Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. Our headlines today iran fires missiles at two us military bases in iraq in revenge for the killing of its top commander. The uk puts in place urgent measures with the royal navy on standby in the middle east. A ukrainian passenger plane crashes in iran with 180 people on board. Did sainsburys feel the festive spirit . The supermarket giant is the latest to update the city on how it fared over the crucial Christmas Period. Ill speak to the boss this morning. The worst weve played this season thats ole Gunnar Solskjaers assessment, as Manchester United are totally outplayed by man city
in their League Cup Semi final. Britains most successful ever gymnast, max whitlock, will be here on the sofa. Good morning. For many today, its going to be dry with some sunshine. However, we still have strong winds gcioss however, we still have strong winds across the north of scotland, here too some showers and later some rain coming in from the south west. Ill have more details in about 15 minutes. Its wednesday the 8th of january. Our top story iran has attacked two air bases housing us troops in retaliation for the killing of general soleimani last week. More than a dozen Ballistic Missiles were used to target the bases in irbil and al asad, west of baghdad, but its not yet clear if there are any casualties. 400 british troops are currently stationed in iraq. Dan johnson reports. Could this be the site and sound of
a further move towards deeper conflict between iran and the us . Local tv says these are the missiles launched from iran, heading over the border, targeting iraqi airbases used by the americans and their allies. And all this as iran was still laying to rest the body of its assassinated general, Qasem Soleimani, killed by a us drone strikes. A martyr to the millions on the streets for his funeral calling for retaliation. But the us says hes a murderer who was planning attacks to extend irans influence over its neighbour. And this was the white house warning yesterday. If iran does anything that they shouldnt be doing, theyre going to be suffering the consequences of an very strongly. With the damage it still being assessed, irans foreign minister posted on social media, proportional
measures of self defence, adding we do not. The president was untypically low key, saying all is well and restating American Military might. He will give more reaction today. On the streets of baghdad yesterday, people called for foreign interference from all corners to end. This country already faces a deep crisis of conflict and violence. These attacks appear to be limited but daylight will reveal their true impact, damage done and their true impact, damage done and the wider repercussions. Dan johnson, bbc news. Well be explaining what this means throughout the morning. In about 15 minutes, well be speaking to a former Intelligence Officer. A ukrainian plane with 180 people onboard has crashed in iran. All passengers and crew are reported to have died. Iranian state media says the boeing 737 came down due to technical problems shortly after taking off
from tehran airport. Rescue teams have been sent to the area near the airport where the aircraft crashed. Its unclear whether the incident is linked to the iran us confrontation. Preliminary reports suggest that the plane was en route to the ukrainian capital of kyiv when it came down. Kiev. There are anymore developments, we will bring them to you. If there are. will bring them to you. If there are. Any any more. The Prime Minister will face mps today for the First Time Since tensions began escalating in the middle east. Borisjohnson had previously been criticised for failing to return early from a holiday in the caribbean. Lets speak now to our political correspondent, nick eardley, whojoins us from westminster. Nick, weve had further escalation overnight. Are there fears for the 400 british troops stationed in iraq . Thats right, the latest from the ministry of defence this morning is there have been no uk casualties in there have been no uk casualties in the strikes overnight. The
government is working hard to try to figure out exactly what went on and says its priority remains making sure that all personnel are safe. We heard yesterday that some urgent measures have been put in place to make sure that that safety is ensured, things like getting helicopters to the middle eastjust in case there needs to be any early evacuations. But the latest sign seems to be there havent been any uk casualties. Big question asked in downing street this morning, though, is whether this is it, whether now this situation will start to de escalate or whether theres more to come. Like so many of us, im sure borisjohnson will be trying to figure out exactly where the us and iran stand on that. The same questions everyone is asking themselves this morning. In terms of what else we hear from borisjohnson terms of what else we hear from Boris Johnson today, terms of what else we hear from borisjohnson today, obviously terms of what else we hear from Boris Johnson today, obviously that will be top of the agenda but hes also meeting the European Commission . We havent seen or heard from Boris Johnson in person for a couple of
