Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News With Katty And Christian 20201208

Plus, why its time to go green and ditch the christmas cracker. Hello, im katty kay in washington, Christian Fraser is in london. The first coronavirus Mass Vaccination Programme in the world is now underway in the uk. Vaccination programme in the world the Health Secretary called tuesday v day. Independent scientists also reported that the 0xford astrazeneca vaccine while not as effective as pfizers, was still found to be safe and effective and cheaper and easier to transport than the pfizer jabs. The nhs says thousands of people were vaccinate today and they will be getting in touch with people eligible for the first vaccine shots. 8 hundred thousand doses of the pfizer bio ntech vaccine have already arrived in the uk thats enough to vaccinate 400,000 people. The over 80s, care home workers and nhs staff will be among the very first to get vaccinated, more than 80 Vaccine Centres have beeb set up so far most are in hospitals and people will be called in for the vaccination. Our Health Editor hugh pym was in coventry today a warning his report contain some flashing images an Early Morning hospital appointment, at first glance nothing out of the ordinary. But this was unlike anything before. Margaret, aged 90, was the very first patient to receive the newly approved coronavirus vaccine. Applause. There was a well deserved round of applause, and intense interest amongst media and Health Officials at this hospital vaccination clinic in coventry. She seemed to take it all in her stride. So, margaret, first of all, tell us, how was it for you . It was fine, fine. I wasnt nervous at all. It was really good, yeah. And what do you say to those who might be having second thoughts about having this vaccine . I say go for it, go for it, because its history, and its the best thing thats ever happened. At the moment. So, do please go for it. Thats what i say, you know . If i can do it, well, so can you. The matron who administered the historicjab said this significance only sunk in afterwards. I do this all the time. Ive done hundreds of vaccinations, but never with such interest, and people like wanting to know whats going on and wanting to actually witness it, so it was really surreal. Its a world first, it represents extraordinary progress by science, but for the nhs, this is a huge achievement, turning research into reality. Around the uk, there were similar stories. In glasgow, the vaccine was delivered to the sec centre, with nhs staff among the first to receive the jabs. Its really exciting, lovely. You feel like you are a wee bit of history in the making. Its really lovely. In belfast, health staff queued to get theirjabs. The policy is for those doing the vaccinations to be vaccinated first. The Health Service in general has struggled throughout the fight with covid 19, so it feels like a momentous day. Very privileged. At this Vaccine Centre in cardiff, one of seven in wales, more than 200 people have been booked in every day till friday. Its a good day for the whole country. The Prime Minister on a visit to a london vaccination centre, wanted to rein in peoples expectations. I urge people to contain their impatience. It is a very exciting moment but theres still a lot of work to be done and a lot of discipline to be maintained. The head of nhs england was urging people not to turn up without appointments. Wait to hear from the nhs. We will make contact with you. The vaccine is being made available to us from the manufacturers on a phased basis, so the bulk of the vaccination is going to be injanuary, february, march and april. The priority groups now include the over 80s. Harry and ranjan, who spoke to arsenal yesterday, had theirjabs together in newcastle, with badges to prove it. Applause. Margaret certainly wont forget her vaccination, nor will nhs staff on a dramatic and momentous day which they can only hope marks a turning point. These vaccines are widely considered to be one of the greatest medical achievements of the modern era and the quickest way to get people back to their pre covid lives. But its not time to throw away your mask anytime soon best case scenerios say it could take six to nine months to get to everyone innoculated. Even if you do get your vaccine. Two doses are needed and they need to be at least three weeks apart and you wont be fully protected until seven days after the final dose. Werejoined now by pauljohnston who was vaccinated today to protect him in hisjob as manager of the palmerston care home in belfast and by becky board a nurse in the Covid Recovery unit who has spent the day administering vaccinations at Croydon University hospital. You have been on your feet all day, i may people do you think you have vaccinated . 2015 vaccines, so weve had a good day. How did you choose would be vaccinated first . We followed the priority list and be approached over 80 who were coming to the hospital and offer them the vaccine also approached her care home staff and we need a few health ca re home staff and we need a few Health Care Workers as well. Becky gave the vaccine and you got the vaccine today and as i understand, youre only given 2a hours notice, this time two days ago you did not be the first to get it. That is right. I got a phone call at 11 oclock yesterday morning and we were offered the opportunity to take the vaccine and speak to families, speak to the residents, the process all in all. And becky, just as a clarified, how this process works, people are invited to come get the vaccines, they cannot just show invited to come get the vaccines, they cannotjust show up outside and hope theyre going to be put to the front of the line. Know, is very important that people wait to be invited over to try to do is make sure that the most Vulnerable People get the vaccine first and worked the priority list thereafter. Particularly with social distance income is very important that we invite people and today was really good. And the reason. The reason why youre invited, how many people in the care home and she could vaccine today . We are fortunate to have people tested and vaccinated and 35 staff so, we are around 60 today. So. Everyone suffering any ill effects at all . No, no. We have been given good information priority takena given good information priority taken a vaccine given the