten, months and ivan lam seven months. the charges were lodged before china imposed its tough national security law in the territory — under which, they could have been jailed for life. since then, the pro—democracy movement has been stifled. a message onjoshua wong's twitter, posted shortly after the verdict, reads: "the tenacity of hong kongers continues to give us strength in our sufferings. please, take your positions, give support to each other". ‘0ur planet is broken' and ‘humanity is waging a ‘suicidal war‘ on the natural world' — those are words from the secretary general of the united nations, antonio guterres, who is expected to deliver a speech later at a special bbc event on the environment. the speech, entitled the ‘stat

our political correspondent jonathan blake has the story. checking out, for now, the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier left his london hotel after talks on a future trade deal were put on hold last night. what does that mean for the chances of a deal? any hope for a deal? good morning. good morning. any news? we will keep calm, as always, and if there is a way we will see. thank you, sir. we will see, he last night made clear there were still big differences to overcome. significant divergences remain between the two sides, lord frost, the uk's chief negotiator, and michel barnier, said. so it is over these two of the political masters on both sides of these talks. the prime minister and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, are due to speak on the phone this afternoon, to determine whether a deal can be done. phone this afternoon, to determine whether a deal can be donem phone this afternoon, to determine whether a deal can be done. it will be decided politically, not in the negotiating chambers. there will be c

we can get the latest from our political correspondent jonathan blake. jonathan, we were hearing at the downing street press conference last night that this new variant is spreading in the uk and the prime minister and the government are under pressure to extend the current restrictions to a full england white lockdown. yes, there has been talk of that for some time and ever since the action was taken over the weekend to put as you say more areas under tighter restrictions, still introducing the new tier 4 in london and parts of the south—east, there has been calls from others that it is only a matter of time that more parts of england, under that higher tierfor, or parts of england, under that higher tier for, or perhaps parts of england, under that higher tierfor, or perhaps even parts of england, under that higher tier for, or perhaps even the country as a whole is placed under a national lockdown. i don't think that that is something that is necessarily inevitable at this stage. but there will be discussions and a meeting at some point of the gover

jonathan blake, bbc news. and at 7.30am today, we'll talk more on tiers and testing with cabinet office minister michael gove. england's chief inspector of schools says the lack of monitoring and support of vulnerable children during the pandemic should be a matter of national concern. in her annual report, amanda spielman warns of a legacy of neglect of children who became invisible to services when they were not at school. here's our education correspondent elaine dunkley. so we've had a few issues last week. for some of the most vulnerable children, school isn'tjust a place to learn, it's a safety net. so are you happy that you've got some support now, and things are a little better? schools are often where the first signs of abuse or neglect are picked up. it's the tension, a loss of love... but with more children away from classrooms because of the pandemic, there's concern that those at risk are not getting the help they need. there's a range of different vulnerabilities going right from poverty, just th

simonjones, bbc news, dover. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. jonathan, the prime minister leading this meeting of cobra this afternoon. yes, that was convened in response to the moves by france and other european countries, and the situation more broadly with the issue of freight not being able to move from the uk to the continent, and vice versa. we heard the transport secretary grant shapps this morning trying to allay concerns this would go on much longer, saying he had been in touch with his counterpart the french transport minister and downing street, and said at lunchtime that downing street was working with its international partners urgently to minimise disruption as far as possible. but there is real urgency around this situation, so close to christmas. in the midst of the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic now being made all the more difficult by this action from other countries, in response to the spread of this new variant of the virus, which has been linked to possibly a faster spread of covid—i9, and banning the t

thank you, jonathan blake. let's go to our brussels correspondent, nick beake. nick, what's the mood like there ahead of these talks? is there a sense of trepidation?” think that is a fair word. trepidation, concern, nervousness. you can't really find anyone this morning saying yes i'm confident a deal is going to be done, because of the reasons jonathan deal is going to be done, because of the reasonsjonathan was outlining. both sides are quite far apart on theirfundamental both sides are quite far apart on their fundamental positions, what they really believe in. you've got they really believe in. you've got the eu saying, if the uk is going to be able to trade with us in future, and not pay any taxes or tariffs on goods moving between the two sites, so there is no extra cost on trainers or food so there is no extra cost on trainers orfood or so there is no extra cost on trainers or food or clothes or cars, they need to be signing up to the rules of our club. yes brexit has happened, the uk has gone, but we can't be giving the uk an unfair advantage in the f