weeks. He is up at pmqs later this morning but hes also got the meeting with the new head of the European Commission in downing street. Its an important one because shes going to be heading the next set of talks with the uk on brexit. We know we are leaving at the end of the month, thats happening, but talks will happen over the next 11 months or so over the future trade relationship. That meeting this morning will be really important. Expect borisjohnson to say that that process has to end by the end of this year and there wont be any extending that as far as hes concerned and he is also expected to push for a free trade deal, a slightly more distant relationship that the last government under theresa may might have tried to negotiate. Important meeting this morning. Nick, good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Customers of Currency Exchange firm travelex say they are thousands of pounds out of pocket as the Company Remains in the midst of a cyber attack. Travellers who ordered money online say they have not been allowed to collect it. The hackers are demanding more than £4 million in ransom. Travelex says there is no evidence that customers data has been compromised. The number of People Killed in cases of murder and manslaughter in the uk fell in 2019 for the first time in four years. The situation was different in london, which saw its third annual successive rise in a row. The figures, compiled by the bbc, suggest some forces may be getting to grips with the rise in serious violence. Heres our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. Shouting relentless thats how Merseyside Police describe their battle against organised crime. In the last year, theyve seized drugs, cash, guns, even hand grenades. Theyve been using these quad bikes to search for the weapons gangs hide in the undergrowth and theyve been persuading communities to turn against the serious criminals. The result the force appears to have turned a corner, cutting murders and manslaughters. Organised crime and killing,
it says, are inextricably linked. We know a lot of those homicides are related to serious organised crime, which is why we are relentless in targeting those who lead, who bully, who exploit young people, who will carry guns and knives in order to dominate a certain territory. Merseyside police, emergency. Another strategy is better training for handling domestic violence. Weve examined 100 of last years killings in detail. A fifth took place in the home. Weve tracked every single murder or manslaughter in the uk in the last year, and our figures show that for the first time in four years, the number of killings has fallen, with 650 in 2019. Hopeful, but only a start. Londons recorded its third rise in as many years. It now has 150 outstanding homicide cases, including this one, the murder of a delivery riderjust this weekend. Tom symonds, bbc news. Prince charles has sent a message of support to people in australia whove spent months dealing with devastating wildfires across the country. At least 25 people and millions of animals have died since the blazes broke out in september. In his message, Prince Charles said the scale of loss was beyond belief. Ifear i fear this ifear this is a hopelessly inadequate way of trying to get a message to all of you. We wanted to say how much weve been thinking of all those remarkable, courageous, determined firefighters who have done so much and work ceaselessly to exhaustion. I mean, you feel so
deeply with the families of those who have been lost and lost their lives in the course of carrying out their remarkable duties as only they can do. That was the message from Prince Charles to the firefighters and the people of australia. Jonathan head is in nowra in new south wales, one of the towns devastated by the fires. The scene is devastating but it looks like that house may have had a really lucky escape . Yeah, this houseis really lucky escape . Yeah, this house is one. Ive seen it in quite a few places where the owner stayed but then his wife and children were sent away and he has described the most apocalyptic scenes but he had firefighters coming in and then they left to go to other fires. Fires were storming up to other fires. Fires were storming up the hill this way and coming from the back, but he put sprinklers on the back, but he put sprinklers on the roof and he cleared things that could burn from around and he had water tanks and hoses ready and pumps to pump water up and he was able to keep it at bay. Talking to him today, he is still pretty
shattered and trying to come to terms with it but his house is saved. He has brought down to trees that are so damaged they are a real danger and thats a real problem here. He is clearing brush because we expect more hot weather later this week and of course the hot season has many weeks to run. People here are taking stock of the damage. Those who have lost homes have got huge decisions, no one is quite sure how much help they are going to get, yet they are all having to prepare for the possibility that this hot season will continue for many more weeks. It is emotionally exhausting. They are tough people, they are very philosophical living in the bush and they are used to fires, but this has been a tough experience and it is draining their resources, especially those of the firefighters who are co nsta ntly those of the firefighters who are constantly on call. Even now it is quiet here but there are big fires burning further inland and to the south of us. Thanks, donovan. We will speak to the red cross in 20
minutes because Prince Charles, as well as sending his sympathies, people are asking him to donate to the red cross because so many people have been affected. Millions has been donated. Already, yeah. A british woman who was found guilty of lying about being raped by a group of men in cyprus has arrived back in the uk. The 19 year old was given a four month suspended sentence and ordered to pay £125 in legal fees. Her lawyer said she is planning to appeal against her conviction and the case was not finished by any means. More than 400 schools in england are stuck in a cycle of poor performance and need more help to improve according to the schools regulator. A new report from ofsted says more than 200,000 children are affected. It says theyre generally in deprived areas, where Teacher Retention and disruption to pupils are big issues. We are also talking about schools today with regards to phones and should they be in the classroom . Tell us what you think. One head teacher says they should be, that is the future and eight is a great way of communicating and we shouldnt demonise them but others are saying no. No get in touch with us. Before the sport, have you been chewing over what to do with your old Christmas Tree . Have you got rid of yours . It is out of the house. This is an eco friendly way of doing it. The owners of this alpaca farm in derbyshire have discovered that their herd have an appetite for firs. After they posted about it on social media, theyve been inundated with tree donations. The alpacas eat the needles, and then use the stripped trunks as scratching posts. It brings a whole new meaning to christmas leftovers. Absolutely brilliant. You have to have a strong guard to get that through without having issues at the other end you have to be an alpaca they are hardy animals. They come