choice to become and nobody has suffered any ill effects after the vaccine. That should be encouraging. But i did not realise until today was that its not premixed. You have to do the mixing of the vaccine it comes in these boxes and has to be kept at ultra low temperatures. Is it on like the other vaccines that you administer . It is a different way of working for us with regards to vaccination and so it is different to the flu vaccine that has been made up in to be constituted, if at pharmacy technicians helping us today and supporting us and well versed in doing so. And while this is different, it is much like what we do every day of the week. And it has been good, it has been nice to be involved and enjoyable day. Described the room where are giving out the vaccinations in the hospital. What have you done to prepare for administering the vaccine there. We have done great work. The croydon, we have an amazing team from the state supply and pharmacy commissions we have all Work Together collaboratively and weve turned Training Space into a fully clinical space, which is independent of the main hub of the hospital and its got its own entrance and it is a fully operational functioning clinic and we have eight couches, if that screens anything you would expect this in the vaccination clinic and it operates very much like a hospital kind of way and environment and social distancing is obviously really important and its been a really important and its been a real team effort to get it turned around like i say, a week ago, this isa training around like i say, a week ago, this is a training room and out is fully operational clinic and be fed over 20 people through today so, really good success. Seven days after that second jeff, this is freedom for you guys. Lets change the way that you operate. I will change. That is the interesting question. I think there is another thing that needs to happen where relatives need to be offered the vaccines to protect themselves, to protect others and i think they are all still, that needs to be looked at, we are on the right path and the second dose, were talking the end ofjanuary when be safe. Just to be clear on that, once theyve got the second jab, and the sundaes is passed, you still would not go back to normal until relatives of been vaccinated . That isa relatives of been vaccinated . That is a process that we still need to look at and clarify and how that will happen, be guided by local government and make those informed decisions put into effect the second dose, we will continue our regular tests and protect everybody involved with residents and staff and ill be looked at again after. That is interesting. We do not know whether they can share the vaccine, the virus and primitive at the vaccine, so we virus and primitive at the vaccine, so we had to share these particles. Given the vaccine, thank you very much and congratulations to the both of you on all of your efforts and su ccesses of you on all of your efforts and successes today. Well done. The uk got there first but the us wont be far behind. The president elect announced announced a few hours ago that the us will deliver 100 million vaccine shots within the first 100 days of his administration. Mr biden said he would seek to have most schools open by the end of that period. He urged the us congress to approve more funding to deal with the crisis and said he will sign an executive order to mandate mask wearing in federal buildings and on public transport. My my first 100 days will not end the covid 19 virus, i cannot promise that. But, we did not get into this quickly, it will not be getting out quickly, it will not be getting out quickly, but im absolutely convinced that in the 100 days that we can change the course of the disease and change life in america for the better. Were joined now by dr William Schaffner professor of Preventive Medicine and infectious diseases, at the Vanderbilt University medical centre. We listen tojoe bidens plans for the first hundred days of this administration, do you think will see a big change in america after he comes in the office and how the federal government is dealing with this pandemic . You will certainly see a change of the federal government deals with the epidemic. Will be based on science and Good Public Health practice and that is clearly evident that 100 days will be very important. Certainly will be able to influence mask wearing and social distancing and all federal installations and public transport is asking all the rest of us as citizens to wear our masks and comply with social distancing Going Forward. That will not be accepted universally, but i think you will make a major effort in recruiting many more people to that that is currently the case and we like the people he has appointed. The people he has appointed to carry out these policies. 100 days of the administration gets us to the middle of may, do you think that with a combination of new policies, but even more importantly, the roll out of the vaccine and a widespread basis, life will return to some sense of normalcy by then . That may bea sense of normalcy by then . That may be a bit ambitious but i would think certainly by this time next year, if everything goes well, and his general acceptance of the vaccine, for sure. I will put more towards the end of the summer in the beginning of the fall. We have been talking today about the white house put on order. Theres some reporting that did not order enough of the vaccine although some are saying that well, yep to hedge your bets at the beginning when your triangle these different types of vaccines. Which of the policy be Going Forward . Which of the policy be Going Forward . D which of the policy be Going Forward . D put which of the policy be Going Forward . D put your money behind those that have gotten this emergency use authorisation . 0r those that have gotten this emergency use authorisation . Or do you have to support the Second String of vaccines that are coming behind . More the merrier for sure. Because just in the United States, we are trying to vaccinate some 330 Million People in each of those people require two doses. So, the more manufacturers we have working, is good for the United States and also good for disseminating these vaccines around the world. We have global population that we need to immunise. The Second Generation vaccines could bring Something Different . Well, they may bring the same and its more of the same and they could all bring Something Different. 