16/12/2016 Victoria Derbyshire

I'm Joanna Gosling, welcome to the programme.

Thousands more people are evacuated from Aleppo

The operation to rescue civilians is continuing round the clock -

one of those who's leaving is Zouhir Alshimale, whose story

I can't move anywhere else. Nowhere is safe in the whole East.

It is heartbreaking, sending the last message from me from my

neighbourhood where I used to live, and work from.

Former Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman,

who was convicted of the murder of an injured Taliban

fighter in Afghanistan, could be granted bail today ahead

And I've been speaking to Judy Murray about the incredible

We also talked about her hopes for her granddaughter,

the weather in Scotland and why she works so tirelessly to get

I realise how much harder you have to work to make things happen in the

women's side of any sport, compared to the men's, and also very aware

that the majority of the decision-makers, certainly within

tennis, they are all guys. Hello, welcome to our last

live show of the year, We'll be looking ahead

to tomorrow's final with fans We're down to the final four -

let us know who you're supporting. We'll also look at

the runners and riders This is our last programme before

we break for Christmas. Do get in touch on all the stories

we're talking about this morning - If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate. Our top story today -

an evacuation of civilians and fighters from the Syrian city

of Aleppo is continuing round the clock, as a ceasefire

held firm overnight. Some 3000 people, including hundreds

of children and the injured, were transported out of the city

in the first convoys yesterday. The United Nations estimates that up

to 50,000 people may still be in the eastern districts of the city

that the rebels had These were the first convoys

to leave Aleppo yesterday. A fleet of ambulances brought out

some of the sick and injured. Next, a long line of green buses

carrying hundreds of civilians and rebel fighters weave

through the streets, ravaged by years of bombing

and a month-long siege. During the day, around 3,000 people,

among them the very youngest, were taken to neighbouring Idlib

province, which is mainly Many to already

overstretched refugee camps. Over the coming days,

around 50,000 more people are expected to be moved

out of Aleppo. For those who remain,

there's a desperate need for food Turkey, which helped

broker the evacuation, is preparing to take in some

of the most vulnerable people and last night the UK pledged money

to help those affected. The UK is going to provide an extra

?20 million of practical support The mayor of East Aleppo said

to us we can't bring back those who are lost,

but we can save those who remain, But now there are deep concerns

that the war in Syria will move from the streets of eastern Aleppo

to other parts of the country and that the suffering

for so many is far from over. Our correspondent Lina Sinjab

is in Beirut for us now, Well, another round of buses loaded

with people from Aleppo is being uploaded now, another round of

evacuation is taking place today. The Syrian Observatory said -- the

Syrian Observatory for human rights said that over the past 24 hours

around 8500 people have been evacuated, including 3000 civilians.

The Ministry of Defence, the Russian Ministry of Defence, says the

numbers were around more than 6000. The UN, as you said earlier,

believes that at least 50,000 people are still trapped in eastern Aleppo

and need to be evacuated, this will not happen overnight, this will take

a few days of the evacuation process with tens of buses loaded with

people taken mainly to the northern province of a blip, which is still

under rebel control. Thank you. -- the northern province of Idlib.

Annita McVeigh has the rest of the news.

President Barack Obama has said the US will take action

against Russia for what he calls interfering in the US election.

Russia has been accused of hacking the emails of the Democratic Party

The Kremlin says the claims are nonsense.

Laura Bicker has the latest from Washington.

Thank you to the incredible people of Pennsylvania, thank you!

As he tours the country to thank voters, he's dismissing claims that

Vladimir Putin helped put him in the White House.

But the Obama administration made Russian hacking claims

Now they say the Russian president was directly involved

in the operation which targeted the e-mails of Hillary

Mr Obama gave this response to NPR Radio.

that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our

elections that we need to take action, and we will at a time

Earlier the White House Press Secretary pointed

Based on my personal reading, and not based on any knowledge that

I have that may be classified or otherwise, it's pretty obvious!

That they were referring to the senior most government

Vladimir Putin has always denied the accusations and said

they were laughable nonsense, no proof has ever been made public.

The dispute over Russia's role in the election is overshadowing

The President-elect and the president do not agree over

A Royal Marine found guilty of murdering an injured Afghan

fighter is today asking senior judges to grant him bail.

Sergeant Alexander Blackman - known as Marine A -

was jailed in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment

He has been granted the right to appeal his conviction.

And we'll be speaking to Sergeant Blackman's wife Claire

Theresa May has told EU leaders that she wants an early agreement

on the status of British people living on the continent,

She was talking ahead of the latest Brexit talks in Brussels.

The leaders of the other 27 member states agreed

that the European Parliament would have a formal role

Thousands of Southern rail commuters are facing more disruption

after talks aimed at resolving the dispute ended without agreement.

Drivers on the network began a 24-hour stoppage at midnight.

Andy Moore sent this update from Victoria Station in London.

All 2000 services on Southern have been cancelled, 300,000 people have

been told to make alternative travel arrangements. Talks at ACAS ended

yesterday, the parent company of Southern said they put forward a

practical offer to the union, the union said it was basically a

non-offer, there was nothing new in it at all. Both sides say they have

an open door to new talks but no date has been set. There was a

protest last night, people gathered on the concourse with banners and

placards and then marched to the Department for Transport nearby and

presented the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, with an early

Christmas present of a toy train set. Many commuters blame him for

not stepping in to resolve this dispute. He says the dispute is all

down to union militancy. This strike lasts until midnight and nights,

there will be another strike involving conductors from the RMT

union on Monday and Tuesday next week. Some but not all services will

be cancelled. There is more disruption over the New Year and

there is another big strike planned on Monday January the 9th, which is

last for six days. Murray reporting.

Regulators say banks should not have to reimburse customers

who are tricked into transferring money into the accounts

The Payment Systems Regulator was responding to a complaint

It said banks needed to better protect victims

Hospitals in England will be so full this winter that infection

rates are bound to rise, according to a new report.

NHS England said plans to maximise the number of beds available

But the independent healthcare research charity the Nuffield Trust

says accident and emergency targets will also be missed.

A sugar tax on soft drinks could reduce the numbers of adults

and children in the UK who become obese by tens of thousands,

A study in the medical journal The Lancet says a proposed sugar

levy is likely to have a significant impact on health.

But the British soft drinks association says there is no

It was one small snack for man, one giant treat for mankind.

Three, two, one! CHEERING

Scientists have sent a meat and potato pie into space to see

if travelling to a height of nearly 20 miles would affect

It was attached to a weather balloon and launched from Wigan,

It reached the stratosphere then came back to earth,

landing around 50 miles away in North Yorkshire.

Boldly going where no pie has gone before!

That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 9:30am.

What on earth is that about?! And updates on Aleppo, we're getting

reports that that operation to take people out of the city has been

suspended. AFP say the operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from

the last rebel held parts of Aleppo has been suspended, are quoting a

security and -- Syrian security force, the opposition forces are

accusing the opposition of violating the deal, there is an accusation

that the militants fail to respect the agreement. AFP have been told

that, reportedly, and Reuters says that the Syrian official overseeing

the evacuation says it has been suspended because of obstructions.

Those reports coming through that the evacuation of eastern Aleppo has

been suspended, we will check out those reports and keep you updated.

Do get in touch with us throughout the morning -

If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

This is our last programme before we break for Christmas.

I love your Christmas jumper! I think it is great, it has bells on

it. It makes a noise, can you hear that? The best part is, wait for

this... Not only does it have bells, can you see is lighting up? That is

quality, brilliant. Only nine days until Christmas, but I'm here to

talk about sports, not my Christmas jumper. The cricketers have just

come back after tea where England are hoping for a win in the fifth

and final test in July against India. They have already lost the

series, Captain Alastair Cook won the toss, decided to bat and did not

start very well, England were 21-2 after Cook and opening partner

Keaton Jennings were dismissed. Joe Root Moeen Ali fared better, taking

the run tally to an hundred and 67 before Root was controversially

given out on 88, he was not happy at all, walked off the pitch shaking

his head. He had been judged to have got an edge on the board. Ali is on

63 and has been joined at the crease by Jonny Bairstow, England on 187-3

in the final session of the day. There's news of a potential

replacement for Nico His name is Valtteri Bottas, he

drives for Williams but they say they will be prepared to let him

leave his contract if they can find a credible alternative, as they put

it, to replace him. Nico Rosberg won the world title and shocked everyone

in the sport by retiring five days later. Valtteri Bottas could be

Lewis Hamilton's new Mercedes team-mate. It is a brilliant

opportunity for him, the 27 air Finn has had nine podium finishes but is

yet to win a race, his best position in the drivers championship is

fourth so it is interesting to see how he would develop with a leading

team like Mercedes. Mercedes say they will not announce anything

official about the new Jallow -- new driver until January the 3rd at the

earliest. And Ronnie O'Sullivan is going well

at the Scottish Open snooker? Through to the quarterfinals in

Glasgow and will play a very informed John Higgins, who won two

yaks -- won two matches yesterday without losing a single frame.

