gavin williamson explained more about how he hopes that will happen on bbc breakfast this morning. on monday and next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests. all the equipment they need to set up, all the ppe that they need in order to have the staff. and, on top of that, those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to get this set up with the resources that are being provided, we are very grateful to the armed forces, 1500 service personnel, for those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to follow the guidance and the instructions, and use the equipment that has been provided, and the money that's been offered to them, to be able to help them get that massed testing programme set out in their school. so, support of the armed forces, but still criticism of how this mass testing programme has been handled for schools. 0ne testing programme has been handled for schools. one a teaching union described this as a last—minute mess, and labour saying it is further proof that the government has lost control of its response to

i'm sorry to have to stop you but gavin williamson is going to his feetin but gavin williamson is going to his feet in the house of commons, let's hear what he has to say about schools. throughout we have been adamant that the education of children is an absolute priority, and that keeping schools open is uppermost in all of our plans. the magnificent efforts of all the leaders, teachers and staff in all of our schools and colleges have ensured that settings are as safe and covid—secu re as ensured that settings are as safe and covid—secure as possible, but we must always act swiftly when circumstances change. the evidence about the new covid variant and rising infection rates have required some immediate adjustment to our plans for the new term. this is of course a rapidly shifting situation, but some things remain constant. we continue to act to preserve lives and safeguard the national health service, and we continue to protect education by putting children first. above all, our response is proportionate to the risk at hand and makes every use of a contingency framework that we p

gavin williamson. let's return to the trade deal between the eu and the trade deal between the eu and the uk entering into law. we can speak now to the german christian democrat mep david mcallister, who's chair of the european parliament's foreign affairs committee. also chair of the european parliament's coordination also chair of the european pa rliament‘s coordination group. good to have you with us on bbc news. i suppose the best place to begin, how do you see the reconstruction of the relationship 110w reconstruction of the relationship now between the eu and the uk after a rather tricky divorce? now between the eu and the uk after a rather tricky divorce ?|j now between the eu and the uk after a rather tricky divorce? i welcome that the negotiation teams found an agreement practically in the last minute just before christmas and i am relieved the disruptions and the chaos following a no deal withdrawal of the uk from the single market and customs union has been avoided. 0n the other hand, i re

gavin williamson. the highly anticipated 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine was approved for use yesterday, bringing with it a change in strategy in the uk's innoculation plans. like the pfizerjab, the oxford vaccine is most effective after two doses, but there is still protection provided after the first dose. the medicines regulator has changed its advice that people should have their second dose three weeks after the first. instead, gps and hospitals are being told to prioritise getting as many people as possible to have that first jab. they are saying the second can be administered up to three months later. joining me now to talk about the change in strategy is professor peter 0penshaw, immunologist at imperial college london and a member of the uk vaccine network. professor, very good to have you with us. thank you forjoining us. do you think this strategy is the right one? i think it is highly plausible, but i would say the change with respected the dosing schedule is not tested, there is no evidence w

amanda spielman and gavin williamson need to look at that. that is huge levels of disruption in schools.” to look at that. that is huge levels of disruption in schools. i hear what you say, but equally, if you do shut down schools, as amanda spielman, the ofsted chief inspector said, it is children who pay the long—term price. if you shutdown schools, these are days and weeks that children will never get back in terms of their education. that is definitely correct and that is why we are suggesting you should do these things in a planned way. we we re these things in a planned way. we were advocating to put schools in the lockdown. that would mean online learning over half term, but that could have been planned if the government had been talking to us and other education unions, it would have been a planned week of online learning. and then we would actually have had far less disruption. we would have had children being taught every lesson and far more of them being taught every lesson. so you cannot just wish these being taught every less

the guardian reports that the education secretary gavin williamson is concerned about the effect on the summer exams schedule — if more learning hours are lost by school closures. the financial times leads on news that the european union is nearing a business investment deal with china — which could cause friction with us president—elect biden. and the daily express offers some positivity for the uk over brexit — as ministers claim there are potentially 62 global trade deals worth nearly £900 billion on the horizon. so let's begin. taking a look at so many aspects i have to say of coronavirus and covid—i9. i should also what are you are so many numbers as covid—i9. i should also what are you are so many numbers as well. let's start with the times. and schools. —— i should also warn the viewers. as we hear about the 40,000 infection number. claire, this is a difficult line for the prime minister to walk. tell her our viewers a little bit more about what is been said so far. it is. nobody is been said so far. it is. nobody is denying it a step. we all know the impact of t