0ne they could all bring Something Different. One of them at least might bea different. One of them at least might be a one dose vaccine, which would be more efficient than having to give two doses. We will have to wait to see and some may work better in some populations than others. Again, waitand in some populations than others. Again, wait and see in the more the merrier. Thank you very much. For joining us. These vaccines are incredible difficult to transport. In interviews youve seen a certain amount of dry ice even an aeroplane to transport these vaccines which temperatures are more like the antarctic in winter and yet you have dry ice on the aeroplane and thats not necessarily even safe. Know, exactly. It is very difficult. The common boxes that are prepared and bears carried in dry ice and you can bears carried in dry ice and you can be in bears carried in dry ice and you can beina bears carried in dry ice and you can be in a difficult position and also, the rate at risk of expiring. Be in a difficult position and also, the rate at risk of expiringm be in a difficult position and also, the rate at risk of expiring. It is a huge logistical operation because too much vaccines in one place, the risks expiring the afternoon else. Someone asked if the vision of that across the country and i think thats what theyre talking about, thats what theyre talking about, thatis thats what theyre talking about, that is they have been talking about today vaccine at the white house. It may be why he is seeing the Second Generation, needs more vaccines the merrier because some of them will be easier to transport as well. For those watching on bbc world news well be right back. The mayor of london sadiq khan has welcomed the roll out the Pfizer Biontech vaccine. But hes also warned residents of the capital not to be complacent to avoid moving from tier 2 to tier 3 of covid restrictions. We can finally see a route out of this crisis and we need to do is keep our foot this crisis and we need to do is keep ourfoot on this crisis and we need to do is keep our foot on the gas. The last thing we need is complacency for the virus spreading. Yes, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccine is here, but the virus is still very much with us we have to make sure that we follow the rules where a facemask, do not use public transport for rush hour, wash hands regularly and thoroughly, keep a social distance and none of us must think that the virus is behind us. I spoke today to the Health Secretary andi spoke today to the Health Secretary and i have spoken today to the leaders of the bars in london, all of us are determined to make sure we are vigilant and continue to follow the rules because when none of us wa nt the rules because when none of us want is for the virus to be spread. At the same time that president Electjoe Biden was setting out his plan for tackling covid, donald trump was also speaking about the vaccine at a summit at the white house. It was another split screen demonstration of the vastly different approaches to the pandemic from these two men. Donald trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the disaster, spent half his time talking about his hopes for a second term, again repeating those unsubstantiated claims that last months election was stolen from him. And hopefully the next administration will be the Trump Administration. Because you cant steal hundreds of thousands of votes. You cant have fraud and deception, and all the things that they did, and then slightly when a swing state. And then slightly win a swing state. And you just have to look at the numbers, look at whats been on tape, look at all the corruption, and well say, you cant win an election like that. For an overwhelming majority of people in the us, the election is over and joe biden will become the 46th president. In six days time, the Electoral College grandees from across the country will meet to confirm the results of the election. Then all thats left is for the result to be ratified by congess on the sixth january. Not all republicans are on board with that timetable. Congressman mo brooks of alabama intends to challenge the result when congress meets. Mr brooks has repeatedly said the election was rigged, although so far we have seen no evidence of wide scale fraud. Donald trump is losing, losing and losing in the courts. Congressman mo brooks is with us. Thank you very much forjoining us. The lawsuits are failing, there is no evidence that there was fraud, the attorney general has said there is no evidence of fraud that would overturn that. Why are you still saying it was rigged . Those are two false statements, home or do you wa nt to false statements, home or do you want to go for. William barr said that he was unaware. He said there was no evidence that would overturn the Election Results stub billable was not asked was whether or not there been an investigation of Election Fraud for the basis of the statement. That is one thing you have made a false statement on if you want to go through the others, i will itemize them one by one. Tell us will itemize them one by one. Tell us where you have found evidence of Election Fraud, what lawsuits that would overturn the results of the election . I do not know how familiar you are with the United States constitution, but start with the most obvious one. Article one, section four of the United States constitution note here is the election clause. The election clause gives congress the ability to define the time, place and manner of an election for federal offices and congress did that. Congress said an election day, 2a hour window in which citizens can cast their vote. Congress also permitted some exceptions, for example, special privileges or circumstances for disabled people. Military personnel, serving overseas can get absentee ballots. For example, if youre willing to sign a statement that you are not going to be in your state or community on election day, you can vote by absentee. We have a millions upon millions of ballots that have been cast that are in direct conflict with the United States constitution and federal law, in particular, those that are pushed by the socialist democrat in favour of en masse ballot mail outs that even