Sullivan beat Mark Allen by four frames to two, scoring two century

breaks to seal his place in the last eight. The last time O'Sullivan and

Higgins played each other last month, Higgins won 10-7, so The Rock

At might be out for revenge as he looks to add to the Masters and

Welsh open title that he has already won.

Thank you, Jessica, I am sorry I did not wear my Christmas jumper, but

yours is better than my next Sergeant Alexander Blackman

will today find out if he will be granted bail as he awaits an appeal

against his conviction for murdering His legal team and many high-profile

supporters say he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder at

the time. In a moment we'll be speaking

to Sergeant Blackman's wife Claire. But first our correspondent

Robert Hall explains A helmet camera, worn by a member

of Marine Sergeant Al Blackman's squad, captures the moment they find

a wounded insurgent, one of two men who'd

attacked their base. At his court-martial,

Sergeant Blackman was told he'd disgraced the name of

the British Armed Forces. He spent the past three years

at Erlestoke prison in Wiltshire as family and supporters argue that

Sergeant Blackman's mental state and weaknesses in the prosecution

case mean the murder Had he been charged with

manslaughter, on the technicality of making a bad mistake,

but nevertheless a mistake, he would probably have

got three or so years. Halve it for good behaviour,

he'd be out already. But others believe that even

in the brutal combat of Afghanistan, the laws of warfare

must be adhered to. The fact remains, what he did

was break the Geneva Convention by shooting a wounded prisoner

and that is absolutely wrong in all circumstances,

unless you can show that An appeal against conviction is many

months away but Sergeant Blackman's family say release

on bail should be considered for a hugely experienced soldier

who is not a criminal Let's talk now to his

wife Claire Blackman. Thank you for joining us. How are

you feeling ahead of the bail hearing today? A bit nervous, if I'm

honest. It's a big day but we will find out this afternoon. Have you

been able to speak to him to see how he's feeling today? Yes, I spoke to

him last night. He was on good form. He is also trying to manage his

expectations. He's hopeful but not getting carried away. It would be

unusual for a person convicted of murder to be allowed out on bail

pending a hearing. Why do you think he should be allowed out on bail? We

have quite a strong case, we think, for bail. The legal team have worked

hard to put together a strong application. We just need to be able

to convince the judges this afternoon. How often do you manage

to speak to him? Pretty much every evening. And how is he? He is good,

he is incredible, I don't know how he does it but he keeps his spirits

up and keeps busy. Tell us more about how this has impacted on you

and your family? Obviously it has been really hard, I suppose in a way

being the wife of a Royal Marines who has served on as many tours as

he has we are used to the time apart. This is obviously exceptional

and it would be really nice to think that this afternoon we could have

him home and have some time back together.

You and your husband do have a lot of support in this but equally there

will be people who say, well, what about the family of the man he

killed? He killed a man. What do you say? You know, it's difficult,

everybody's entitled to their opinion and I don't for one minute

wish to diminish the impact on anybody's family, where somebody has

lost. But this was war, it was exceptional circumstances. You and I

will fortunately never experience that. I don't think we can,

therefore, really understand what happened. The judge said he killed

in cold blood. It was a difficult trial and there were many things

that were said and the CCRC's decision now to go back and look

over that trial and look at the many things that didn't happen and should

have happened is what gives us the most hope that actually we can move

this case forward now. It is focusing on his state of mind

at the time? That is one of the main arguments,

as we understand it. Tell us more about him. I asked how

it has impacted on you and the family. What about him?

Well, I think, to be honest, the training that Royal Marines receive

has set him up well to cope with the environment that he's in. He's happy

with the regime, he is happy with discipline, he's making the best of

his time, he is working, he's studying, he's doing a degree and

he's going to the gym as much as he can. He's doing everything he can to

keep positive and pass the time. What happens after today? Obviously

today it's possible he will be released on bail and will be home

with you just prior to your wedding anniversary. Yes. Equally he may not

be. Yes, and I suppose the best way for us to look at it is that bail

would be the icing on the cake. The biggest, most important decision we

have had is the referral back to the Appeal Courts, that's the important

thing we need to focus on. Bail would be wonderful, absolutely, but

getting back to the Appeal Courts and getting the conviction and the

sentence potentially overturned is our main focus.

We have talked about the level of support that you have had. Four

people have come forward to stump up ?50,000 each in bail money. That's

obviously a sort of financial offer, an offer of financial assistance,

how much has that support and other support you have received actually

meant to you? It's incredible. I find it really

hard to put into words what a difference that support makes, to

feel like the whole country is behind us, just gives as energy and

motivation to keep going. What's your life like on a daily

basis? Do you just kind of carry on as you were before?

I have settled into a routine. It's obviously not the routine I would

choose but it's fine. I have fantastic support from family and

friends and I have plenty to do with the campaign. It keeps me busy.

Thank you very much indeed for coming in to talk to us, Claire

Blackman. Thank you. We will cover what happens at that hearing today

and let you know the outcome on BBC News.

Five years ago Rupert Ross was jailed for life for murder along

with another man. The victim was Darcy Austin Bruce Forsyth he was

shot five times at close range outside Wandsworth prison in south

London but Rupert Ross's mother thought her son had been wrongfully

convicted and set about trying to prove it. She wanted to find out the

identity of a woman who gave evidence anonymously against Ross at

his trial which meant obtaining confidential details of the witness

from a police database. Two civilian police staff who accessed the

computer were found guilty. His girlfriend and her will be sentenced

next month. But Diana was cleared off the two juries failed to reach

verdicts on her. In her first interview she has been speaking to

our home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw.

Why did you take the risk of going to prison? I started looking into,

after Rupert and Leon's conviction, I sat down and I started reading the

papers, the legal papers and Rupert and Leon had always said to me that

they did not do the murder. And you believe them?

100%, 100%. There had been cracks in the trial, stuff that was not

disclosed, and stuff that Rupert and Leon had always said this doesn't

seem right, this doesn't seem right. So I started investigating and

looking into certain things to see if what they said was not correct,

well, not correct, but wasn't accurate. You had doubts about the

convictions, serious doubts. Yes. But most people who have a loved one

who think they have been wrongly convicted don't go to the lengths

that you went to and don't risk wrecking the law and being sent to

jail for it. Why did you do that? A copy of an image was shown at

Rupert's trial that wasn't clear so I wanted the original image from the

camera. And I got nowhere. I hired private detectives, I had face

recognition experts, I went to other experts to enhance the CCTV. I went

from door to door knocking on people's doors asking if the police

had ever asked for their CCTV. I felt that the investigation that the

police had done at the time was inadequate. It didn't seem like they

had fully investigated every avenue. So at what point, after you had

taken all of the steps, did it occur to you that actually you might have

to do something completely underhand here and find out the details of an

anonymous witness at Rupert Ross's trial?

At the trial there had been an independent anonymous witness who

had gone in as an independent witness, and it was only when we had

changed the legal team for the appeal that I've actually met with a

QC who been at the trial who said the anonymous witness is more key

than what you're doing. So you have to find more details about the

anonymous witness? He said you need to discredit the anonymous witness.

How can you do that if they are anonymous? I started off by asking

on the street. Fulham is a huge hub of people and I asked around, and I

had actually been given names of certain people. And then Leon who

had gone out with Lydia Lauro, had given me some names to give to her

to look up the names. You must have realised at that point that what

that entailed was against the law, was against police rules and against

the law? I don't think I realised the enormity of the seriousness of

it. But you did it nonetheless? Yes. Yes. But you felt justified in doing

it at that time? 100%. Curse you had tried all other avenues? Absolutely.