the education secretary gavin williamson said it was a milestone for keeping schools safe. schools and other london boroughs and in part of essex, have also closed down early. union leaders say some head teachers are being put in a difficult position. we seem to have turf wars between national and local government and in the middle of it, people i represent, head teachers who may have had a letter from greenwich local authority, saying we are advising you to close the school so the heads will have talks with government yesterday, possibly issued a letter yesterday then have it through the day the schools minister says keep your school open. in this battle of wills between local and central government, the pa rents local and central government, the parents and head teachers have been caught in the middle, trying to respond to a series of mixed messages. andy moore, bbc news. there were 819,000 fewer workers on uk company payrolls in november than at the start of the pandemic — that's accodring to new figures from the office for national statistics. hospitality was the wors

gavin williamson warning about an enormous battle to get the schools open again injanuary, battle to get the schools open again in january, which probably battle to get the schools open again injanuary, which probably will not come as a surprise to many, secondary schools that is. well, this feels like the education secretary is preparing the ground for that announcement that the secondary schools will not open certainly when they are due to open at the start of january. one of his comments was it is the lockdown fighting, it is not me, guv, i want to open schools but the lockdown is stopping me from doing it, which seems at odds with what the government is saying in other fields, saying that there is the spread of this mutant covid—19 variant is going most quickest among children. gavin williamson, perhaps sian as education editor of the sunday times will have a better view than me of this, but it has not been the best of pandemics with what happen with gcses and a—levels and u—turns. earlier this month he was speaking in an interview where he said our regulatory regime was be

in particular gavin williamson saying today the british medical regulators were the best, better than the americans, belgians, french, and he said that is because we are a much better country than every single one of them. some here are not impressed with that comment. the proportion of people being contacted by the test and trace programme in england has increased — after the government changed the way it records the statistics. 72% of people who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus were told to self—isolate in the week ending november 25th. that compares with 60% the previous week. but contact tracers no longer have to speak to everyone in a household individually. students sitting a—levels and gcses in england next summer will get advance notice of some topics in the exams, and will be graded more generously. the education secretary, gavin williamson, says the changes will compensate for the disruption to teaching caused by the coronavirus pandemic. labour says it's worried that the pupils who missed the most lessons, will still lose out. ou

. —— as gavin williamson did today. the pandemic has amplified that as an example of really bad use of language in a bad use of the respect that i and many others would have for our european colleagues. we are not better than the european medicines agency. we are now doing things ina medicines agency. we are now doing things in a slightly different way and in these unique circumstances, we have been able to assess that vaccine, not with me personally involved in it, but the people who have assessed that have did it really carefully. at any destruction of confidence is not simply confidence. this is not confidence ina confidence. this is not confidence in a motorcar. this is confidence in vaccination. motorcars don't save lives, vaccination does. did britain wa nt to lives, vaccination does. did britain want to be first to approve the vaccine? is there some vaccine nationalism here do you think? not with those who are doing the work. their commitment is totally to public health. they will want to bring ina public health.

then within hours, gavin williamson, the education secretary said all schools are going to open a little bit later in january. it is this mixed messages to people who are absolutely on the front line whether they are teachers, health care workers, carriers and care homes, there are people who are really struggling to cope with this in order to keep a lot of essay. and educated. and moving around. —— keep a lot of us say. and he is rapidly losing what little credibility he has. a lot of that went out back in the summer with dominic cummings and goings. people may feel sympathetic to him 110w people may feel sympathetic to him now but i think as nigel said, this, the writing has been on the wall and sometimes it is better to be cautious however difficult that is rather than have to do this because a u—turn, we have a got wrong so often does look weak. i do agree with what you said. u—turns sometimes are a question of listening. he didn‘t need to make a u—turn on the free school meals. molly had to do is read the room and say it marcus rashford is much more popular in a charisma