president jimmy carter and former secretary of state and white house chief of staff james secretary of state and white house chief of staffjames baker secretary of state and white house chief of staff james baker has secretary of state and white house chief of staffjames baker has said are fraught with peril and are susceptible to fraud. So that it just one systemic problem, i can go into a lot of systemic problems that have resulted in me being persuaded by the evidence that if only lawful folks are cast by eligible american voters. Donald trump won this election. By a significant margin. The congress did except the people are allowed to vote by mail and all of the votes cast by mail by republicans, would also be illegal, when they . If your display of this kind of words, back it up with proof. Name the provision of the United States codes that permits this in mass mailing of ballots to who knows where throughout the United States. You have been challenged, named that. There is no provision. In mass mailing of ballots unequivocably violates that provision in the United States code. But people have been voting through lots of elections by mail stop element is permitted by the United States code. In what talk about courts, i can talk about them to. The United States congress controls this issue and that is article one and article two of the nights its constitution, congress is the one that rules on on election contests involving officials. How many senators are backing up your protest that you are going to launch on the 6th of january . That you are going to launch on the 6th ofjanuary . There is a that you are going to launch on the 6th of january . There is a good number of congressmen. How many senators . How many senators . number of congressmen. How many senators . How many senators . I cant speakfor them. Senators . How many senators . I cant speak for them. How many . Look, ive had conversations and im constantly optimistic. So not one of them. So not one of them is backing you up they said in their own words, the state publicly whether or not theyre going to defend our American Election system for the massive fraud we have suffered in this election year. Right, some erasure protests, the house and this senate will take two hours to consider the protests a nd will take two hours to consider the protests and then theyll vote on the protests that she know that the house will vote against you. No, i dont know that and heres why. In 12 says that we shall vote by state delegations on the issue of the election the next president of the United States of america. Arguably, that same standard applies to when youre voting on whether or not to accept or reject Electoral College returns that have such followed election systems that the Election Results are untrustworthy. If we use that same election system in the house that we are supposed to use from the election of the president of the United States, then you have 27 delegations that are controlled by republicans, 20 theyre controlled by democrats and thats going to be a big fight. Based on congressmen, based on state delegations, only time will answer that one. Congressmen, we have to leave it there, thank you very much for joining leave it there, thank you very much forjoining us. Hello there. There was some sunshine earlier today through the midlands, southeast england and east anglia. Its still quite a cold day, an awful lot colder though where the fog persisted here and there. There wasnt too much of that around this afternoon, but over the past few hours, it has been thickening up. Further north, a good day to have an umbrella handy, really, with rain tumbling down. Its been quite wet, actually, across the northwest of england, north wales, showers in scotland and for a while in Northern Ireland. That wetter weather is moving southwards into the midlands. Heading towards the southeast, where ahead of that rain, we have got some fog and an early frost, perhaps, across parts of east anglia and the southeast of england. But that will tend to lift as that rain comes in, washing things away, the rain could be quite heavy for a while. Showers then do follow on behind, but we will get some clearer skies for Northern Ireland, wales and the southwest. Maybe a few pockets of frost, but generally speaking, it should be frost free by the end of the night. The wetter weather from earlier in the night will move away from east anglia, and then we will have a few showers, but those showers will be diminishing, and for many, it will be brightening up, there will be some sunshine, but we will see the cloud increasing in Northern Ireland, wales and the southwest and through the afternoon, we will start to see some rain marching in as well. Ahead of that, though, it is still quite cold air, the winds will be fairly light and temperatures at sixes and sevens. That wetter weather coming into the western side of the uk probably wont reach eastern parts because the main driver of the rain is going to push the wet weather down into france and the weather front sort of breaks off into two. So, here is some overnight rain to clear away, and then we are left with this patchy rain in western scotland, it could turn wintry as it reaches the highlands. A few pockets of drizzle here and there to the east, but even if it does brighten up, its quite cold here, temperatures five degrees in eastern scotland, northeast england. Those temperatures beginning to rise out to the west with the next band of rain arriving in Northern Ireland by the end of the day. This will be accompanied by some stronger winds overnight, pushing the rain eastwards. Again, the heaviest of the rain will head its way southwards into france. We are left with some light and patchy rain and drizzle for the most part, a lot of cloud, mind you, on friday, may well brighten up across Northern Ireland, wales and the southwest later, as we start to see if you showers. Signs of some milder air here, 11 degrees in plymouth, but ahead of that in the east, its still around six or seven. Youre watching bbc news with me, katty kay, in washington. Christian fraser is in london. Our top stories. Yes, vaccines are coming. No, theyre not the panacea to all our problems. Well explain why countries that have kept the virus in check will fare better than those that havent. Borisjohnson heads to brussels tomorrow for dinner with the