-- because you have tried all other avenues. Some people might say that

is all very well but that witness was anonymous for a reason. When we

actually found out that it wasn't an independent witness, but she did

have connections with people close to the murder, I think that's quite

shocking that the police had held all of this back. But you discovered

that information after you found out the name illicitly. Yes. And two

innocent people had gone to prison. But some people would say that

balancing your right to investigate miscarriages of justice with the

right of the criminal justice system to keep some witnesses who come

forward anonymous to safeguard their identity because they are scared or

vulnerable and that happens in other cases as well. I don't think

anonymous witnesses are used that often. In my trial, the trial was

opened up that it was rare to use the anonymous witness. I imagine it

is quite a dangerous thing to do to use anonymous witnesses. Now you've

got the information about that witness's identity and some

background details, where does that leave your son's case? The legal

people are now going to take the information that we have received

through my two trials to the CCRC. Criminal Cases Review Commission?

That's correct. You hope to get a fresh appeal? Yes. The judgment was

very decisive against them. Yes, because they haven't been given all

of it, they had only been given a percentage of the information. IU

hopeful that the conviction will be quashed? Yes. It is a shame that

this has to happen. To find out the truth. I think it's really sad. --

are you hopeful. We will be live until 11am as usual

and also we will have the latest from Eastern Aleppo live. There is a

report that the evacuation of citizens has been suspended after

four blasts were heard at a location from where buses had been departing.

Plus, an extra special Christmas for two and a half -year-old Ben Cooper.

Around this time last year he was undergoing emergency surgery on his

brain after being critically ill with meningitis. We will be joined

by Ben, his mum and his brother and the surgeon who saved Ben's life.

Let's catch up with all the news within Eton. -- Annita McVeigh. It

has been reported in the last half-hour that the evacuation of

civilians and fighters from the Syrian city of Aleppo has halted.

Around three thousand people, including hundreds of children,

were transported out of the city yesterday.

It's thought there are 50,000 people still waiting to leave.

President Barack Obama has said the US will take action

against Russia for what he calls "interfering in the US election".

The White House has said the Russian President,

Vladimir Putin, knew about the hacking of

Democratic Party email accounts during the campaign.

The Kremlin says the claims are nonsense.

A Royal Marine found guilty of murdering an injured Afghan

fighter is today asking senior judges to grant him bail.

Sergeant Alexander Blackman - known as Marine A -

was jailed in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment

He has been granted the right to appeal his conviction.

Theresa May has told EU leaders that she wants an early agreement

on the status of British people living on the continent,

She was talking ahead of the latest Brexit talks in Brussels.

The leaders of the other 27 member states agreed

There has been concern in other countries about the status of their

National 's in the country when it leaves the EU.

The leaders of the other 27 member states agreed

that the European Parliament would have a formal role

Thousands of Southern rail commuters are facing more disruption

after talks aimed at resolving the dispute ended without agreement.

Drivers on the network began a 24-hour stoppage at midnight.

Passengers have already endured two days of disruption this week

and last night fed up commuters held protests outside the

That's a summary of the latest BBC News - more at 10am.

See you later. Let's catch up with the latest sports with Jess.

England's cricketers are playing for pride in the fifth and final test in

India. Moeen Ali and true roots steadied the ship, Root was

controversially given out and 88. The visitors are currently 208-3.

Valtteri Bottas is being lined up to replace retired world champion

Williams say they are prepared to release the 27-year-old

is an experienced, credible alternative is available.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the quarter-finals

of the Scottish Open snooker in Glasgow.

He'll now play a very in-form John Higgins who won two matches

I will be back with a bit more sport at around 10am. And the twinkly

jumper is still in action! Thank you.

This morning an exclusive interview with the mother of two-and-a-half

year old Ben Cooper, who had a life-saving operation

in Great Ormond Street Hospital last Christmas.

Ben had just started to take his first steps

when he became critically ill with meningitis.

While most people were spending Christmas day opening presents

with their loved ones, Ben had emergency

After three months in hospital, Ben is now back at home

and Christmas will be an extra special celebration

Ben's here today with his mum Viki and his twin brother James.

And we're reuniting them with Mr Owase Jeelani -

the neurosurgeon who saved Ben's life on Christmas Day -

who's at Great Ormond Street hospital working this morning.

We will talk to him as well. Thank you so much for coming in, it is

great to see your wall. Hello, boys. Tell us, Fed, you had obviously an

absolutely dreadful time last Christmas because both of the boys

had been poorly, but it was really Ben who took a turn for the worse?

We just assume that we had a cop/ cold going on with everybody,

unfortunately in a couple of days Ben deteriorated, it is clear he was

not his usual self, he became quite subdued and we sought additional

help. Unfortunately, they thought it was a virus, it was a few days

before we realise the extent of how seriously are all he was. It was

meningitis. None of the classic symptoms? No, it was that viral

meningitis and there was no rash or anything you would expect to see, he

became more and more unwell until he was unresponsive, we could not get

him to wake up, talk or respond in any way, so we called an ambulance.

You ended up in Great Ormond Street? Within 24 hours, yes. At the local

hospital they were doing everything they could to understand, but when

they said Great Ormond Street are coming to collect Ben, that is when

I knew it was quite serious. They don't have many children in their

intensive care unit, if my child is one of the sickest in the country,

it is serious. Horrendous, how did you feel? Terrified, we thought we

would lose him. It was Christmas Eve when he really took a turn for the

worse and had swelling on the brain? At that stage he had come out of the

induced coma and it looked as though things were recovering OK, on

Christmas Eve, things were going well for the first part of the

evening, I stayed over, the tension is spent part of Christmas with Ben

and part with James, it was difficult to juggle. But the nurse

woke me up and said, he has gone downhill, I have called the doctor,

I think we might have the problem. That was the start of a very, very

difficult 204I was. What were you told before his surgery? That there

was fluid building on the brain, they needed to relieve the pressure

and the easiest way was to do surgery straightaway. Obviously they

did not have plans for surgery on Christmas Day, they do not intended,

so it was calling people from home to help Ben, which was very scary.

Owase, you wouldn't know it -- the neurosurgeon who performed that

surgery. When you arrived at hospital, what were your thoughts on

how serious the situation was for Ben?

It is good to have Ben again. Ben was in a critical condition when he

came to us. The meningitis was clearly full-blown at that time. He

needed a lot of supportive management to stabilise him. A lot

of the complications that can occur with meningitis is raised pressure

in the head, which can be life-threatening if untreated. We

have seen this scenario with the children, when we were told about

Ben and had been monitoring him it was clear that he needed urgent

intervention to treat the pressure. Failure to do that could potentially

be catastrophic. It is never an easy time to be at

Great Ormond Street for children of families, these are often very sick

children, particularly at Christmas time when we are meant to be at home

with the families, loved ones. That has an extra layer of, I suppose,

complexity of emotions. Great Ormond Street runs 24/7, the nature of the

workers that there are specialist teams, allied health care

professionals available 24/7, Christmas is no exception. Kids like

Ben fall ill at Christmas and need help and care. From the standpoint

of you, everybody is in a Christmas mood and it is that extra feeling

that we are trying to give and do our best for the families and

children under our care on Christmas Day, it is part of the Christmas

spirit. Viki, I don't think you have spoken to Owase since the surgery? I

don't think so. It is good to bring you back together, what would you

like to say? I can't thank him and the team enough, they have given us

Ben back, there was a stage where we did not think that would happen.

They are wonderful at the hospital, they really are. It is an absolute

pleasure to be able to help in any way that we can add to see Ben doing

so well is an absolute pleasure. It must be nice to see what happens

sometime after the surgery, you are performing life-saving surgery all

the time and impacting on lives in ways that it is sometimes difficult

to keep track of, I guess? It is precisely this that keeps us

going, it is very challenging work, working with young children, very

sick children, seeing kids recover like Ben has and carry on and lead

fulfilling lives, it gives is the energy to keep going, dealing with

such cases. Hell is Ben? Doing very well, he has recently started

school, which is quite young at two and a half, but he is in a special

school with a very supportive environment and lots of therapy. A

little bit of his hearing has come back, he has got a cochlear device

fitted, he is using his hands in a way he has not before Anders

vocalising and trying to communicate, positive things

happening, we have a long way to go but he is doing very, very well. He

has a bright future ahead. He is a happy boy, all I can hope is that he

enjoyed life coming he clearly is. How has James been about it? His

twin? Because they were so young when it happened, he does not

remember life before. From James' point of view, this is how things

are with Ben. His first thought when he comes from preschool or the

childminder is Ben, he rushes to him and is keen to see him. Thank you

darling, that is very helpful. Come and sit me.