the phase to reopening of schools would happen in january as was planned, but my question is this, gavin williamson threatens legal action against three local authorities in london who wa nted local authorities in london who wanted to close schools down just three days before they were due to close, and now, we are being told that children can't go back to school. i do not blame or label the blame on our current government. this is an unprecedented crisis, but ido this is an unprecedented crisis, but i do think that there is such a lack of organised serious response to whatever‘s happening that it does make you feel more anxious, i think. so, i don't know what's going to happen to schools. and apparently, this new variant affects children more than the original one. 0k, giles... so there is a grave danger. we will come to that in the moment. giles, are you glad you are not head of munication set number ten at the moment? writes, i think he has been put her finger on it there. we are dealing with a massively fast—moving situation where the facts are changing our by our. sol situation

the metro accuses government minister gavin williamson of being "boastful" in an interview made earlier today, in which he said the uk got the covid vaccine first because "we're a much better country" than everyone else. away from the vaccine and the financial times reports negotiations on a trade deal between britain and the eu are hanging in the balance as the deadline looms. the front page of the telegraph says negotiations between borisjohnson and emmanuel macron are heading for a showdown this weekend over french access to fish in british waters. lovely to see you both, thank you both forjoining us tonight. let us start with the vaccine arriving in the uk already. jessica, this is the first consignment that has gone to a central hub, undisclosed location, very secretive given how valuable this is. in theory, distribution from next week. yes, apparently mi5 advised the government not to disclose the exact location of where it is being kept. yes, it will be distributed around the uk immediately. it feels amazing it is happening this fast. i noticed on twitter before, there are some i

in the past half—hour, the education secretary, gavin williamson has said the reopening of secondary schools in england will be delayed untiljanuary 18th. it comes as the uk medicines regulator approves the use of the oxford vaccine, marking a landmark battle in the fight against coronavirus. and the prime minister will lead a briefing on coronavirus from downing street at 5pm. we'll bring you that live. but let's return to the tier announcement for england. the health secretary, matt hancock, made the announcement in the house of commons. u nfortu nately, unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of england and cases are doubling fast. it is therefore necessary to apply tier 4 measures to a wider area, including the remaining parts of the south east, as well as large parts of the midlands, the north west, the north east and the south west. and i have laid a comprehensive list in the library of the house and published on yougov uk. even in most areas not moving into tier 4, cases are also rising and it is therefore necessary to apply tier 3 measures bore broadly, i

we will be speaking to gavin williamson at 730 this morning. borisjohnson's trade deal with the european union has become law. the bill has cleared parliament, after being approved by mps and peers. 0vernight it was given royal assent by the queen. the deal takes effect at 11pm — when the uk will stop following eu rules. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. this was the moment, late into the night, when the brexit trade deal became the law of the land. her majesty has signified her royal assent to the following act — european union future relationship act 2020. the final confirmation at 11 o'clock tonight after 11.5 years of argument since the referendum, the uk will begin a new relationship with the european union. if you're thinking, hasn't all this happened already? didn't we leave injanuary? well, yes, legally, brexit did happen 11 months ago. but in practical terms, it happens tonight as the uk leaves the eu's single market and the customs union. after a ll after all the flag—waving and the elections of the last few years

only this week we've had gavin williamson telling schools in three boroughs in london to keep their schools open and not close early before christmas. 0nly their schools open and not close early before christmas. only to then tell them that post christmas they bring are meant to be staying closed and the new year wall they administer lateral photos. i think we will be in the situation for some time. —— administer a lateralflow test. they are on a race to give the vaccine but we've only had 500,000 people potentially being done by this we can and i3 people potentially being done by this we can and 13 million vulnerable people to get done. a huge industrial scale task and we will really be coping with this for several months to come. you mention mark harper can release the covid—i9 recovery group a backbench conservative switch is fast overtaking the european research group as the most influential and important of the many backbench pressure groups the prime minister has to deal with. there is a heart—warming image commendably photograph on the front of the twins who recovered from th