European Commission president. He claims the power of sweet reason could prevail does ursula von der leyen share that view . Also in the programme. Joe biden nominates a retired army general to be his defence secretary. If confirmed by the senate, lloyd austin would be the first black leader of the pentagon. Imagine theres no heaven. And just imagine its been a0 years since the shocking death of former beatle john lennon. We hearfrom our correspondent, who was there that dreadful night. It is a day thats been a long time coming. So we should celebrate the fact that the vaccines are finally here and will return us by the summer to some semblance of a normal life. But researchers warn the vaccines will be much more effective at preventing deaths and infection in those countries where covid has been kept under some control. Heres why in the us, there are 200,000 new infections a day. The vaccine is 95 effective, but there will still be a high death toll in the First Six Months of 2021 some 160,000 people may die from covid. In an alternate universe, imagine that the vaccine was only 50 effective, but that the us had the kinds of low infection rate it had in early september. In that scenario, the number of people dead in the First Six Months of 2021 would be around 60,000 people. Lets speak to jason l schwartz, assistant professor in the department of Health Policy and management at the yale school of Public Health. He co authored the paper detailing those findings and joins us from connecticut. Its very good to have you with us. If you have a vaccine thats 95 effective, you have a pretty big fire hose. But if you extend that analogy, if its raging everywhere, itll do a lot of damage before you put it out. Exactly, thats the way to think about it here. The pandemic is circulating so widely in our communities right now that even a very highly effective vaccine, and it looks like we have two of them, will really struggle to make that that we are looking for in the trajectory of the pandemic. Theres a lot of work to be done, and even getting a highly effective vaccine out there will struggle unless we also do the other Public Health strategies that are important to complement the use of the vaccine. It reminds us how much work needs to be done even with these Encouraging Development we have so far. |j be done even with these Encouraging Development we have so far. I think they said during the 1918 spanish flu pandemic that it wasnt the science to blame but the leadership. And while weve all been searching for this magic bullet, the problem it seems to be in america is that donald trump bet the ranch on it he didnt put the other controls in place. Is this why americans are facing such a problem . Thats a good way to think about it, weve had the tools at our disposal for months here in the us and around the world that we know will reduce the spread of the virus, that can prevent infections and save lives. And if we can think about the vaccine not just asa can think about the vaccine not just as a way to replace those other techniques, but to supplement and complement them, we could done a lot better to this point, and we can do a lot better with a vaccine available. But we struggled to communicate the emergency of limitations on large public gatherings here in the us, and we are seeing the consequences of it. Itll make it that much harder now that we have the vaccines to really turn the page on the pandemic in the year ahead. Jason, is this a moment of peril in some senses . Because weve been reporting on this programme, we havent had a lot of good news, so this programme today, weve spent a lot of times reporting on the good news out of the uk. He will see the images of those getting vaccinated and rather thinking, 0h goodness, this is where i need a double down on social distancing, they think that that could be them tomorrow, so they can just ease up a bit . Yes, thats the concern, to have these really highly effective vaccines at our disposal and get them soon i might suggest that we dont need to ramp up our concern or caution, or that when we get a vaccine we can let our guard down. But we need every bit as much as we have in the past to maintain vigilance and do the things we havent been doing enough of here in the us. And even we have these vaccines, we cant rely exclusively on them for the foreseeable future. We need to do the vaccine plus these other strategies and, in time as more individuals get vaccinated and we slowly dump water on that raging wildfire that is our pandemic, in time we will be able to reduce those other Public Health strategies. But that time is still not here and the vaccine is a new chapter, but its a long chapter that we are still beginning to enter, as these vaccines are rolled out. We should point out that the co author of this report youve written has been nominated byjoe biden to be the next head of the cdc in america. Do you think that having a change of leadership, we are speaking about leadership, we are speaking about leadership a second ago, do you think a change in leadership can make a material difference in how quickly life returns to normal in america . I think it will. We are all very excited, not just our co authors, but all of us in Public Health are excited that she will be leading the cdc under the Biden Administration. Leadership is so important in terms of turning the corner on this pandemic. Leadership, Clear Communication about strategies the public can use to prevent the suffering weve seen. And i think we will see that leadership with the new administration, with the Public Health voices that have already been put forward in terms of guiding the new administrations messaging, and im certainly excited that doctor wilensky will be one of the leaders in helping distribute those evidence based messages that can do some good in the coming months. Jason schwartz, thank you so much for joining jason schwartz, thank you so much forjoining us. I like the fire hose analogy, it makes sense. We are people, not scientists. The uk Prime Minister borisjohnson has confirmed hes travelling to brussels tomorrow to try and find that elusive breathrough in the brexit negotiations. He will be meeting with the Commission President ursula von der leyen. The other 27 leaders will arrive in brussels on thursday for a Council Summit at which they had hoped to sign off a final agreement. But