from chile and peru and eight pampas. They love eating stuff like that pampas. They love eating stuff like that eat pampas. A great eco friendly way to get rid of your Christmas Tree. Sally . You would have to have a strong gut and be resilient to be Manchester United manager at the moment he is in a spot of bother i dont know if you saw last night, lots of Manchester United fans talking about who could replace him, is here in the right job and is he the right person to lead the club forward . He is in a very difficult position. City were brilliant. United really, really poor in the Manchester Derby last night. A brilliant goal from Bernardo Silva set city on their way to a 3 1win in the first leg of their League Cup Semi final at old trafford. United boss ole Gunnar Solskjaer said its the worst his side have played all season. What more can you say about ben stokes . Englands x factor once again. He takes the final three wickets to win the second test against south africa in cape town. Stefanos tsitsipas had a mid match meltdown at the atp cup in australia. He caught his dad, whos also his coach, as he smashed his racket, and then got told off by his mum who was in the crowd. Look at that, in terrible trouble and there was a bit of history at the bdo darts last night. This is Leighton Bennett, hes just 14 years old, and hes the youngest player ever to play at the world championship. He lost to former champion scott mitchell. What an incredible achievement to even be there. He only turned 14 on New Years Eve. Thats incredible just 14 and to be told off by your mum in front of people. Embarrassing sometimes your mum has to step in. Always mums know best you will be here in a second to do the papers. Carol, you have been mentioning mild
temperatures and it did feel mild this morning. Yesterday we had 15 degrees, unseasonably mild. Today, they are going down, for some already. Not as windy as yesterday. The exception to that in the far north of scotland where you can expect gales. A cold front which is now producing a band of cloud and drizzle. This area of cloud moving to other parts of the uk. Turning to sunshine, easy. Behind the moulder yellows, we have colder air coming our way. Cloudy in the south first thing this morning. A lot of dry weather and of sunshine. Continuing with the show is packing in across parts of scotland, wintry end of the hills and windy in the far north, still with some gales. These are the
temperatures. In part of the north 10 degrees down on it yesterday. Further south, particularly in the far south, still in the milder air, 11 far south, still in the milder air, 11 13 far south, still in the milder air, 11 13 degrees. It then gets complicated. Rain coming in in the afternoon pushing northwards. Getting in across Northern England. Snow on the hills, the pennines, and further south. It could change and start heading north. The other half of the story is, depending on how much the low pressure will deepen, as to how windy it will be. For deep and small, with different parts of wales, the midlands, temperature and Northern England. Cambridge. What happens overnight will have a bearing on what happens through the course of tomorrow. We think this
system will push off into the north sea taking its rain with it. Things dry up. Sunshine across scotland, Northern England and sunny spells across Northern Ireland and southern england and wales before the next area low pressure comes in and that will introduce more rain. Temperature was, still very mild in the south but quite cool as we push further north. For friday, well, you can loosen your courses because it looks like it would be a dry, prior to date with sunshine. Not as windy. Brighter. The wind will strengthen and some rain coming our way and some will be heavy. Temperature wise five in aberdeen and ten in plymouth. As we head into the weekend, on saturday the same area of low pressure will be with
us, introducing some rain and, as you can see from the isobars, it will also be a windy day, the strongest beans in the north and some of the rain particularly heavy. When you add up the totals, the risk of some localised flooding. It will slowly sink southwards but it will also be another mild day. 10 12 degrees. Did youjust also be another mild day. 10 12 degrees. Did you just say dont loosen your corsets . No, loosen them. You can breathe. loosen your corsets . No, loosen them. You can breathe. I love that thank you, carol. Carol is brilliant. Lets take a look at todays papers the guardian says, hundreds of british troops are on standby for deployment in iraq, in case of a further escalation in the iran crisis. The daily mail says the fa cups new betting deal, which allows bet365 to show matches on its website,
is a slap in the face to fa president , prince william. The article says it makes a mockery of Mental Health campaigns backed by the duke of cambridge. The daily express has its own investigation on its front page, which shows Emergency Service workers in the uk were atta