gavin williamson there trumpeting the speed that the h mra have done in britain, the controversy whether or not brexit was a factor in all of that. this criticism from such an authority here i think will hurt significantly. i suppose it's also important, because doctor fauci is in expert, he's a scientist, he's not a politician. he's not a politician, he's a scientist who has been under significant pressure here. he was the face of those briefings earlier on in the year, every day at the white house. he's of such stature, really here that he is on stackable in many ways, by donald trump. that is saying something. many people turn to him for his advice, joe biden will be speaking to him in the coming days what his plans for combating covid when he takes over onjanuary 20. for him to turn around and say when he was asked, why did the brits get there too fast he said that they rushed it. ithink there too fast he said that they rushed it. i think that will stick. many thanks, our correspondent gary o'donoghue there. more now on one of our top stories. more than 60,000 people in the uk have n

williamson who is the education secretary downing street and boris johnson is going to give another one later on in the day now all of this suggests that there are announcements coming about restrictions we are expecting perhaps this. the tier 4 restrictions are going to be applied to a greater part of the united kingdom and we are also perhaps expecting that at least since here for areas children are going to be kept back home even when the christmas holidays are finished and schools as it should be reopening. we think that they're going to be keeping many schools closed trying to limit the number of people mingling in in classrooms to wait and see what those announcements are later in the day but of course this is not just a u.k. problem it's across europe and other countries around the continent operating in their own restrictions as well for their. force in london. well jeff lazarus is the head of the health systems research group at the barcelona institute for global health and he says the development is positive and attention needs to be turned to how countries will stall the

williamson saying that the united kingdom is leading and is a much better nation than any other but at what is the question the public really have we spoke to a critical expert a political analyst about whether a rushed approval is irrational approval. rushing through and cutting safety corners are 2 separate issues so as long as no safety corners have been cut at the and patient people's health and well being have not been put at risk then getting it through rushed in and the words is not a wrong thing to do what we want to ask the question is we hope you have not cut any corners to put people's health and wellbeing at risk and i don't think so i have faith in the m h r a as an independent body to her work very hard to have rushed it but not cut health and safety concerns about giving that scene to otherwise fit and healthy people i don't think the m h r a have cut any safety concerns or safety corners and i don't think they would ever authorize alexina that was not safe so i would say to members of the public if it is authorized by a group presented to all torah t.v. then please r

the education secretary, gavin williamson, said continuity of education was a national priority. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. arriving for what could be their last day, parents told schools were being advised to move online, leaving them facing a sudden childcare crisis. it's just too short notice to get any sort of childcare arrangements in place, so you would either be taking the day off unpaid, coming up to christmas, which is just not doable. they have to do what they have to do. it's a shame, though, that things have been left till the last minute. this is something that should have been done ages ago. schools in greenwich are the first to get this advice from their council, but ministers insist schools must stay open. schools have found themselves caught up in a political battle, and in the end, they have to make their own decisions, so this primary school has told parents that learning will move online from the end of today. but some secondary schools who are academies and have much more freedom from the local authority have told parents they will be stay

the education secretary gavin williamson has been speaking this morning — he explained the importance of getting coronavirus testing for school children up properly in place before pupils return. on monday and next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests. all the equipment they need to set up, all the ppe that they need in order to have the staff. and, on top of that, those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to get this set up with the resources that are being provided, we are very grateful to the armed forces, 1500 service personnel, for those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to follow the guidance and the instructions, and use the equipment that has been provided, and the money that's been offered to them, to be able to help them get that massed testing programme set out in their school. the latest headlines on bbc news... a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock tonight — when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people inengland wake up to t

"we're a much better country than every single one of them" — the cabinet minister gavin williamson's tiggerish patriotism was on display in a radio interview about vaccine approval. naked nationalism was on display across the channel. where clement beaune, france's europe minister was blunt. "i want to tell our fishermen, our producers, the citizens, we will not accept a deal with bad terms." well, if the talks fail, getting those vaccine—filled trucks over from the continent could become a bit slower. eunice, what do you make about all this rumbling noises? i mean, how seriously should we take the french threat to veto an eu trade deal? well, i think we should take that threat very, very seriously because emmanuel macron in france is relishing the role of being the bad cop in the final stage of the brexit negotiations. but in reality, france is not alone. old allies of great britain — denmark and the netherlands — are also very concerned and ready to use their vetoes, together with spain and italy and the standing issue of course, the issues of fisheries. the understanding in

