damian grammaticas. in other _ -- remember12 parties. damian grammaticas. in other stories, l grammaticas. in other stories, canadian police have warned truck drivers they'll be arrested if they continue their blockade of the capital, ottawa. hundreds of trucks are lighting the streets as drivers protest for a second week. demonstrations in canadian border towns have shut down parts of the us canada border. for the third consecutive day, truckers furious at vaccine mandates have blocked the busiest land border crossing in north america. the economic impact could be serious. 25% of all trade between canada in the united states happens here — or it did, until angry truckers decided to intervene. in canada, rage seems to have spread as fast as omicron. which seems strange, in a country where politics used to be a pretty civilised process. now, police in the nation's capital are calling for reinforcements as they work out how to dismantle an occupation. hampering their efforts — reports that a quarter of trucks have children living in them. for now, the tac

damian grammaticas there at westminster. — tension. damian grammaticas there at westminster, thank _ tension. damian grammaticas there at westminster, thank you. _ a5 fears grow of a russian invasion in ukraine, the foreign secretary stepped into the row today when she flew to moscow for talks with her russian counterpart sergei lavrov. the meeting was frosty, with m5 truss warning of tougher sanctions, whilst sergey lavrov described their discussions as like talking to a deaf person. russia has amassed 100,000 troops on the border with ukraine, but denies planning to invade. steve rosenberg has the latest from moscow. for liz truss, the day began by the kremlin at the tomb of the unknown soldier, a sign of respect for russia before the difficult diplomacy. she's only been foreign secretary five months. sergey lavrov has been in the job 18 years. a big difference. and there were major differences of opinion. mr lavrov called western politicians "indoctrinated", the british diplomats "unprepared", and on the subject of ukraine... transl

ok, sarah, thank you, sarah smith in - thank you, sarah smith in washington, and damian grammaticas in berlin, thanks to you too. you can follow all the latest developments of the war in ukraine by going to our online live coverage. follow it on bbc.co.uk/news or the bbc news app. we'll have more from here in kyiv later in the programme, but let's return to huw in london. the home secretary, priti patel, has been widely criticised for refusing to allow refugees from ukraine to enter the uk without a visa. she says her decision is based on security grounds. but there will be an extension of visa rules to immediate family members. borisjohnson says the uk will not turn its back on ukraine, but labour says the visa rules are unclear and confusing. the bbc understands the details of visa requirements for the relatives of people with settled status in the uk are yet to be finalised and implemented, as our home editor, mark easton, reports. "we want to be as generous as we can to ukrainian refugees," the prime minister has said, but at gare du nord in paris, uk border force officials are pre

our political correspondent damian grammaticas is at westminster. police saying they are continuing investigations at a pace, what is your take on what has been happening today? i your take on what has been happening toda ? ~ , , ., your take on what has been happening toda ? ~ , ,., , today? i think this is a significant development. — today? i think this is a significant development, it _ today? i think this is a significant development, it is _ today? i think this is a significant development, it is the _ today? i think this is a significant development, it is the special. development, it is the special inquiry team of the metropolitan police who say they have identified more than 50 individuals they believe took part in parties, events in downing street and whitehall, they will each be sent a letter with a legal questionnaire, being told they will have to answer truthfully and within seven days. remember they are investigating 12 parties. we know boris johnson are investigating 12 parties. we know borisjohnson was at least a couple of those, i

damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. in a moment, we'll hear from our north america editor, sarah smith, in washington, but first to our europe editor, katya adler, in brussels. we expect an emotion eu leaders' summit tomorrow for top are expecting more sanctions? the? summit tomorrow for top are expecting more sanctions? they will definitely be — expecting more sanctions? they will definitely be discussing _ expecting more sanctions? they will definitely be discussing that - expecting more sanctions? they will definitely be discussing that and - expecting more sanctions? they will definitely be discussing that and i i definitely be discussing that and i think also you are seeing a symbolic show of unity here, because we talk about bickering eu member states, well, they are coming together to say they are united behind ukraine, united behind further waves of what they call crippling sanctions if russia continues its aggression, but they know they are more effective if they know they are more effective if they act toget