there is still a huge gap to bridge. This afternoon, the eus chief negotiator, michel barnier, tweeted, we will never sacrifice our future for the present. Access to our market comes with conditions. There has though been one positive bit of news today. The two sides reached agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol a hugely divisive issue which means Northern Ireland will remain part of the the uk customs territory as well as the european Single Market for goods. Lets speak to Philip Rycroft former permanent secretary at the department for exiting the eu and now a specialist partner at flint global. He joins us from east lothian in scotland. Nice to see you again, philip. Good evening. The statement that the two of them put out was that there were still remaining substantial differences, and they asked their respective advisers to set them out on paper. Im sure both of them know full well but the differences are, theyre well rehearsed. It seems if we are going to get any progress, there needs to be some political heavy lifting from here on in. Precisely, absolutely right. Weve been going on this for months now. Lets not forget a great proportion of this potential deal is already sorted out. For the sake of argument, we are 95 of the way there. Lots of detail already negotiated, teams will be working on the legal text if a deal is to be done. So we are down to those last remaining issues, but those are the issues which have been knocking around for a very long time now. On state a Playing Field issues, with the rules which the uk if it wants access to that you market, and the fisheries. The problem is that the two sides are still talking about substantial differences on those issues now when we have no time left. But we are such dumb on such an upbeat trend on our programme. 0ne an upbeat trend on our programme. One is that borisjohnson is going there in the first place, he doesnt often go to brussels as Prime Minister. Secondly is this deal theyve agreed on today with the Northern Ireland protocol. Do you think that gives us perhaps a landing zone for a trade deal . The protocol is undoubtedly, unequivocably good news. It is good news for Northern Ireland and all those who trade to and from Northern Ireland who can now hope there will be some clarity on the rules that they have to abide by injust over three weeks time. There is a long way to go to get all the details of those rules, but this is a step forward. And of course, the signal it sends to the European Commission and to the Biden Administration and beyond is that the uk will abide by its international commitments. And thats a very good, indeed. I see this as a necessary step, but not a sufficient step to get a bigger deal done. There is a lot of work still to do, and it will require, as you say, that political intervention to ta ke say, that political intervention to take what the negotiators have managed to do and just nudge it forward to get a deal over the line. Far from guaranteed, but the fact that the board dashboardsjohnson is going to brussels, that is the best chance we have of getting this deal in line. Philip, what is your reading of the reception he will get in brussels, in terms of how unified the eu members are . Michel barnier today to eating that there is full unity amongst the eu leaders dashed tweeting. Its a message to Boris Johnson as he heads off to brussels . Its a message to borisjohnson johnson as he heads off to brussels . Its a message to Boris Johnson and the wider british public, as well. We often think in the uk that the eu will dissolve into its Component Parts and the uk can somehow weave a track through them. But one of the remarkable things about the negotiations, notjust this remarkable things about the negotiations, not just this year but since june 2016 has been the unity of the 27 and their solidarity over peace. I think we made the mistake that because president macron is out there talking quite loudly about this, that hes somehow out in front of the other Member States. Dont forget that the thing cares about most is the integrity of the Single Market. That is the thing that holds the eu together. The Single Market is like the jewel in the eu crown. All Member States will want to protect the integrity of the Single Market. They wont want a Major Trading partner on that doorstep with Privileged Access to the Single Market, competing as they see it on fair terms. Philip, thank you very much forjoining us. Thank you. I just hope you have your thermals ready because i have a feeling youll be spending a long night on the pavement at downing street. What you think . Theyre all out in brussels, why would i be standing in cold temperatures outside downing street . Because it would put give us street . Because it would put give us great pleasure to see you at minus one degree. I know you. Go on, then. Joe biden has written an op ed defending his nominee for secretary of defence. The president elect says that general lloyd austins strengths and his knowledge of the department are uniquely matched to the challenges and crises we face. He is, said biden, the person we need in this moment. So what do we know about the man who would be the first African American to hold the post . General austin was formerly chief of us central command, in charge of military operations across the middle east. In that role, he was a central figure in the fight against so called islamic state. His selection has promted debate over whether he should be given a waiver from the National Security act which prevents those recently out of uniform from serving as defence secretary at least for seven years. The point of that law is to ensure civilian control of the military. The Trump Administration obtained a similar waiver forjim mattis, who was a retired marine corps general. Joe biden himself admits that a waiver would be needed as general austin only retired in 2016. Joining us to discuss this is kori schake former Defence Department official. Thank you very much forjoining us. Do you think this is a good appointment . No, i dont. And not for anything about general austin other than the fact that hes only nearly four years out of active duty military service. And that kind of narrow experience actually is unlikely to make him a very effective defence secretary which isa effective defence secretary which is a much broader