gavin williamson said using his legal powers was a last resort and continuity of education was a national priority. greenwich, along with islington and waltham forest, have urged schools to move pupils to online learning to help tackle a rise in coronavirus cases. 0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. arriving for what could be their last day, parents told schools were being advised to move online, leaving them facing a sudden childcare crisis. it's just too short notice to get any sort of childcare arrangements in place, so you would either be taking the day off unpaid, coming up to christmas, which is just not doable. they have to do what they have to do. it's a shame, though, that things have been left till the last minute. this is something that should have been done ages ago. schools in greenwich are the first to get this advice from their council, but ministers insist schools must stay open. schools have found themselves caught up in a political battle, and in the end, they have to make their own decisions, so this primary school has told parents that learning will move on

gavin williamson also said he wanted school closures to be as "short as possible", after delaying their reopening amid a surge in coronavirus cases. lessons will start online, with pupils due to take exams next summer returning to class on the 11th of january, and other years following a week later. primary schools will also remain closed in areas with the highest infection rates. here's our education correspondent, frankie mccamley. for the murray family, this latest announcement is going to have a big impact. siobhan has four children, all of them will be staying home next week. my husband works from home full time and it's going to be quite stressful to keep the children under control, working quietly. my work has been delayed. i understand why it was last minute, but a bit more time for primaries, for us to get our heads around it and make some plans, would have been helpful. the latest changes in england mean any secondary school children taking exams will go back on the 11th of january and all other secondary schools will be remote learning until at least the 18th. most primary sc

williamson saying that the united kingdom is world leading and is a much better nation than any other but at what is the question the public really have . that it was to ask the report and now we can discuss this further to you with political commentator anthony webber he joins us this evening from the u.k. a very welcome thanks for coming on anthony in your view do you think that the u.k. government has rushed approval here for this. yes so i think it's i think we have. the safety of the population behind her implicit who needs a home ready to sponsor license from her complete concerns that. this will all. this proceeding recommend transmissions so all of us are also he's the acquaintance of this patsy it is not it's a fact you know transmission and this is a car safety aspects about the facts because we already know that it's not safe for. our children under 16 and pregnant mothers but the tresidder thought it senses enough to know what the risk of a star is suddenly doesn't need a repeat and this is a big faults a tool being rushed and it looked at the medical profession profession

you are saying a little earlier, i mean, gavin williamson ordered, i think it's going greenwich to reopen. and threaten them with legal action. you know, what kind of thinking is that? when this happens, i suspect that people already knew that, you know, something was happening with the younger part of the population. teachers have been saying for a long time that's, you know, the situation that they've been put into is untenable and dangerous. i mean, you know, this is such a terrible situation, and i do want to emphasise, i'm not the kind of political commentator who just goes for the tory party leadership, because it feels good to do so, i do understand that it's difficult, but they have made too many mistakes along the way, and that was one of the most recent ones, i think. let's look at the story above that, giles, because, well, battles on all fronts of the moment, isn't it? we haven't even discussed brexit yet, and mass testing for lorry driver separates. the telegraph seems to have a lot of information on this. just talk us through it, because it seems that president macron is loo

the education secretary, gavin williamson, said ministers had to make an "immediate adjustment" to plans to begin reopening schools next week. ireland's prime minister has announced that tough public—health restrictions will remain in place for the next four weeks to try and stop the spread of coronavirus. here's how micheal martin made the announcemnent, in a televised address to the nation. i've always been clear that we will do what we need to do to suppress the virus when it is growing. and it is now growing exponentially. the truth is that with the presence of the new strain and the pace of growth, this is not a time for nuance in our response. we must apply the brakes to movement and physical interaction across the country. we must return to full—scale, level 5 restrictions for a period of at least one month. other news this hour, and the uk prime minister has told the bbc his new trade deal with the european union means the country will have its cake and eat it. but, as mps voted overwhelmingly for the deal, more than four years after the referendum, he refused to acknowledge