Ben has had a lot of surgery since the life-saving surgery, will that

up to continue? Hopefully not too much, he has had several pieces of

surgery on his brain but we hope there will not be too much more,

there is also surgery, he has a tube for feeding and medication due to be

put into his stomach eventually. He might have to have hip surgery, the

cerebral palsy means his hips are not in position, that will worsen as

he gets older. He was only working for one month -- walking for one

month so his hips had not really formed, we are not sure whether he

will be able to get back upright. He can't sit or hold his head about the

moment but we are working on that with physio and he is showing signs

of supporting his own head, who knows where he will end up? He has

little seizures which distract from everything he is trying to do at the

time. Some of his site is coming back, it is evolving? He is still

recovering from meningitis, I have heard that the damage to the brain

from the meningitis and the recovery period can take up to two McCready

is, he is only two and a heart so his brain is just about thing

anyway. The two things are in parallel so I think it will be a few

years before we know what he can do and where he will end up, in terms

of ability. Surgery is not scheduled on

Christmas Day, but life happens. How often are you called in on Christmas

Day? It's interesting, quite often.

Within the neurosurgery department there would always be 18, 20 four

sevenths, present at the hospital, and the consultants would always

come in every day of the year to do rounds and see the patient. If

emergency surgery needs to take place, there was always a consultant

available. It is the nature of the work and the critical nature of the

children that we need to provide that work. As I mentioned, it is

really seeing kids recover which really just gives us all the energy

to carry on year-on-year, on Christmas Day, the other days, it is

an absolute pleasure to see how well Ben is doing.

Viki, very different Christmas for you? We are really looking forward

to it, not least because the boys are starting to understand. Someone

is very excited and talks about it all the time, it will be lovely to

have him at home and not do the juggling act and wondering what will

happen every day at the hospital, I am looking forward rather than

worrying about the day-to-day stuff. James, are you excited about

Christmas? Are you looking forward to seeing Father Christmas? Yes. Had

you asked for lots of presents? I don't think he understands the

concept. He will when he gets them! It is great to talk to you all. Have

a lovely Christmas. Thank you. Coming up, I've been speaking

to Judy Murray about the incredible We also talked about her hopes

for her granddaughter, the weather in Scotland and why

she works so tirelessly to get Let's bring you up to date with

Aleppo. There are reports an operation

to evacuate civilians and rebel fighters from the eastern parts

of the Syrian city of Aleppo Syrian officials have accused

the rebel side of breaching According to the Russian defence

ministry, more than six thousand people have left Aleppo

since the operation We caught up with Zouhir Al Shimale

earlier this week, who's a freelance He's posted this update

on social media as he waited This is the last message I'm

going to send from here. As you can see in the background,

cars are heading to the area It's heartbreaking sending

the last message for me, from my neighbourhood where I used

to live and report A group of doctors is taking medical

equipment to help build a hospital. It is hoped the hospital will help

treat thousands of children Also travelling with her is British

journalist Paul Conroy, he was injured in an attack in the Syrian

city of Jess in 2012. -- city of Homs.

We can also speak to two aid workers currently looking after Syrian

refugees in the middle east - Dr Renee Bou raad in Beirut

This was your idea, three weeks ago you had the idea that you wanted to

get a crowdfunding campaign together to build a hospital? What made you

think of doing that? It was approximately three weeks ago when

the last remaining five hospitals in eastern Aleppo were bombed, I felt

so incredibly devastated, I felt like I had lost a family member.

I've been working on the humanitarian response in Syria in

the last five years, this is the sixth hospital I am involved in

building in Syria, I was so devastated at the tragedy of these

war crimes, bombing a hospital is a war crime. We have documented over

380 of them. I knew that so many people were feeling the

powerlessness and devastation of wanting to do something for Syria

but there was nothing to get behind, I wanted a bold, positive action,

that is where the idea came from that I wanted to bring to life the

issue of bombing of hospitals, so by building a new hospital, the last

Children's Hospital in Aleppo was bombed, that's why a children's

hospital was needed, and I thought that the governments were really

failing. People want to and can act, this is our way of doing it. It was

incredible. What are the logistics, how will you

do it? Amazingly we raised over ?92,000 in eight days. So that will

go to build a whole new hospital in the Aleppo countryside. We are

taking on Saturday all of the equipment that will go to the

hospital, ventilators, incubators, cots, stethoscopes, everything you

need for a hospital and we will travel across Europe with it as a

show of solidarity and support to the phenomenal and courageous Syrian

doctors and humanitarians and we will hand over the equipment to the

Syrian NGO independent doctors Association and they were set up the

hospital so they will then take the equipment over the border from

Turkey into Syria and setting of the hospital. As we speak we have been

getting reports that the ceasefire in Aleppo, which has enabled people

to be taken out of Eastern Aleppo in convoys has ended. The United

Nations is now confirming that the operation to evacuate people from

eastern Aleppo has ended. Elizabeth Hough, the UN representative in

Syria, has just spoken at a news conference in Geneva a short while

ago. Let's hear what she said. A few minutes ago the operation was

aborted and the ICSC and WHO were informed to leave the area with

ambulances and buses. No reason has been explained for

this information. I would like to inform you that so far 147 patients

have been received at the transit .2-macro. That's the confirmation

that the ceasefire is over. Rola it underlines how changing the

situation is, how volatile the situation is. You are obviously

going to be going into this environment, this was on. You have

been there before. Do you have concerns for your own safety? We

will go to the Turkey- Syria border and colleagues will carry out the

setting up of the hospital. Of course, being a doctor or a

humanitarian has become one of the most dangerous jobs in the world,

and certainly in Syria alongside being a journalist, and it just

shows you the brutality and war crimes and scale of it that is

happening. I am often getting asked that, aren't you worried that the

hospital will get bombed, and the answer is absolutely, of course,

that's ridiculous to say, hospital shouldn't be bombed, it is enshrined

in humanitarian laws and that's why we need the United Nations and

international community to put aside politics and ideologies and all of

these things and say, there are international legal, moral and

ethical standards that we need to uphold and these war crimes can't

continue with impunity and it is only them provide the situation

otherwise I fear for the lives of my colleagues every single day. Paul

Conroy is a British journalist who will travel with the convoy. You

were injured in Homs in Syria in 2012 in the same incident that

killed Marie Colvin. You haven't been back. How are you feeling about

going back? I'm feeling good about going back. I've spent five years

from various hospital beds in England is doing what I can on the

political side, on any side really, to keep the Syrian story on the news

agenda. And when Roller called me to say do you want to take this convoy

in I was delighted and instantly answered yes. With regards to the

question you have just asked about the failed ceasefires and failed

policies, don't forget we are sitting down and listening to people

who are presidents, who in fact should be sitting behind jails and

bars in the Hague and that is how close we are to finishing this

conflict. We are no closer now than we were five years ago, and this

government backed by Russia, backed by Iran, have no other policy other

than to regain the whole of Syria no matter what cost. That cost is human

life. You said that obviously you believe the hospital may well be

targeted. What do you think you can achieve, if you go in and set

something up and it's wiped out again? So, I think our job as medics

and humanitarians is to save lives and we will not be stopped by war

criminals from doing the life-saving work we need to do. I think that's

the oath that we have taken as doctors and humanitarians to do

that. Now we are calling upon everyone else, especially

politicians, to do their job. It is our job to save lives and build

hospitals but it is theirs to make sure hospitals don't get bombed. The

fault is absolutely with the perpetrator and those who watch it

and do nothing. I hold them responsible for the safety of my

colleagues and of patients in the hospitals. I don't know if you have

seen the images of hospitals being bombed while children are being

treated by chemical attacks and chlorine gas attacks. It is a war

crime laid upon a war crime and we are watching it all in real-time on

our TV screens like a horror show and allowing it to continue. Renee

Bou Raad, you work for Medecins Sans Frontieres in Aleppo. When people

get to you after having gone through what they have enjoyed in Aleppo

what sort of state are there in? Well, first of all, you can imagine

these refugees first of all are fleeing immediate threat and danger

to their own lives. They are packing anything they can get hold of. It

could be basic clothing. Sometimes they don't even have their own

personal documents with them and they are fleeing across the borders,

so it could be a decision they take on the spot. Most of them come

seeking shelter, they are in dire social economic need, they need

health care, they need shelter. So it's a real humanitarian crisis for

these refugees. The resilience that they have to have to get through

having lived in that city for four years, seeing so much of it reduced

to rubble, hospitals attacked, reports of chemical weapons attacks.