portfolio than being a military commander. So hes spent a0 years in the us army, he clearly knows the Defence Department and the pentagon inside and out. Speu and the pentagon inside and out. Spell out for us the concerns that you have about somebody whos recently been in uniform, taking over the pentagon . Well, theyve never over the pentagon . Well, theyve never had to balance a budget or run health care programme, theyve never had to be a major league politician getting votes in congress and navigating the difficulties of a constituency, and a political boss. So its bureaucratic rather than the need for having civilian oversight of the military . Is that what it is . Its both things. The American Military has a wide latitude in the policymaking process, much more than the military and any other free society. Thats because we have such a strong expectation that, once a decision is made, theyll either resign their commission or effectively carry it out. And putting someone so recently retired from military service at the top of that really does blur the line of the subordination of the American Military to elected political leaders secular its interesting you say hes never run a health care programme, because joe biden has written an op ed for the atlantic tonight about why hes nominated the general. He says, the next secretary of defence will need to quarterback. Widely and equitably. Austin oversaw the largest logistical operation undertaken by the army in six decades, the iraq war. So president elect biden is trying tojustify war. So president elect biden is trying to justify violating the long standing norm that you dont nominate recently retired military people to run the Defence Department. It is not true that only the American Military understands how to do logistics. The post office knows how to do this, amazon knows how to do this, fedex knows how to do this. And you could have leaders of any of those enterprises who also know something about running big organisations and about logistics without violating the norm of not having a recently serving general at the head of the Defence Department. So norms are not norms, are they . These are the norms that the president has broken, so they are no longer norms. Laughter. Stunned silence. Thats true you get general matus, now you have general austin. But theres a difference between them, which is that in 2016, you had an inexperienced president who wasnt prepared to run the country, didnt know anything about Defence Policy and was dangerously reckless. That created the desire for a once in a generation, as democratic senator jack reed said, waiver of this. President biden, thankfully for my country and for yours, is much better qualified, isnt reckless, and ought therefore not to violate the norm of putting somebody re ce ntly the norm of putting somebody recently retired at the top of the Defence Department. 0k, thank you so much, we have to leave it there. Im still processing the notion that jeff bezos could get a call to run the pentagon potentially. Thank you. I have a drawer in my house filled with things i never use. The sort of things you often find in a christmas cracker. How many mini nail clippers and tiny folding mirrors does one person need . 90 of the so called gifts weve ever pulled out of a christmas cracker in the kay household are in the bin before the last mince pie is even eaten. So maybe its time we ditched the christmas tat. The wrapping paper, the napkins, the crackers the lot of it. I know, bah humbug, but almost all of it ends in landfill. Here in the uk alone, a0 million crackers end up in the bin on christmas day. And thats not even mentioning the trip many of those items have made often from china to get to your dining table. But its been such a hard year. Im not sure my kids will love the idea of presents wrapped in newspaper. I will report back. I think it can all go. Except the jokes. Maybe we keep the jokes. Gold tv have just published their top ten cracker jokes for 2020. Do you want to hear number one . What is Dominic Cummings Favourite Christmas Song . Driving home for christmas. Talk about inside politicaljokes. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come a0 years on from his death, well remember and the life and legacy of one of liverpools brightest stars, john lennon. A service has been held at st pauls cathedral to Mark National grief awareness week. A minutes silence was held to remember those who have died this year and to support those grieving during the pandemic. Earlier, my colleaguejane hill spoke to the dean of st pauls, the very reverend david ison. The people have come to light candles and prayed during the pandemic, when weve been able to be open. And weve continued praying for people here. But also, finding ways to help people who are outside the cathedral also to remember and to grieve. And part of that is the remember me project. Explain how that works. I was talking to a bishop in april, and we said, 0ur doors are closed, what can we do to help people when normally we would be having Remembrance Services funerals, and so on . And we came up with this idea of having the remember me book online, so that people were able to put a memorial up for someone that they loved, to Say Something about them, to have a picture of them so that they were not lost and forgotten. So that together, we could see those weve lost. And its very moving to go on the website and see all the pictures and messages that people have left about those they love. And such an extraordinarily challenging year, because most of us probably know someone whos died this year it might be from covid, it might be from Natural Causes but we havent been able to grieve and what would be considered the usual way, we havent been able to hold funerals in the way that we might wish. And some people will have been grieving literally in isolation, compulsory isolation. And that is an acute situation, isnt it . It is, its the isolation with grief that so disabling, and why its so important to be together. And the loss of being able to have those times to be together, were having very small funerals where family and friends arent able to attend. And thats something that we need to recognise. A0 years ago today on 8 december, 1980, the former Beatlejohn Lennon was shot dead as he returned home to the dakota Apartment Building in new york. Since