in such a scenario, do you think gove,johnson, michael gavin williamson would be able to shut secondary stores possibly for a month? what do you think the tolerance is for that? public: i think the tolerance for tighter restrictions or continuing , people arerictions exhausted, they are afraid. the stories of the strains on livelihoods, mental health, all of that is growing. i think people would absolutely get behind it. the secondary schools is a really difficult one. it affects lots of people's ability to go to work as well as the education. i have a daughter in her last year of school. the government is very unwilling, having seen how much children suffered before and how much education they lost and what a different educational experience it was between different kinds of schools, they are very unwilling to take the step. i would say pressure is growing from medical quarters saying we really have to get on top of this. guy: on that note, we will leave it. bronwen maddox, thank you very much, indeed. coming up, the chair of global research and jp morgan. this is bloomberg. ♪ guy: g

the metro accuses government minister gavin williamson of being "boastful" in an interview made earlier today, in which he said the uk got the covid vaccine first because "we're a much better country" than everyone else. away from the vaccine and the financial times reports negotiations on a trade deal between britain and the eu are hanging in the balance as the deadline looms. the front page of the telegraph says negotiations between borisjohnson and emmanuel macron are heading for a showdown this weekend over french access to fish in british waters. and the mirror is calling on the 1.8 billion pound covid tax break refund by supermarkets to be used to save our struggling pubs that face closure under the tier system. so let's begin... lovely to have you both back. we are going to startjessica, with your paper. all day, all week we've been talking about this new vaccine, the uk getting the first to get it approved. the vaccine coming into the uk undera approved. the vaccine coming into the uk under a cloak and dagger us with the help of mi five or secretly. the list of people, the prior

the cabinet minister gavin williamson's tiggerish patriotism was on display in a radio interview about vaccine approval. naked nationalism was on display across the channel. clement beaune, france's europe minister was blunt. "i want to tell our fishermen, our producers, the citizens, we will not accept a deal with bad terms". if the talks fail, getting those vaccine—filled trucks over

what was today by gavin williamson, the education secretary, talking to ldc about the whole business of the vaccine being licensed and approved in the uk before anywhere else —— lbc. approved in the uk before anywhere else -- lbc. the fact that britain is in the process of and has been exited, doesn't mean we got the vaccination, a world first, head of the us and eu, yes or no, do you believe, secretary of state? i just recommend got the very best people in this country and we've obviously got the best regular —— medical regulators, better than france and belgium and america, it does not surprise me at all because we area surprise me at all because we are a much better country than every single one of them. what does this say, do you think, mr blair? the whole question about... he's laughing.|j cannot about... he's laughing.” cannot cease i cannot see that. and now he is rolling his eyes as well! it is kind overlap, whether it is the exit of the pandemic and the whole business ofa pandemic and the whole business of a place in the world, how we see ourselves and how the worl

do you well, what gavin williamson announced this morning? well, i think parents and teachers welcome the fact that there isa teachers welcome the fact that there is a decision at least. at least we now have a direction of travel. if you are a gcse student or an a—level student, if you're at school or at home, every single assessment a teacher is done, you have been thinking is this ultimately going to end up being used because the exams are going to be cancelled. at least are going to be cancelled. at least a commitment to changing exams and running exams and doing some other modifications, i think most people are going to welcome that. modifications, i think most people are going to welcome thatm modifications, i think most people are going to welcome that. it sounds on the face of that is if questions are almost going to be spoon fed is much too strong a face, and that is not a phrase the education sector are used, but there might be people and parents watching thinking, well, is myjob going to have much incentive to study if they broadl

let's go to the house of commons where the education secretary, gavin williamson, is speaking. an outstanding teacher from around the world. our very own doctorjamie frost, maths leader at pippin school in kingston upon thames, has been shortlisted for this after his tuition website went viral in lockdown helping millions of people in the united kingdom and around the world continue their studies at home. studio: we are expecting the education secretary momentarily to speak more about his plans to ensure, in his words, that pupils in england taking exams next get a fair assessment. an entire year of stu d e nts by assessment. an entire year of students by cancelling next year's exams. exams are the best form of assessment we have and we are therefore taking steps to make sure that any student preparing to sit them in 2021 has every chance possible to do their very very best. we support the decision from quual that in awarding next year's at gcse, a.s. and a levels, grading will be as generous and will maintaina similar will be as generous and will maintain a similar profile to