The resilience must be extraordinary. Yes, absolutely. A

lot of them, when you actually talk to some of the refugees and the

patients in the clinics, most of them express the hope that one day

they can return back to their country. But unfortunately, to what

they are not sure they would be returning to. Most of their homes

have been destroyed. But most of them, basically my now with the war

going on for so long, really hope just to have a stable future for

themselves and for their children as well, be that in Syria or anywhere

else they can find. So they remain hopeful. Omar Gharebo, you are

working in a refugee camp in Byzantium in Turkey. How many people

are coming to you and what are the needs you are seeing? -- Gaziantep.

More than 5000 are coming from Aleppo. They are coming to the city.

All of the organisations are distributing refugees to other

cities or other communities. We at Human Care and another organisation

work hard to provide the needs of refugees coming from Aleppo, the

needs of food, shelter or other needs. Paul Conroy, how important is

it to you to be involved in this and to tell the story of what is

happening there? Extremely important. Just going back to the

point that these crimes have been going on for five years. Marie

Colvin died reporting these crimes. This isn't a revelation what is

happening, it has been documented for five years and the fact the

international community has sat for five whole years. Can you imagine if

there was a lone gunman going around London shooting people, the reaction

there would be. And we are looking here at up to 500,000 people

starved, killed, most of the population be housed, utter terror

and chaos. The siege in Homs was medieval. They were starving, there

was no water, there was no medicine. And what will happen, and I can

guarantee this, and it sickens me to be able to guarantee it, that once

the siege of Aleppo is completely broken, what happens then is all of

those forces that were surrounding the town of Aleppo then open up and

fan out into the countryside and what we have next is the scorched

earth policy. They will go through that province and they will not be a

building standing. And we will sit and watch it on television. The idea

of being the opportunity to go back to in many ways repair debt, lots of

people died getting out of Syria, and I feel to keep this story alive

and keep this News going is very, very important to me. Thank you very

much. I want to read out a couple of comments.

The UK must allow full resettlement of all Aleppo refugees and full NHS

medical treatment. Sydney e-mailed: huge respect for the work being done

to help these poor people. Shame the great and good and those with

responsibilities are still letting them and their own humanity down.

Thank you for joining us. And good luck with the convoy.

Coming up: the charity single recorded in the memory of murdered

MP Jo Cox is released today. We will speak to two members of the London

hospices choir also hoping for the top spot this year, and one of last

year's winners from the NHS choir. Just to remind you, this is our last

live programme for the Christmas break. We will be back on Tuesday

3rd of January. In a moment we will have the news and sport but first

let's catch up with the weather with Sarah Keith-Lucas.

It has been a gloomy start, we have missed and fog patches around but

not everywhere, there was some brightness out there. Here is a

scene captured by a weather watcher in North Somerset, so certainly some

spells of sunshine but for most of us it is a cloudy picture, that's

because the cloud has been working in from the Atlantic, this weather

front draped across northern and western parts of the country, clear

spells for central and eastern areas but here we have mist and fog around

through the morning. As we had through today the weather front will

clear away from Northern Ireland, so the rain pushing away towards the

east. Much of Scotland will see a pretty damp picture through much of

the day. They return to brighter skies when the front clears to the

east, across Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland, and improving

picture. Central and eastern Scotland, cloudy with outbreaks of

rain, nothing particularly heavy but the rain is slow-moving, and a few

spots of rain in the north-west of England and north-west Wales.

Further south across Wales, Devon, Cornwall, quite a lot of cloud and

reasonably mild, 12 degrees or so, but not as mild as recent days. Dry

with a little hazy sunshine breaking through across central and eastern

parts of England when the fog clears. This evening and overnight

the weather front makes its way further south across the country,

tending to peter out as it does so, suggest a band of cloud, drizzle and

mist and fog in the South once again. By tomorrow morning you have

blue colours across Northern Ireland and Scotland, and it will be a

frosty morning, something we have not seen for a little while across

Northern Ireland and Scotland, also chilly across parts of the North of

England. Further south a different feel, still the mild and murky air

with quite a lot of cloud, mist and fog. Further north in many parts of

the country have a pretty decent looking day, despite temperatures of

six or 7 degrees, there will be sunshine to compensate for Stuckless

in the way of sunshine further south but temperatures in double figures.

The is looking quite, the weather front building from the south

keeping weather fronts at bay in the far north, breezy with the odd

shower across the far north of Scotland but elsewhere it is a quite

picture through the day on Sunday. Again, we could see mist, frost and

fog first thing and then variable amounts of cloud. There will be

brightness breaking through at times so a usable date if you have plans

command temperatures around eight or 9 degrees. It could be mild up

towards the north-east of Scotland by the time we get a Sunday. Next

week after that fairly quiet spell of whether things will turn much

more unsettled into the lead up to Christmas. You can find more detail

on the Weather for the Week Ahead by heading to our website.

I'm Joanna Gosling, welcome to the programme.

An operation to evacuate civilians and rebel fighters from the eastern

parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo has been suspended.

It's not yet clear what triggered the suspension - one unconfirmed

report spoke of blasts being heard in the area where evacuees

I spoke to Judy Murray about the incredible

We also talked about her hopes for her granddaughter,

the weather in Scotland and why she works so tirelessly to get

I realise how much harder you have to make things work in women's Bart

-- had to work to make things happen in women's sport than men's, and the

majority of decision-makers, certainly within tennis, our guys.

Strictly reaches its crescendo tomorrow night, we will be joined by

one of the professionals and the former contestant infamously shot

out of a cannon, Russell Grant, to talk about who they think will win.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of today's news.

The evacuation of civilians and fighters from the Syrian city

Reports on Syrian State Television say that rebels opened fire

on a convoy at one of the crossing points of the rebel-held enclave.

Around 3000 people, including hundreds of children,

were transported out of the city yesterday.

I World Health Organisation official has told reporters that a planned

evacuation of the sick and wounded had been halted on the orders of

Russian forces. It's thought there are 50,000 people

still waiting to leave. President Barack Obama has said

the US will take action against Russia for what he calls

interfering in the US election. The White House has said Russian

President Vladimir Putin knew about the hacking of Democratic Party

e-mail accounts during the campaign. The Kremlin says the

claims are nonsense. A Royal Marine found guilty

of murdering an injured Afghan fighter is today asking senior

judges to grant him bail. Sergeant Alexander Blackman -

known as Marine A - was jailed in 2013 and sentenced

to life imprisonment He has been granted the right

to appeal his conviction. The Gambling Commission has fined

the lottery operator Camelot It's after the company

paid out prize money to a fraudster, without doing

a thorough investigation. Most of the penalty represents

the ?2.5 million that would have been given to good causes

if the prize had not been paid. Camelot say they won't be appealing

the decision. Theresa May has told EU leaders

that she wants an early agreement on the status of British people

living on the continent, She was talking ahead of the latest

Brexit talks in Brussels. The leaders of the other 27

member states agreed that the European Parliament

would have a formal role That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 10.30am. Thank you very much, any two. --

Anita This is our last programme before

we break for Christmas. Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning - If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate. she is still sparkling, lovely!

Good morning. They've just come back out after tea

in Chennai where England's cricketers are playing for pride

in the 5th and final Captain Alastair Cook won

the toss and decided to bat. It didn't start well though -

They were 21-2, after Cook and his opening partner

Keaton Jennings were both dismissed. Joe Root and Moeen Ali took

the run tally up to 167, before Root was controversially

given out on 88. The Yorkshireman livid to have

been judged to have got He kicked the boundary as he left.