his death lennons stature and influence has grown. The bbcs tom brook was reporting live from the dakota shortly after the music icon died hes been taking a very personal look back at the night and lennons legacy. Imagine theres no heaven. In Strawberry Fields that part of new yorks central park dedicated tojohn lennons memory his fans routinely play and perform his music. It is just a stones throw from the dakota. A0 years ago on the night lennon died, i was a young, inexperienced journalist, newly settled in new york. I rushed to the dakota to help relay first news of the former beatles shocking demise to Early Morning radio listeners in britain. Tom, can you tell us exactly what happened . John lennon was killed two hours ago. Ive got most of my information from talking to the literally hundreds of fans who are now congregating outside the dakota building, where theyre going to hold an all night vigil. People were choked with emotion. So was i. At the time, i was a lennon fan myself, as this slightly scary picture taken from my first bbc id card might suggest. As news of his death spread, it traumatised millions around the world. Nearly everyone can remember exactly where they were when they first got word that he had been killed. The violence of lennons death is what truly shocked. But a0 years on, the trauma has receded. Lennon now has a new generation of fans, some very young. I think what i like most about lennon was that he had an authentic voice, not just musically. He did and said some stupid things, but he wasnt a fake. Something quite refreshing to ponder in our age of endless posturing by politicians and celebrities. Tom brook, bbc news, new york. Tom is so right, i remember which room i was standing and when that news broke. Im surprised you were even seven, i was doing first year of0 even seven, i was doing first year of 0 levels and i was at a friends houtz repairing her couch. Its the mundane where you remember. Yes. Thats it, we will see you. See you here tomorrow. Hello there. Were going to get a bit more mobility in our weather pattern over the next few days and that will mean less fog. Now, some areas that were foggy on monday had some very welcome sunshine on tuesday and the remaining fog across east anglia and the south east of england will have gone by wednesday morning because well see more cloud and showers pushing down from the north, where its been quite wet already earlier on. Most of that rain will be moving out into the north sea. Itll leave some brighter weather with some sunshine at times, but a few showers dotted about before it clouds over across Northern Ireland, wales and the south west and we get some rain coming in later on in the day, together with a freshening breeze. But ahead of that, the winds are quite light and temperatures around 6 or 7 degrees. If we move into wednesday night, were going to start to see this rain pushing its way a bit further over the irish sea threatening some rain into the far south west of scotland and pushing across wales and towards the west country. It may not get an awful lot further east, mind you, because the weather system driving it is going to push most of the rain down into france and the weather front sort of splits in two. So as the wetter weather from overnight moves away, were left with the weather front bringing some patchy rain into western parts of scotland. There could be a few pockets of light rain or drizzle further east, but on the whole itll be drier, a little bit brighter, quite chilly, mind you, for eastern scotland and the north east of england. Only 5 degrees or so. A little bit milder out to the west and weve got more rain arriving in Northern Ireland by the end of the day. This is going to be accompanied by some slightly stronger winds, but, again, most of the heavy rain will get pushed down into france and at the same time itll push the warmest of the air away as well. So were left with a lot of cloud again on friday and therell be some bits and pieces of mostly light rain or drizzle. It may well brighten up in Northern Ireland, wales and the south west with a few showers. Temperatures make double figures here, but, ahead of that, were still stuck at around 6 to 8 degrees, with cloudy skies. That weather front gets so far and then itjust sort of dies out across the uk and were left with a fairly slack weather pattern, really, i think, on saturday. A quiet day. We start with that weather front bringing some patchy rain and drizzle. It then weakens, skies may brighten a little bit and there could be some sunshine, but on the whole, it will be dry and fairly cloudy, i think, through the afternoon and those temperatures changing very little. 7 or 8 being fairly typical numbers. Now moving into the second half of the weekend, we start to see the weather changing, because there are more active weather systems moving in from off the atlantic around a big area of low pressure. So itll be a quiet start. There could be a bit of mist and fog around first thing and then the breeze picks up, cloud comes in and many western parts of the uk in particular get some outbreaks of rain. This rain is a bit slower now, i think, for sunday and it brings in some milder air. And thats the thing that were going to move into, i think, as we head into next week. The weather is turning much more unsettled, but at the same time temperatures will be high at day and also by night. But were dominated by low pressure. The main low is going to sit to the west of the uk and secondary lows will get steered around it up from the south west heading across our shores, keeping it very unsettled, of course, with showers or longer spells of rain. Itll be windy at times as well, but this is where our air is coming from. Its more from the south west and that means the air is going to be milder, so frost is less likely for next week. Therell be a lot of cloud, therell be some rain at times and those temperatures more widely getting up to around 9 to 12 celsius, so some significant changes to come. This programme contains scenes of repetitive flashing images. Tonight at ten a 90 year old briton becomes the first person in the world to be given the Pfizer Vaccine to protect against covid 19. Margaret keenan, who turns 91 next week, said the jab was the best early birthday present and she had this advice. Go for it, because its free, and its the best thing