22/12/2017 BBC News at One

Britain and Russia say relations

between their two countries

are at their worst for many years.

Boris Johnson, meeting his

counterpart in Moscow,

says both sides want

the situation to improve.

The there is no point in simply

sitting on the sidelines and

complaining about each other. We

have to engage.

We'll ask what the Foreign

Secretary's visit can achieve.

Also this lunchtime.

Theresa May denies knowing

about allegations made

by Kate Maltby about Damian Green

before he was promoted

to First Secretary of State.

Separatist parties celebrate winning

a slim majority in the snap

Catalonia election -

a setback for Spain's

government in Madrid.

30 years of burgundy passports

is coming to an end -

the government confirms British

passports will revert to blue

when we leave the EU.

And millions are expected

to be on the move today,

as the Christmas getaway begins.

Coming up in the sport

on BBC News...

Leg spinner Mason Crane can start

what he hopes is a long

journey in Test cricket as England

consider their options for

the fourth Ashes Test.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

has acknowledged there are "serious

difficulties" in the relationship

between Russia and the UK.

He's on the first visit to Moscow

by a British Foreign Secretary

for more than five years.

In a tense press conference,

the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei

Lavrov rejected suggestions that

Russia had behaved

aggressively towards the UK,

but agreed that relations

were at a "very low level".

Our Moscow correspondent

Sarah Rainsford reports.

The first handshake looked warm

enough, but Boris Johnson came here

promising to talk tough, general war

on Russia to stop what he called its

destabilising actions. It was

Russia's Foreign Minister who set

the tone. Sergei Lavrov said

relations with Britain were at a

very low level and chided the

Foreign Secretary for such public

criticism. Things aren't easy, Boris

Johnson agreed, before battling the

Russians with talk of crisps.

There

are increasing exports of British

Kettle crisps to Russia.

But both

men agreed one thing, that after

five years without a visit by a UK

Foreign Minister it was time to talk

face-to-face again. Relations broke

down over conflict and Ukraine,

still unresolved, still deadly,

after almost four years. Theresa May

recently accused Russia of

fermenting the crisis here. Today,

Boris Johnson again called the

annexation of Crimea from Ukraine

illegal, then there's Syria and

Russia's controversial military

support for President Assad. This

month, Vladimir Putin declared

mission accomplished in Syria, but

the threat of terrorism there, the

need to build the peace now is one

that concerns Britain and Russia

equally. So it was that sense of

common interest that the Foreign

Secretary underlined, after talks

that lasted well over the hour.

There is no point in simply sitting

on the sidelines and complaining

about each other will

on the sidelines and complaining

about each other will. We have to

engage, we have to talk to each

other.

There were some light

moments. Sergei Lavrov said he

trusted Boris Johnson so much, he

used his Russian name, Boris.

Boris!

But there were frosty touches, as

well.

TRANSLATION:

I cannot recall any

action by Russia that was aggressive

in relation to the UK, but we have

heard accusations, even insultingly,

that we support a criminal regime in

Syria, that we are aggressors that

we are occupiers week annex of the

territories.

Those are all claims

Russia denies, even now. Relations

with Moscow have been bad, verging

on hostile. Boris Johnson came here

to address the reasons for that

directly. There were no

breakthroughs, none were expected,

but the first steps towards storing

the chill has now been taken. Sarah

Rainsford, BBC News, Moscow.

Our diplomatic correspondent

James Landale is here.

Given some of the test and as we saw

there, what can be achieved by a

trip like this?

Very simply,

dialogue. When you have relations at

such a frozen level you need to do

something to improve that. Because

for all the differences and there

are genuine differences between UK

and Russia, there are areas of

commonality, where there an interest

to cooperate with the Russians. It

could be the Iran nuclear deal, if

it went pear shaped the UK would

need to talk to the Russians to see

they could help resolve it. Also on

the future of Syria, when there is

some kind of political settlement in

the future, the UK wants to be able

to talk to the Russians about that.

The Russians want to talk to us

about some of the funding. There's a

whole issue of North Korea. The UK

has to talk to Russia to put

pressure on the regime in Pyongyang,

also on the Chinese to put pressure

on themselves. These are all areas

where the UK needs to have a channel

of communication with the Russians,

despite all of those differences,

and that's why you have to have

these kinds of meetings. I think the

fact it has happened might have led

to a recitation of always

differences, we have just seen in

the report, but at the same time

officials now have another

relationship. It means Boris Johnson

and Sergei Lavrov can talk to each

other a bit more easily on those

areas where we have a national

interest and let's not forget all

the British football fans going to

Russia next year for the World Cup.