the education secretary for england, gavin williamson, has said he wants secondary school closures to be as "short as possible," after delaying their reopening amid a surge in cases — stating he's "absolutely confident" there'll be no further delay. mr williamson also said there was "absolutely no reason" that schools should not be ready to mass test pupils for covid—19, following strong criticism of the plans from teaching unions. here's our education correspondent, dan johnson. charlie and lewis are five years old and facing more time at home. how long before it's the walls they are climbing customer they onlyjust got used to the idea of the holiday is ending. do you want to go back to school? yes. what would it be like if you couldn't? boring! yeah, strange and boring. it is strange and potentially tricky for parents in this part of hertfordshire. my other son is two and a half so it's really difficult when you just have oneipad really difficult when you just have one ipad and it is all on there and then the little one wants to see what's going on. problems keeping up with the

williamson who's the education secretary and there's a downing street press conference a couple of hours after that say 5 o'clock g.m.t. where we believe we're going to hear from boris johnson the prime minister what does all this amount say well probably it's going to amount to. a fairly wide scale increase in the hearing systems bumping up parts of the country that are currently in tears to see if 3 bumping up parts of the country that are currently in tears 3 sets here for millions of people basically going into tighter lockdown restrictions we're also expecting to have some sort of announcement about schools and whether or not children who are currently on christmas holidays will be going back for the start of the school what we expect is that at least in some parts of the country schools are going to be kept closed for a few weeks so make sure the schools themselves don't become breeding grounds for the virus as the suspicion is that they have been contributing to the spread of this and highly infectious 2nd wave or rory that's in the u.k. rory chalons there let's hear now from the

i feel gavin williamson could have handled this a lot better. i understand what you're saying about schools, but what i want to know is what you think of christmas? the four nations decided that the christmas rush will be different, that household could mix within the five days. that decision was made at a time when the circumstances were different. we did not anticipate that the government would lose control of the virus and that the infection rates would be so high. in my opinion, and i am personally quite conflicted about what to do, whether i can see my elderly in—laws or not, but i think the government has to be responsible and lay out the risks, even if you are within the rules and you do go and see people, what the risks are. i think people willjust have to be sensible and make their own decisions. it has been a really difficult year and i understand that people are looking forward to christmas, but the fact is because the rates are increasing so rapidly, and there are such a high number of deaths at the moment, we can have to go deaths

gavin williamson, the education secretary will be talking to us at 730. it is absolutely the case that it has been really challenging for teachers, great teacher there, and students as well. lots more information coming up. so we're three days into december and you've probably got your advent calendar on the go. have you? no, if i'm honest. normally i will. i normally have one of those things to pop open and have a chocolate. they tend to go quite quickly. there was a time when my children when they would all be opened on day one. it's notjust children. it happens in lots of houses. and as festive traditions evolve, so too have our calendars — let's take a look at the creative ways some of you are counting down to christmas. number one. let's pull it out. my name is renata. we live in leeds. and what does it say? it says i love you more. i created this huge advent calendarfor my son you more. i created this huge advent calendar for my son harry, you more. i created this huge advent calendarfor my son harry, and behind each of the panels is a lovely book

here's education secretary gavin williamson. we won't make the mandatory, but i think all parents want to see the best for their children, they want to see their children, they want to see their children, they want to see their children have the opportunity to be able to go into school and maximise the amount of time in the classroom. and we all recognise we play a big role, every single one of us, and defeating coronavirus, and everyone can help. this is a big national effort, this is an effort that involves departments right across government. it's involving schools, communities, and local authorities. but by working together, we can all play our role in defeating the coronavirus. their plans for the army to help rule out those plans, but what we've heard time and time again is that schools cannot operate on such short notice. now the school holidays are about to start and schools will be having to deal with this over the school holidays. this also comes after councils were warned they faced legal action if they sought to exte

i'm afraid it has been an afterthought in this pandemic, the deferment of education for why does gavin williamson not pick up the phone and give leaders the support they need to keep schools open, safe and keep people learning? what about and keep people learning? what about a lengthy start of the term after christmas? would you do that? we would rather not. kids have missed out on a huge amount of schooling this year, it is going to have a huge impact on their education, and the fact we are at this point our schools are struggling to stay open or struggling to return at the start of january, that is a massive failure on the part of government ministers, and they need to step up to the plate and start providing the support schools and been crying out for, as have we, prickly for months now. this is happening on their watch and i think, ultimately, they respond supposed to record —— they are responsible for. wes streeting, thank you forjoining us on wes streeting, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. the mass roll out of the coronavirus vaccine across the uk has begun. care home res