England have moved on to 241-3 in the final session of the day, Ali is

on 87, Jonny Bairstow on 45. Valterri Bottas is in line

to become Lewis Hamilton's new Mercedes team mate,

to replace retired world The Williams team have said they'd

be willing to release Bottas IF they can find a "credible

alternative", as they put it, 27-year-old Bottas has been

on the podium 9 times in his career, but is

yet to win a race. And his best finish in

the Drivers Championship is fourth. Mercedes say they won't be making

any official announcements about their new driver,

until the 3rd of January Ronnie O'Sullivan is through

to the quarter-finals He'll now play a very

in-form John Higgins, who won two matches yesterday

without losing a frame. The five-time world champion

O'Sullivan, beat fellow Englishman Mark Allen

by four frames to two, O'Sullivan and Higgins last played

each other last month in the Champions of Champions final

where Higgins won 10-7. That's all the sport now, I will be

back with the headlines and my sparkly Christmas jumper at just

after half past. Thank you, see you later. We will

keep you updated on Aleppo. It has been confirmed that the evacuation

operation to get civilians out of eastern Aleppo has been suspended,

not entirely clear why. But buses were able to take civilians and

children and injured people and also rebels out of eastern Aleppo

yesterday on buses, but that operation has been suspended this

morning, we will keep you updated on the latest.

Now, it has been quite a year for the Murrays. Andy and brother Jamie

were both ranked number one, Andy in the men's singles and Jamie in the

doubles. Andy became a dad for the first time at Cheney received an

OBE. Two Brothers achieving this agenda senior will make for family

harmony and no and no fighting this Christmas, according to them. I

spoke about their remarkable achievements and why she is

desperate for some long-awaited family time, and to find out more

about her ongoing campaign to get more young girls into tennis. I

asked her why she thinks that girls are reluctant.

The programme that I set up is called Miss-Hits,

and it's a fun and starter programme for girls aged five to eight.

I realised when I was just started doing the Fed Cup captain job,

which is basically captaining the women's team, that we have a big

problem in getting girls into our sport.

There's so many other things now competing for little girls'

attention that our sport was, when we did the research, it was,

"I don't like tennis because it's too difficult",

"I don't like tennis because I get cold", ie it's outside,

"I don't like tennis because I don't like being

Boys are more noisy and more physical, more

So we looked at all the things that were maybe barriers or things that

would put girls off, and realised that we have

to make our sport more fun, more stimulating,

So I set about creating a programme to try and solve that,

but the other problem that it will start to solve

is it is delivered by female coaches and could also be delivered

by non-coaches, it could be delivered by teachers

or mums or students, because we significantly have

to increase our female coach workforce, in order to retain more

Simply because girls are different from boys,

and female teachers and coaches understand better how girls tick.

Just prior to coming along to meet us you were at

the Lawn Tennis Association talking about these sorts of issues.

Why do you feel it incumbent on you to be pushing this stuff?

Because you spend a huge amount of time doing it, don't you?

I think obviously when I was doing the Fed Cup job, I stopped doing

that in February this year, but I realised how much harder

you have to work to make things happen on the women's side of any

sport, compared to the men's, and also very aware that

the majority of the decision-makers, certainly within our sport,

They don't necessarily realise that dealing with girls and women

We tick in completely different ways.

So if I can explain that a little bit better...

It's like if we don't have women in decision-making positions,

then largely everything gets created to suit men and boys, and that

I see such a huge opportunity for tennis to grow a lot,

because of what's happened with Andy and Jamie's success,

with Davis Cup success, and now with Johanna Konta breaking

into the top ten there's a buzz about the women's side of the game.

I just see it as a big opportunity to grow that side.

I'm wondering if there is a part of you that looks back

at the girl that used to play tennis professionally?

You stopped after school and then went on to university and did

something else completely and then got back into tennis.

I wonder when you're sort of looking at the young girls

now going out there, whether there is an element

in you that looks that, perhaps, the fact you could have gone

on to have been a successful player, had you had the sort

of support you're now talking about giving girls today?

I grew up playing tennis in Scotland, where we have terrible

weather and we had no indoor courts when I was young, so you played

tennis in the summer, and you played badminton

I played for Scotland at both of those sports,

which is no great shakes because tennis particularly

is a minority sport, not many people played it.

So I think, for me, when I left school and I wanted

to try and play tennis, I had to go out on my own.

My dad had his own business, my mum was looking after my two

younger brothers, so I had to travel overseas on my own, no coach,

This was in the days of no mobile phones, no ATM machines,

the coin phone boxes, etc etc, wiring money to the post

So we'll never know how good I might have been,

but my point really is there were no opportunities, there

You just had to go out and find it on your own.

Your boys have achieved brilliant things, particularly this year has

Andy number one in the men's singles, Jamie number

When you look at them and you look at what you've achieved,

at what they've achieved, what do you think?

You know, it's amazing what they've done, it's amazing they did

It's great for family harmony and no fighting at Christmas,

I think when I go home and I pass our tennis club in Dunblane,

it's four artificial grass courts with some floodlights, it's nearly

But against that backdrop of no track record of tennis

in our country, minority sport, terrible weather, very limited

indoor facilities and just a number of people who were really passionate

to try and create opportunities for young players to develop.

They've come through that, and they've ended up at the very top

It's, it really is remarkable what they've achieved.

Pat Rafter is questioning whether Andy can keep his

form going next year, and whether Novak Djokovic starts

It's one thing getting to the top or near the top,

It brings an added pressure, but it's a new situation,

it's a new experience and you have to learn to deal with that.

The one thing I do know about both of the boys,

is that the more they gain the success, the harder they work.

They know they have to, to stay up there, but it's

almost like it drives them on to want to achieve even more.

It would have been easy for both of them at the end of this

season to have gone, that's it, we've done it now,

It's almost like right, now, what's next?

So are you saying potentially even bigger and better and next year?

I think it would be hard to be better than this year.

I think so many great things happen and this year for them,

There's just so many great things that happened.

But I know that they'll be as driven, if not more driven,

I'm actually just quite happy to, I'd be quite happy to have a bit

more time at home with them, a bit more normal family time,

because that's the sort of thing that goes out of the window

when your kids do a job like this and they're not

Where do they get that inner strength, and than that resilience,

and that mental strength that, as you say, is as important

When you're doing particularly a sport that is a solitary sport,

very difficult and demanding being out there on the road.

I think both of them have had struggles from time to time

at different stages of their career, for completely different reasons.

I think the thing about staying at the top of whatever you do,

whether it's a sport or a profession or an art, is that you have to be

in a really good place mentally, in your life.

Their wives are incredibly supportive wives, fantastic wives.

They're both so, so lucky in that respect.

And family, of course, the people who are around you,

you're a product of your environment, so it's

very, very important that you have the right

I wanted to talk to you about a wider issue in sport right

now, the sexual abuse allegations in football.

The former tennis player Andrew Castle has said

that there may have been the same sort of culture in tennis.

I think probably every sport could find you examples of that

You know, it's impossible to rule everyone out, but I know that,

certainly within tennis in the UK, every coach who goes

through a qualification has to be licensed and vetted,

I can't remember what it's called now, it used to be called a CRB

check, I think it's called a DBS check or something now.

But, I mean, there's always going to be rogue people out there,

and you have to do whatever you can to eliminate that.

But you always hear, you would always hear stories,

and I know of some instances where that kind of thing has

You know, trying to help the kids to understand that

if something isn't right, they must speak up and they must

tell people and they mustn't hold it to themselves for years

There's been some talk that Andy may get a knighthood.

He is also the favourite in BBC's Sports Personality of the Year

He's not interested in the fame and fortune -

it's always been about working hard and trying to achieve

So those are the things that are important to him.

He got an OBE the year that he won Wimbledon in 2013.

I know he's said he feels he's too young for something

like a knighthood, and I certainly don't fancy calling him Sir Andy!

What sort of age would you be thinking about putting a tennis

racket in a child's nand, in your granddaughter's hand,

I'm not sure I would be looking to do that, to be honest!

I would much rather teach her to dance.

I can't think of anything worse for her.

Could you imagine being the child of some well-known tennis player?