We need to be able to talk about

visas and stuff like that.

James

Landale, thanks very

Theresa May James Landale,

thanks very much.

Theresa May has denied she knew

about claims that the former First

Secretary of State Damian Green made

inappropriate advances towards the

Conservative activist Kate Maltby

before she promoted him to serve as

her deputy.

Yesterday Ms Maltby told the BBC

that she had raised concerns

about him with a Downing Street

official last year.

Speaking this morning

on a visit to a British air

force base in Cyprus,

the Prime Minister said she only

knew about the allegations

when they were published

in a newspaper last month.

I first learnt of these allegations

when Kate Maltby wrote

about them in The Times.

Ms Maltby was clearly distressed, he

has apologised and that's the right

thing to do.

Theresa May, speaking

in Cyprus. Let's get the latest from

our political correspondent Leila

Nathoo. Where does this go from

here, given what the Prime Minister

was saying there?

The official

investigation triggered by Kate

Maltby's claim that Damian Green

Centre are suggestive text and

fleetingly touch-tone knee, is now

over. It found Kate Maltby's account

was plausible and although that

wasn't the reason Deb Ian Green

eventually had to resign, it --

Damian Green eventually had to

resign, it did find the encounters

between Kate Maltby and Damian Green

were inconclusive but her account

was plausible. Damian Green is now

gone. He still disputes her version

of events and has apologised for

making her feel uncomfortable, but

Theresa May will hope this is a line

drawn over the whole matter. She has

sacked her closest political ally.

She's denied knowing anything about

the claims made against him before

she promoted him to be the effective

Deputy Prime Minister, but the idea

that Kate Maltby may have told a

senior Downing Street official about

her concerns speaks to the idea that

perhaps in the past there was not a

culture in Westminster of taking

allegations of inappropriate

behaviour seriously enough. The

Prime Minister, since we had this

wave of people coming forward and

allegations, has talked about

renewing, a renewed push to tackle

harassment in Westminster, to make

people feel safe at work. The

political parties themselves have

brought in new complaints

procedures, but it remains to be

seen whether there will be a

significant cultural shift in terms

of the way people are treated, in

terms of the willingness for people

to come forward with complaints, and

to take action when complaints are

made.

Leila Nathoo at Westminster,

thank you.

The Spanish government has been

meeting to discuss the results

of regional elections in Catalonia

which saw separatist parties win

a slim majority in the new assembly.

The result is a setback

for the government in Madrid,

which called the election

after an independence

referendum held earlier this

year was ruled unlawful.

Our Europe correspondent Gavin Lee

is outside the Catalan regional

assembly in Barcelona.

Well, after these extraordinary

weeks, this was the moment today the

Spanish government had hoped they

would settle the independence

crisis. It hasn't turned out that

way. After a record number of votes,

4.5 million people here voting, a

region the size of Belgium, it seems

it's a very splintered, fractured

result. There was one singular party

that was the all-out winner, a Unity

party. The separatist parties are

claiming victory. Having followed

the result for the past 24 hours.

Smiling and on the face of it

triumphant, the pro-Spain leader of

the citizens party has taken the

most seats in the Catalan

parliament, but not enough for a

majority. Is this your victory?

It's

a victory.

Your moment?

We have won

elections in Catalonia.

And you can

form a coalition?

It's difficult,

but we will try.

This may be a

fleeting moment in the limelight for

her, because the power balance now

belongs to the party in second

place, the self exiled ex-president

Carles Puigdemont, who is watching

and waiting in Belgium having fled

following his attempt to break the

region away. Collectively the three

separatist parties that declared

independence and triggered these

elections are the only party is

likely to be able to form a

coalition for a majority. But the

ex-president is setting conditions

first.

TRANSLATION:

I am ready to meet in

Brussels with Rajoy. I'm ready to do

so, because there have to be new

policies in Spain and Europe for

political solutions, not repression.

While the politicians work out their

next moves, Catalans will continue

to feel the impact. Thousands of

companies have temporarily left the

region, blaming a stability. The

constant adversity and global

headlines has led to a 10% drop in

tourism as well.

From the outside it

seems like a lot of revolutionary

dramas, but we are losing business a

little bit in the last months

because of Spain and Catalonia, and

they find a way to work it.

Everybody has something to lose.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy

held an extraordinary cabinet

meeting this morning, his government

gambled by calling these elections

and temporarily placing the region

and its direct rule. That gamble

appears to have failed. Catalonia is

still under emergency measures and

that will now be down to weeks of

coalition talks to see how the

independence crisis plays out. Gavin

Lee, BBC News, Barcelona.