with the latest, here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. leaving his political woes at home, borisjohnson went leaving his political woes at home, boris johnson went to leaving his political woes at home, borisjohnson went to immerse himself in a different crisis, that of ukraine. he is now a prime minister under police investigation. firstly, i want to say sorry. he attended _ firstly, i want to say sorry. he attended at — firstly, i want to say sorry. he attended at least three events highlighted by the report into downing street parties, it found there were serious failings of leadership. on the streets of strade this morning, signs of how damaging the affair has been.— the affair has been. there have been too many mistakes, _ the affair has been. there have been too many mistakes, i'm _ the affair has been. there have been too many mistakes, i'm afraid, - the affair has been. there have been too many mistakes, i'm afraid, too l too many mistakes, i'm afraid, too many people have died, lost their loved ones whilst they were taking li

damian grammaticas reports. beset by crises, borisjohnson�*s troubles have often seen self inflicted when his veered off course. his remarks about sir keir starmer on monday met with dismay on all sides said today he tried to row back a bit. all sides said today he tried to row backa bit. i’m all sides said today he tried to row back a bit. �* . ~ ., ., back a bit. i'm talking not about the leader— back a bit. i'm talking not about the leader of _ back a bit. i'm talking not about the leader of the _ back a bit. i'm talking not about the leader of the opposition's i the leader of the opposition's personal record when he was dbp, and i totally understand he had nothing to do personally with those decisions. i was making a point about his responsibility for the organisation as a whole. for munira mirza though. _ organisation as a whole. for munira mirza though. it _ organisation as a whole. for munira mirza though, it was _ organisation as a whole. for munira mirza though, it was too _ organisation as a wh

damian grammaticas, bbc news. borisjohnson spoke of his aim of tackling regional inequality when he first entered downing street, and last year, the communities secretary michael gove said to view "levelling up in reality, come to teesside". our north of england correspondent, fiona trott, reports from middlesbrough. an area that's asked to be levelled up. more than four in ten children live in poverty here and people are likely to live five years less than those in london. does today's announcement make them feel that all that will change? i wouldn't trust the government as far as i could throw them, and that's not far. the government is saying today it wants to bring the rest of the country's transport up to the same standard as london. she laughs does that mean they are going to stop all the cars from coming in to middlesbrough? because that won't work. they have got it going on down there and it would be nice to reciprocate what is going on in middlesbrough, basically, it would be beneficial for everything. do

here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. in eastern ukraine... explosion ..the ukrainian interior minister and journalists accompanying him forced to run for cover. their convoy had come under shell fire close to areas controlled by the russian—backed separatists. ukraine says these are russia's attempts to provoke it to strike back and provide a pretext for war and borisjohnson agrees. meeting western leaders in munich yesterday, he said the attacks are a sign president putin's plan for an invasion is already being put into effect. in munich, in an interview with the bbc�*s sophie raworth, he warned of what's to come. i'm afraid to say that the plan that we're seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale. i think people need to understand the sheer cost in human life that that could entail, notjust for ukrainians, but also for for russians and for young russians. ukraine's president told the gathering the time for appeasing russia was over. translation: for eight years, ukrai

damian grammaticas reporting on that story for us. let's get some of the day's other news. the main suspect in the 2015 paris attacks, salah abdeslam, has told a french court he has not killed or injured anyone. one 130 people died and many more were injured in an islamist attack at the bataclan concert hall. mr abdeslam is believed to be the sole surviving member of the is group. anti—vaccine protesters clashed with police outside of new zealand's parliament on thursday. dozens were arrested after demonstrators, who have laid siege to the legislature over the past three days, were ordered to move on. the protest began tuesday in solidarity with the freedom convoy in canada. the american singer, betty davis, whose music has influenced generations of artists, has died at the age of 77. davis enjoyed little commercial success during her career but her raw, sexually candid songs from the �*60s and early �*70s won a cult following and paved the way for later artists such as prince and madonna. to the winter olympics now, and the international olympic committee has reitera