I mean every other kid in the block is going to want

I think it would be ghastly. I hope she does something else.

He's great, yeah, he's great, he's very hands-on, very

When you did Strictly, do you feel that changed

I was a huge Strictly fan, so it wasn't something I ever

imagined I would get the chance to do.

I really wanted to do it because of loving the show,

I couldn't tell you the last time that I had done

I think, for me, it did let a lot of people see that I was...

I was going to say perfectly normal, but I'm maybe not perfectly,

I'd say the vast majority of the public would only see in that

incredibly stressful situation, that is the player box at Wimbledon

or one of the slams, where the cameras always find you.

And it goes without saying you would be so incredibly proud of your boys.

I think they were quite funny when I was doing Strictly,

because when I said to them, look, I've been asked to do

Jamie said, oh mum, you love Strictly, go for it.

Andy just went, oh my God, you'll be awful!

But I think they were concerned for me, that perhaps it didn't go

But as I went on through the competition, they were loving

seeing me dressed up, loving the fact that

I was enjoying myself, and also that people were saying

Because probably for most of their careers people weren't

saying particularly nice things about me.

Had to put up with a lot of bad media over the years, I think,

for being the competitive mum, and in many peoples lives

for being the competitive mum, and in many people's eyes

But this has all changed now and Strictly probably has

a part to do with that, maybe the Fed Cup and maybe the fact

just that the boys are successful and that people now realise

what I do, in terms of trying to pay back into our own sport.

Judy Murray, an amazing woman, very glad to have met her, she is working

tirelessly to promote women's tennis. She is also obviously a

great mum as well with those incredibly successful boys.

Well, you can watch the BBC Sports Personality of the Year

awards on BBC One on Sunday at 6.40pm.

The full list of nominees are Andy Murray, Nicola Adams,

Gareth Bale, Alistair Brownlee, Sophie Christiansen,

Kadeena Cox, Mo Farah, Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny,

Adam Peaty, Kate Richardson-Walsh, Nick Skelton, Dame Sarah Storey,

Jamie Vardy, Max Whitlock, Danny Willett.

We will talk more about Strictly later, Judy had her on the starring

role on it. We will get into the Strictly groove later as we look

forward to the final this weekend. Let's get more on the story

that's been developing The operation to evacuate civilians

and rebel fighters from the eastern parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo

has been suspended. Our correspondent Lina Sinjab

is in Beirut for us now, The Syrian government announced that

the operation has been suspended. It says it blames the hold on rebel

fighters and claiming they have opened fire on the buses of the

convoy at the crossing point. The rebel fighters blamed the shooting

on the government. There's a pro-government militias are the ones

that opened fire on the convoy. All that we know now is that the

operation has been suspended for now. It has also been confirmed by

the Red Cross that there were some preparations in the morning

announced by the Russian Ministry of Defence that the evacuation will

resume and more will leave today but that is all on hold at the moment.

All that we know is that lots of efforts have been going on behind

the scene to resume these operations. Many people, some 50,000

people trapped in East Aleppo, are hoping to leave the east of Aleppo

including rebel fighters. But so far little details are available about

what has caused this halt and what will happen next. We know that this

operation is simultaneously organised with the evacuation of

some two villages in Idlib that are besieged by the rebels and there are

reports as well that the operation there has also been stopped. We are

waiting for more details about that. Lots of efforts going on for this

operation to resume and not to stop completely. Lina Sinjab reporting.

Elizabeth Hoff, of the World Health Organisation

representative in Syria updated the UN news conference

Two minutes ago the operation was aborted and the ICSC, Sarc and WHO

were informed to leave the area with the ambulances and buses.

No reason has been explained for this

I would like to inform you that so far 147 patients have

The worrying part for us at the moment

the besieged enclaves of East Aleppo, the remaining

besieged enclave where the evacuation has been going on,

there are still high numbers of women and infants,

children under five, that need to get out.

They have been collecting themselves at

the points where the buses and ambulances were waiting for them.

But now with the operation aborted they will have to go

because we know that they are desperate.

Elizabeth Hoff with the latest on the evacuation. How did we get to

today's devastating situation in Aleppo? Let's look back at the

events of the last few years and hear from those living in the city

through this single War. The situation inside

Aleppo is doomsday. I might die just now,

while speaking to you. The situation now is getting

horrifically intensified, No one can imagine what

happened inside Aleppo, We hope that, we really hope

to have a ceasefire soon, because these people now

who are dying here... The situation here is

a real catastrophe. It might be one of the worst,

you know, humanitarian Zouhir, are you comfortable

with continuing to talk to us, I can't move anywhere else,

there is nowhere else safe This is a shame on the world,

because it is 2016 and people are getting burned to death,

suffocated to death I don't believe any more

in the United Nations. Don't believe any more

in the international community. Don't think that they are not

satisfied with what's going on... They are satisfied that

we are being killed. That we are facing one

of the most difficult, or the most serious,

or the most horrible massacre There is an urgent need

for humanitarian teams to be deployed and given unfettered access

to Aleppo, once government forces We are beginning to learn

the price of not intervening. There are other solutions,

such as using unmanned drones If we do nothing, if we just stand

by and watch, then thousands more people in Syria will die in agony,

and millions in Britain will live They would make every effort

to shoot down a British plane. The tragedy in Aleppo did not

come out of a vacuum, it was created by a vacuum -

a vacuum of Western leadership, of American leadership,

British leadership. we have an update on the journalist

who you saw in that film, he has left Aleppo. He posted this update

on social media as he waited early this morning to leave the city.

It is nearly 6am now, I am near the office. I am waiting to go now, this

is the last message. I am willing to leave now. As you can see from the

background, cars are heading towards the area where people are

assembling. It is heartbreaking sending the last message for me from

the neighbourhood where I used to live and report from and work from.

That journalist, prior to leaving eastern Aleppo this morning before

the evacuation operation was suspended. We will keep you up to

date with what is happening in Aleppo. Also...

The National Lottery operator, Camelot has been fined ?3 million

by the Gambling Commission for paying out on a fraudulent

We'll get the very latest from our correspondent John Moylan.

The charity single recorded in memory of the murdered MP

We'll be speaking to two members of The London Hospices Choir,

who are also hoping for the top spot this year.

Here's Annita in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of today's news.

The evacuation of civilians and fighters from the Syrian city

Reports on Syrian State Television say that rebels opened fire

on a convoy at one of the crossing points of the rebel-held enclave.

The World Health Organisation official has told reporters that a

planned evacuation of the sick and wounded has been halted

Around 3000 people, including hundreds of children,

were transported out of the city yesterday.

It's thought there are 50,000 people still waiting to leave.

President Barack Obama has said the US will take action

against Russia for what he calls interfering in the US election.

The White House has said Russian President Vladimir Putin knew about

the hacking of Democratic Party e-mail accounts during the campaign.

Russia has been accused of hacking the emails of the Democratic Party

The Kremlin says the claims are nonsense.

A Royal Marine found guilty of murdering an injured Afghan

fighter is today asking senior judges to grant him bail.

Sergeant Alexander Blackman - known as Marine A -

was jailed in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment

He has been granted the right to appeal his conviction.

Theresa May has told EU leaders that she wants an early agreement

EDF Energy plans to cut gas prices from January but will increase

It will reduce variable gas prices by 5.2% on 6 January,

then will raise electricity bills by 8.4% on 1 March.

After both changes, EDF's dual fuel customers will pay 1.2% more a year,

taking their energy costs to ?1,082.

That's a summary of the latest news, join me for BBC

England's cricketers are playing for pride in the fifth

Captain Alastair Cook won the toss, opted to bat. They are currently

262-4. Johnny Wickett -- Jonny Bairstow was the last wicket to fall

for 49, Moeen Ali just got his century.

Valtteri Bottas is being lined up to replace retired world champion

Williams say they are prepared to release the 27-year-old

if an experienced, credible alternative is available.

And Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the quarter-finals

of the Scottish Open snooker in Glasgow.

He'll now play a very in-form John Higgins who won two matches

I'll have more sport on the News Channel throughout the day.

That is it for sport on Victoria Derbyshire over 2016.