but he said someone should tell gavin williamson that, actually, it was developed in germany by scientists of turkish background. it will be distributed with pfizer, of course, an american giant pharmaceutical company, and it will be manufactured in belgium and taken through france before it gets to the uk. so i think he was making that point, and i think that's been shared by some other members of the european club today. mr williamson's words aren't representative of everyone in the uk, far from it — here's the uk's top scientific advisor yesterday praising the international effort. and what a momentous journey, you know, international effort it has been every bite to scientists who originally lived in turkey. development by a german biotech company, involvement of a massive us pharmaceutical giant, and then involvement of our own uk mhra to bring home the goods in terms of the uk. what a fantastic journey. and the bbc has also learned that the first delivery of those vaccines to the uk is happening today. here's nick again... and we hear that it will be transported both by lori and bi

but the education secretary, gavin williamson, intervened — and told greenwich that it would face legal action if it didn't keep schools open. he's also announced that every secondary school and college in england will have access to rapid coronavirus testing from january. andy moore reports. just a few parents, mostly key workers and their children, thank you very much for being with us. what did you make with the wa nted us. what did you make with the wanted to do in the education secretary threatening legal action? whatever happens we are to make the children are priority. i think of the teachers and support staff what they're doing but children have missed six to seven months of learning. we know that millions of children did her the neat learning at all, every day counts. the chief inspector of schools has said that one national day of lost learning is around 40,000 years in terms of a child public education. that's a huge amount of time. we have to do everything possible to make sure we help our children catch up from lost learning that they have had during the lockdown. having sa

according to the paper, the education secretary, gavin williamson, is reluctant to delay the face—to—face restart in england because of the potential impact on the summer exam timetable. the telegraph carries a warning from scientists that two million people need to be vaccinated a day in order to avoid a third peak of the virus. and most watched on the bbc news website is a collection of zoom fails, something we're probably all familiar with, after almost a year of video calls. i wonder how many come from brea kfast? i wonder how many come from breakfast? we have done more than most, haven't we? we have spent a lot of time on video calls. some of oui’ lot of time on video calls. some of ourfamily and lot of time on video calls. some of our family and calls lot of time on video calls. some of ourfamily and calls on lot of time on video calls. some of our family and calls on christmas day didn't work. we later discovered it was operator error, if you know what i mean, after lunch and one glass of something too much. anyway... nina was talking about the toys. we a re anyway... nina was ta

the education secretary, gavin williamson, speaking to nick ea rdley. we just have the latest coronavirus figures covering the latest 24—hour period, and that says that across the uk, there were 35,383 new covid cases on thursday. that includes the 11,000 cases that were not reported in wales because of their computer maintenance issues. and the latest figures from public health england show that there were 612 coronavirus deaths the previous day. now, it is 532 coronavirus deaths in the last 24—hour period. so, down on the last 24—hour period. so, down on the previous 24 hours. 532 new covid—19 deaths. but overall, a totalfigure for covid—19 deaths. but overall, a total figure for coronavirus cases in the last 24—hour period of 35,383, which includes the 11,000 previously unreported cases in wales. that takes us neatly onto the situation in the country. vaughn gething is the health minister for wales. good to have you with us. we know the office for national statistics says that covid was, for the first time in six months, the biggest cause

and later, at around four o'clock, the education secretary gavin williamson will make a statement on schools in england. and we'll bring you all of those key developments throughout the day here on bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondentjonathan blake who has been watching the brexit debate. what has been said? a busy day at westminster, as you set out. mps have been recalled from their christmas breaks, some taking part remotely and some here in the house of commons, and later in the house of commons, and later in the house of lords. the purpose of today's proceedings is for parliament to approve the eu trade future relationship bill, which is the bit of legislation which will put into effect the trade deal which was reached with the eu just before christmas, and it is being raced through parliament in record time because, of course, it needs to take effect in time for 11pm tomorrow, december the 31st, which is when the transition period that we are currently in after formally leaving the eu at the beginning of this year expires. and the prime minister got the debate in