jonathan blake, thank you. let's go back to the commons because matt hancock is still giving more details and answering questions raised by what he has announced and questions around the vaccine. he will be followed after the statement by the education secretary, gavin williamson, talking about changes to school returns injanuary williamson, talking about changes to school returns in january so williamson, talking about changes to school returns injanuary so we will play at that as soon as gavin williamson is on his feet on the scottish first minister also due to give an update from holly ruud in the first little while, there are pictures of light from there so i busy afternoon, we will try to hit all those live statements when they are made so stay with us on bbc news, a lot of new information emerging in the next couple of hours but we will pause to catch up with weather details. we have more rain, sleet and snow forecast this week across northern and western parts of the uk and ice will continue to be a risk

jonathan blake is in westminster and hejoins us now. jonathan, just so i've understood this correctly, they are planning to ease restrictions but simultaneously advise people not necessarily to make the most of those easing of restrictions. that's pretty much as. do the bare minimum possible. and although across the uk, the opportunity will exist for people over a five day period at christmas to meet in greater numbers than they normally would be able to do under the rules in place at the moment in various parts of the uk, that doesn't mean that people should automatically do that. in fact, in a joint statement published tonight by the uk government as well as the scottish and welsh government only to form what's being described as a christmas bubble with up to three other households unless they believe they absolutely have to, and in wales, the government has gone further, changing the law to make it 110w further, changing the law to make it now only possible for up to two households to meet indoors over that five day period. so while

earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent jonathan blake, who says the government is under pressure to impose a nationwide lockdown. there has been calls from some in expectation from others that it's only really a matter of time before at the very least, more parts of under that higher tier for, or perhaps even the country as a whole is being placed under a national lockdown —— tier 4. i don't think that's necessarily inevitable at this stage. but there will be discussions, of course, and a meeting up at some point of the government's so—called gold committee, where it is determined which areas should be placed under which areas should be placed under which of restrictions —— which some areas find themselves into higher tiers. it's then followed by further restrictions imposed after that. but no decisions taken at this point. jonathan, let'sjust talk about the list that's come out. those people being elevated to a peerage not just those people being elevated to a peerage notjust for those people being elevated to a peerage not just for the first time. there are accusation

with me now is our political correspondent jonathan blake. i heard the number of tory rebels was 55, not 53 and despite some pretty desperate measures from the prime minister himself. it is a significant rebellion of conservative mps, the biggest boris johnson is based on his own benches since becoming prime minister. the result of the vote was never in doubt, the government was always going to be highly likely to wind it with the majority of conservatives supporting his plan, but as you have explained with labour and other opposition parties, abstaining, it was all about the number of tory felt strongly opposed enough to this this new 3—tier restriction system to vote against it and as you say, the figure is 55 and that i think, will cause some concern within downing street within the government about the trouble that government may have in the not—too—distant future about getting approval from parliament and any further plans that it may have. as you say, boris johnson has been trying very hard to change the minds of conservative mps

our political correspondent, jonathan blake is at westminster for us now. so the guidance has changed, the ohus very so the guidance has changed, the onus very much being on very careful? that's right, there was a clarity and consistency to the rules at christmas after the devolved government, along with the uk government westminsteragreed government, along with the uk government westminster agreed last month to have that fight relaxation of the rules during which three households would be able to meet and mix indoors. and, broadly speaking, those are still the rules which people can operate within. but now the message has changed because the situation has become more severe, and terms of cases of coronavirus. and politicians are saying it here at westminster and in the welsh and scottish governments, and northern ireland as well, that you can still do that, but we really don't think that you should. and in the case of wales, the government has gone further to change the law to limit the number of households that can gather to two rather than three. so inaj

we can speak now to our political correspondent, jonathan blake. good morning, jonathan. all of the business is done, the paperwork is signed and it is all complete. 11pm tonight, uk time, what changes in practice? plenty, charlie, whether you are travelling to an eu country on holiday or hoping to in the months ahead. whether you are doing business, importing or exporting goods across the border with the european union or doing something as simple as planning to travel with your pet, much changes now. of course, the uk, legally, left the european union at the start of this year but because of the transition period in place since then very little if anything has changed, but now, as of 11 o'clock tonight uk timea now, as of 11 o'clock tonight uk time a new relationship and a new set of rules will start and in the end after all of the drama and political turmoil we have become used to be the brexit process, you might think it was something of an anti—climax because while you are likely sleeping last night the house of lords gave its approval to the bill which enacts the