Thank you very much, Jessica. It's the great Christmas

chart debate again. Last year it was the Lewisham

and Greenwich NHS Choir who dominated the charts

with A Bridge Over You after fighting off fierce competition

from US popstar Justin Bieber. Five years before that,

it was the turn of the Military Wives and Gareth Malone's Wherever

You Are, which raised money for the Royal British Legion -

selling more than 556,000 copies But battling for the top spot this

year are the unlikely rivals MP4 - a band made up of musicians and MPs

who have come together to record a Rolling Stones Classic in tribute

to the murdered MP Jo Cox - Let's take a look at

the other contenders. And those two.

# What will they do now? # When Christmas comes around?

# We were so in love. The Rec until I missed it up.

# You can't always get what you want.

# No, you can't always get what you want.

# You can't always get what you want.

# If every day was Christmas, and there was no all year.

# Fires started blazing by. # I'd be with my girl tonight.

# Say it loud, say it's clear. # Don't delay. Some pretty good

offerings! With me now is Lillian John -

she's 94 and is a patient at St Joseph's Hospice and a member

of the London Hospices Choir. Their music producer and director,

James Hawkins is also here. In Westminster is the SNP's

Peter Wishart - he's a member of the cross-party parliamentary

band MP4 who are behind the tribute And Dr Katie Rogerson -

she's a paediatrician at a hospital in London and is one of the 32

members of the The NHS Choir who were last year's

christmas number one. Thank you all so much for joining

us. Hello, Lillian. You joined this choir in order to make this song,

and how much have you enjoy doing it? Oh, and mentally. It's so

different from sitting indoors looking at the paint dry, isn't it?

-- oh, immensely. Why did you want to do it? Saint Joseph 's, they are

so kind to me, I love it there, I owe them a lot. The words got to

you? Yes. They are so true. It is The Living Years. Every day of the

week you can hear somebody saying, if only I had done something. I am

too late now. That is so true. I have heard it, I said it myself. I

should have gone to visit people, now it is too later, they are gone.

Think on the words, they are very good.

They are beautiful words. What has it been like being involved with

this for you? An amazing journey. Full of emotions. The song stirs it

up, actually hearing the choir, the people that are singing it to you,

it is really from the heart. The words really gather their meaning

even more from the 300 piece choir. Let's bring in Peter Wishart, one of

the MPs in the song that has been put out in memory of Jo Cox. Why has

it been important for you to do that? The whole community was

traumatised by the tragic death of Jo Cox. We felt we had to do

something and we thought what better way to unite people other than

through music? We got everybody from all political parties participating,

we have had such great support from a range of superb artists like Katie

to install, David Gray. We decided just to put it out. I think the

music stands up, I am so grateful to everybody who got behind this that

supported it. How did you pick this in particular,

who decided on the song? It was back in the summer when we decided to try

to do this, it has a real communal feel to it. I think it is very much

in line with the this is that Jo had, you can't always get what you

want, sometimes you get what you need. I think that was the message

we wanted to communicate. Katie Rodgerson, you were one of the

members of the NHS Choir that took number one last year, beating Justin

Bieber. A real example of people power in action when it comes to the

Christmas number one. It is a very changed prospect these days? It is.

The great British public getting behind it are fantastic, in my

opinion, both of these songs are encapsulated that and we will be

rooting for all these good causes and we're looking forward to

hearing. Whether you get to the number one spot or not, obviously

you did, but for the others, they are still raising money for charity?

Exactly. (INAUDIBLE) That is exactly what both of these

(INAUDIBLE) . It is lovely we're doing such a

great tribute to her. And the London Hospices Choir continues a lot of

the work and encapsulated by the NHS Choir, it is all great causes and it

is a tradition of just thinking about others at Christmas time.

We are struggling to hear you a little bit, Katie.

Lillian, what is it like being a pop star at the age of 94? Oh! Luckily I

have a lot of family and they love the record. A lot of fans, too. Of

course! I have enjoyed it. I really have. Come Christmas I suppose they

will have forgotten me with all their presents, but, no, it has made

a real difference to me. Taken me out of my usual routine of sitting

and doing not a lot. I have been enjoying it, every minute. Has it

given you a taste for it? I don't know about that! I get tired,

remember. But singing? Wendy due last sing before joining this choir?

I sometimes home when a tune comes on that I remember. -- I sometimes

hum. My songs go back a bit, they all had stories to them, that is why

I appreciated this one. They are not all just head-bangers, you know? It

enables people to see something different with the song you are

putting out, a different side to some MPs, is that important? Yeah. I

think it demonstrates the way we can work together and how we respond to

events like this. It is all for charity. I have just been listening

to all your other interviewees, isn't it wonderful that there are

all these great records and people are making a massive effort to try

to raise money for a range of charities. If we are beaten by any

of these we will be happy, it is one of the of year when people can look

at music and see what they can do through music to raise funds for

very important charities. Gym, music really brings people

together? Are especially at this time of year, choirs build

communities. Your message can come across a lot stronger with the

strength in numbers and through singing the words. I think that is

what we are all achieving. There is something particularly special about

acquire cock -- a choir, that is what encapsulates? Through chief

executives to clean as it is a real leveller. Good luck to you all,

thank you very much. It has been wonderful to meet you, thank you

very much. And happy Christmas. Thank you very much.

Strictly reaches its crescendo tomorrow evening.

We'll be joined by one of the professional dancers,

and the former contestant - infamously shot out of a cannon -

Russel Grant to see who they think will win.

The National Lottery operator, Camelot, who have been running

the lottery since 2004, have been fined three million pounds

by UK gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission,

for paying out an allegedly fraudulent prize claim in 2009.

The three million pound penalty includes the two and half million

which should have gone to good causes had the multi-million pound

The National Lottery operator, Camelot, who have been running

Let's find out more about this fine and what it means for Camelot

from our business correspondent John Moylan.

Details are just emerging, in truth we don't know exactly what happened

but it is alleged that happened in 2009 and it would appear to be

linked to a fraudulent claim based on a deliberately damaged ticket.

Subsequently, millions of pounds have been paid out on the back of

that. The incident didn't come to light until last year. There was a

full investigation. The police have been involved, obviously. Camelot

are today accepting the findings that there were weaknesses in their

controls, weaknesses in how this particular issue was dealt with. So

they are accepting the findings, they have paid the ?3 million, and

they are saying today they believe such an incident couldn't happen

again. Has anyone been prosecuted over the fraudulent claim? All we

know at this stage is the police looked into it and they have decided

that they will not be taking any further action. It may well be that

it was just so long ago, or that the paper trail

linked to one of this has disappeared in some way. So whoever

got the money kept it? We don't know the details. One assumes that that

is the situation. It leads to all sorts of questions about how it

happened, good other frauds have happened of that nature at the same

time when there were weak processes in place and could it happen again?

Camelot this morning are saying that it was an alleged fraud linked to a

deliberately damaged ticket. They think this is limited to a unique

incident. They point out that the police did investigate it

thoroughly, they are not going to take it any further. They regret

there were weaknesses in their control. There was an independent

review of their processes carried out last year which found no

evidence of similar circumstances, and they are completely confident,

they say, that this would not be possible today. Is that it then?

They have had a hefty fine, haven't they? Is that the end of the matter?

Is interesting this question of how hefty a fine. We are told that they

had this fraud not happened ?2.5 million would have been made

available for good causes. The overall penalty here is ?3 million,

which in fact means the penalty to Camelot is in the region of

?500,000. This is a company that makes ?100 million per year.

Jonathan, thank you very much. After 13 weeks of shimmying,

twirling, heel leads and reverse turns the Strictly Come Dancing

final takes place on Saturday. The three finalists are BBC

Sports Presenter Ore Oduba, singer and TV presenter Louise Redknapp

and ex-Hollyoaks actor Danny Mac. Strictly fans will be glued

to their TV screen as they tune in to find out who will be crowned

the winner of this year's dancing extravaganza and take home

the coveted glitter ball trophy. Let's get a flavour of the series so

far. I have left tests and Claudia over

there to talk to Ian Waite, one of the original Strictly come dancing

professional dancers and in Berkshire we are joined by the

celebrity astrologer Russell Grant, famously a contestant in 2000

elevenths when he was infamously shot out of a cannon on the show.

Michelle Harville, founder of the Ed Balls strictly macro Frank Leboeuf