our political correspondent damian grammaticas is here — the lifting of covid restrictions had previously been planned for march? yes, these restrictions were in place for another month. the lifting of them was signalled about ten days ago or so and it still needs to be decided by the full cabinet tomorrow and that should be followed by a formal announcement. boris and that should be followed by a formalannouncement. borisjohnson formal announcement. boris johnson says formalannouncement. borisjohnson says the time has come to move away from legal restrictions to guidance, backed up by vaccinations and medical treatments. many are not convinced. labour saying this is the prime minister, under police investigation who is seeking headlines over a victory over covid. they say the move is premature. union saying they think it is reckless and designed to appeal to conservative backbenchers. it is worth saying that the government�*s and messaging about this says the pandemic is not over and its future course is deeply uncertain.- course is deeply uncertain. thank ou ve course is deeply uncert

our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. borisjohnson left downing street for the weekend last night and escaped to the countryside, perhaps, but there's no escaping his difficulties. nick gibb, a former schools minister, the latest mp to submit a letter of no confidence. in today's telegraph, which once carried mrjohnson�*s columns, he says... adding... others disagree. of course there are problems. the prime minister himself has suggested that there are problems. he has apologised graciously for them. but i think there is a big mistake going on here. there's an assumption that he's the office manager of the number 10 downing street. he's not. he's not responsible either for paying the electricity bill or for making sure that all the social distancing rules are observed all the time 21w, even when he's not there. yesterday, it was another tory mp, aaron bell, who submitted a letter. earlier in the week in parliament, he'd said he'd followed the lockdown rules at his grandmother's funeral. does the prime minister think i'm

our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. borisjohnson left downing street for the weekend last night and escaped to the countryside, perhaps, but there's no escaping his difficulties. nick gibb, a former schools minister, the latest mp to submit a letter of no confidence. in today's telegraph, which once carried mrjohnson�*s columns, he says... adding... others disagree. there's a number of mps and ministers who are the same names we there is an assumption that he is the office manager. he is not. he is not responsible for paying electricity bills or making sure this social distancing is applied. yesterday, it was another tory mp, aaron bell, who submitted a letter. earlier in the week in parliament, he'd said he'd followed the lockdown rules at his grandmother's funeral. does the prime minister think i'm a fool? no, mrspeaker. mrjohnson has now written to all his mps trying to shore up support, saying the resignations of his top aides show he's making changes. but some of his mps think it's the beginning of the end for th

with the latest, here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. leaving his political woes at home, borisjohnson went to immerse himself in a different crisis, that of ukraine. he is now a prime minister under police investigation. firstly, i want to say sorry. he attended at least three events highlighted by the report into downing street parties, it found there were serious failings of leadership. on the streets of strade this morning, signs of how damaging the affair has been. there have been too many mistakes, i'm afraid, too many people have died, lost their loved ones whilst they were taking liberties. i've been quite loyal, i think to the conservatives up until now and it puts a big question over everything that everybody has been through over the pandemic. i'm disappointed with the things - that have gone on at downing street, while the rest of us have been in lockdown. - but overwriting that, i think, overall, going forward. - as much as borisjohnson wants to move things on it is clear there is still widespread anger and one important que

he also promised to send further military support to ukraine. 0ur political correspondent, damian grammaticas, has the details. shelter, packing them to the rafters. —— bomb shelter. normally it happens twice a year, today an extra drill as this nation faces a moment of grave danger. in london as in all western capitals, from downing street to the ministry of defence, strategies to counter russia's moves are being shaped. it counter russia's moves are being sha ed. , ., ., counter russia's moves are being shaed. , ., ., , , _ counter russia's moves are being. shaped-_ the shaped. it is going to be busy. the defence secretary _ shaped. it is going to be busy. the defence secretary caught - shaped. it is going to be busy. the defence secretary caught on - shaped. it is going to be busy. the i defence secretary caught on camera unguarded wondering is vladimir putin unhinged?— unguarded wondering is vladimir putin unhinged? gone fulton toe. question for _ putin unhinged? gone fulton toe. question for western _ putin unhinged? gone fulton toe. question for western power, - putin unhinged? go

damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. just tell us about this latest mp to put his cards on the table and say he wants borisjohnson out. this put his cards on the table and say he wants boris johnson out. this is peter aldous. _ he wants boris johnson out. this is peter aldous, the _ he wants boris johnson out. this is peter aldous, the mp _ he wants boris johnson out. this is peter aldous, the mp for - he wants boris johnson out. this is peter aldous, the mp for wave - he wants boris johnson out. this is| peter aldous, the mp for wave any, which is over on the east coast of england. he has come forward and said that he now believes that the prime minister should resign —— waveney. however, he said it is clear and present he has no intention of doing so, so he has confirmed he has written a letter to the chairman of the backbench 1922 the chairman of the backbench1922 committee. that is the process for triggering a vote of no—confidence. he has written a lett

grammaticas reports. borisjohnson left downing street for the weekend last night and escaped to the countryside, perhaps, but there's no escaping his difficulties. nick gibb, a former schools minister, the latest mp to submit a letter of no confidence. in today's telegraph, which once carried mrjohnson's columns, he says... adding... 0thers disagree. of course there are problems. the prime minister himself has suggested that there are problems. he has apologised graciously for them. but i think there is a big mistake going on here. there's an assumption that he's the office manager of the number 10 downing street. he's not. he's not responsible either for paying the electricity bill or for making sure that all the social distancing rules are observed all the time 24/7, even when he's not there. yesterday, it was another tory mp, aaron bell, who submitted a letter. earlier in the week in parliament, he'd said he'd followed the lockdown rules at his grandmother's funeral. does the prime minister think i'm a

our political correspondent damian grammaticas is at westminster. what can you tell us about this latest piece of news that's reaching us about the 50 people? so latest piece of news that's reaching us about the 50 people?— us about the 50 people? so this is an announcement _ us about the 50 people? so this is an announcement put up - us about the 50 people? so this is an announcement put up with - us about the 50 people? so this is an announcement put up with the | an announcement put up with the metropolitan police just a little bit earlier this evening in which they have said more than 50 people, they have said more than 50 people, they say, will be contacted or they will start contacting usually by e—mail at the end of the week. and these are all people who have been identified as part of that investigation into dentistry and whitehall parties what the metropolitan police says is it is sending everyone of those people a form to fill out, a questionnaire in which they will be asked to respond to questions and basically it has a formal legal s

our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, has more. in eastern ukraine, the ukrainian interior minister and journalists accompanying him forced to run for cover. their convoy had come under shellfire close to areas controlled by the russian backed separatists. ukraine says these are russia's attempts to provoke it to strike back and provide a pretext for war, and borisjohnson agrees. meeting western leaders in munich yesterday he said of the attacks are a sign president putin's plan for an invasion is already being put into effect. in munich, in an interview with the bbc�*s sophie ray worth, he warned of what is to come. i’m warned of what is to come. i'm afraid to say — warned of what is to come. in afraid to say that the plan that we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale. europe since 1945, just in terms of sheerscale. i europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale. i think people need to understand this year cost in human life that could entail. n

i'm joined now by our uk political correspondent, damian grammaticas how did things change so quickly? we were hearing on a london radio show this morning that she had no intention of resigning and there she stands on a balcony explaining the reasons why she feels she needs to go. reasons why she feels she needs to i 0, ~ ., reasons why she feels she needs to go. what changed clearly was an air of london saying — go. what changed clearly was an air of london saying he _ go. what changed clearly was an air of london saying he wanted - go. what changed clearly was an air of london saying he wanted to - go. what changed clearly was an air of london saying he wanted to havei go. what changed clearly was an air i of london saying he wanted to have a meeting because he was not satisfied with the response get to his demands that she had to clean things up and they had to be really serious change to the forest. he said i believe the scale of the change is urgently required. i made clear last week to rebuild the trust and confidence of london there assigned to racism, sexism, homophobia, mis

damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. let's get reaction to the proposals from across the country. our correspondet fiona trott is in middlesbrough but first let's speak tojo black who is in sudbury. we are in suffolk in sudbury and we have been speaking to people about levelling up. only a handful of people really knew about the government's levelling up agenda and you about the announcement today and i've been speaking to local politicians —— and knew about. the local council bid forjust over £6 million so they could regenerate the area where i am now. this is a bus station and there is a shopping station and there is a shopping station to the right of where i'm standing and they want £6 million to regenerate this whole area. they think they can bring in a new hotel, residential, shops, and also a brand—new cinema. they asked the government from the levelling up part for some money last year and that was rejected so they are disappointed about that —— levelling up disappointed about that —— levelling up

damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is in downing street. for us this morning. good morning. more pressure on the prime minister? we have heard how it is being put out that the prime minister was always intending to have a clear out when it came to people around him but key people have left. ., , ., , have left. good morning. it is a big deal have left. good morning. it is a big deal. the prime _ have left. good morning. it is a big deal. the prime minister— have left. good morning. it is a big deal. the prime minister said - have left. good morning. it is a big deal. the prime minister said on i deal. the prime minister said on monday he was going to make changes in downing street. certainly three of the people who have gone, the chief of staff, principal private secretary and director of communications were names that had been rumoured around westminster as potential departures because of the row over parties and the wait was handled by downing street. i think two things will

our political correspondent, damian grammaticas, gave the latest from on those comments from downing street. absolutely no intention of apologising for that and saying that they don't believe that there's a direct link between the remarks and the scenes we saw yesterday with those protesters. now they were out there on the embankment, these are anti—vax protesters. they had anti—vax messages. they saw keir starmer, they surrounded him and in that confrontation, there were these shouts aboutjimmy savile that were made before sir keir was bundled away. now downing street says, well, if you're talking about organisational responsibility of the prime minister for what happens in downing street, then sir keir was director of public prosecutions, overseeing the cps and this was back when the prosecution was not brought againstjimmy savile. but it is worth saying that was all 2008—09. sir keir had no part in that decision and it was only a couple of years later when sirjimmy died, jimmy savile died, and then all of the history of sexual abuse came out. at that point sir keir instigate

damian green atticus, bbc news, westminster. —— grammaticas. the conservative party has won a by—election in the english constituency of southend west, in essex. anna firth was elected with just under 13,000 votes. the vote came after the previous mp sir david amess was killed while meeting with constituents last october. out of respect, none of the other main parties put forward any candidates. turnout was less than 25%, the third lowest since the war, and many ballot papers were spoiled. the winter olympics are getting underway in beijing, with the opening ceremony in a few hours' time. almost 3,000 athletes from 91 nations will compete, across seven sports. but the run—up to the games has been fraught with controversy. many countries have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event, citing human rights abuses in china. added to that, cases of coronavirus have been found inside beijing's "olympic bubble." our china correspondent robin brant reports. she is one of china's olympians of tomorrow — maybe. she hadn't even been born the first

damian grammaticas, bbc news. we're joined now by our political correspondent helen catt. good morning, helen. so, just talk to us about where you think we are this morning, after a number of conservative mps have spoken out and made it clear where they stand? yes. made it clear where they stand? yes, so, we're made it clear where they stand? yes, so. we're still — made it clear where they stand? yes, so, we're still waiting _ made it clear where they stand? yes, so, we're still waiting to _ made it clear where they stand? 133 so, we're still waiting to hear who else might come forward. we should say, there are mps who are perfectly heavy with virus johnson as say, there are mps who are perfectly heavy with virusjohnson as leader, evenif heavy with virusjohnson as leader, even if they have misgivings about what happened at downing street during lockdown. —— heavy with boris johnson. so there are those. but there are others, as you have heard, like in damien's pease, who do have significant concerns. this is another weekend when they will be thinking about that. steph