There has been a development in the

past few minutes. Mario Gaspar Rajoy

says he acknowledges Unity parties

have lost, it's in the hands of

separatist parties to go forward and

he will speak in a dialogue with

Carles Puigdemont. We are

potentially entering a new phase of

talks ahead of the attempt to build

a coalition government.

Thank you, Gavin Lee.

A 44-year-old man is being

questioned on suspicion of murder,

after a woman was stabbed to death

while at work in a supermarket

in Skipton in North Yorkshire.

The victim - who has

been named locally as

30-year-old Jodie Willsher -

was attacked in the Aldi store

in front of shoppers

yesterday afternoon.

For nearly 30 years,

Britons have been carrying these -

burgundy passports -

the common colour of the EU.

But it's been confirmed this

will change when Britain leaves.

The Home Office has announced

that the covers will

revert to blue from 2019.

The new design won't carry the EU

insignia, and for some Brexit

campaigners the colour blue has

become a symbol of independence.

Our home affairs correspondent

Tom Symonds reports.

The great British passport, shortly

not to be available in European

burgundy, because, it turns out,

Brexit means blue. And the E word

nowhere to be seen. Some never

liked, well, the pink one, as this

BBC USENET report in 1995 made

perfectly clear.

And for some people

pocket sized burgundy simply isn't

British.

The passport is something

so many people still have fond

memories of, the British passport,

that blue companion on your travels

with the family for many years. I'm

pleased to let people know we are

going back to that classic blue and

gold design.

Well, not quite. The

last British passport was much

bigger, hardbacks, and a very dark

blue. The European one which

replaced it way back now in 1988 was

floppy, smaller and easier to put in

a pocket. The new one, and this is

just a mock up, is of roughly the

same design, but it will keep all of

the security features that are

currently built into passports to

make them hard to copy, and it will

add some.

My first passport.

Wow,

that's interesting. It seems going

blue is largely about showing we are

going it alone. Reaction?

Blue,

isn't it, back to England.

I think

it's a shame. We had a fantastic

ability to travel around the rest of

the world and we looked upon

favourably with our immigration

policy and now it's a bit

embarrassing be honest.

I think the

decision was a huge aspect of the

country moving forward and I think

in order to move forward there needs

to be changes and if that is

distinguished by a simple colour,

then why not?

What's the difference?

It's a different colour.

I preferred

it when we were in Europe,

everything. Just everything, yeah.

I

don't think it was needed but we

wanted to give a message that we are

different and to that extent it

sails above us.

He says things are

looking up.

It's the first bit of

good news Brexiteers have had for a

long time. The last few months have

been very frustrating.

The new

passports will be issued from late

2019, when older ones are renewed or

people simply apply for one. The new

column will may split the country as

much as Brexit itself, perhaps this,

the winner of an unofficial passport

design competition might have been

an even better choice. Tom Symonds,

BBC News, at the passport office.

Our top story this lunchtime:

Britain and Russia say relations

between the two countries are the

worst for many years.

And still to come...

An Ode to Joy.

Why 10,000 Japanese singers gather

to perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

Coming up in sport...

Mark Hughes insists he isn't

one game from the sack.

His Stoke side are only just

above the Premier League's

bottom three after one win

in the last eight games.

Drivers, rail passengers and coach

travellers are being warned

to expect delays as many people

begin the Christmas getaway.

Highways England has suspended

400 miles of roadworks,

but says busy road conditions

should be expected.

Virgin Trains says strikes

which were due to affect

the West Coast Mainline have been

called off, but the company

expects there will still be

some cancellations.

Our Transport Correspondent,

Richard Westcott, has the latest.

It's not the white Christmas

the kids were hoping for.

The Midlands motorway,

shrouded in fog today.

But despite the warnings,

a Christmas getaway seems

to be running smoothly.

So, a busy day for you guys?

Yes, busy.

Of course, not everyone

gets Christmas off.

The motorways still need patrolling.

Well, they had called

this Frantic Friday,

because they thought

that the commuter traffic would be

mixing with all the holiday traffic,

creating millions more journeys.

Touch wood, though,

despite the fog, the roads haven't

been too bad so far.

At the nearby services,

some were taking a little

break from the driving.

It's been quite quiet, hasn't it?

Yeah, not too bad at all.

It hasn't been busy at all, really.

We've come from Chippenham,

and it's been straight through.

Even the junction M4 to M5 was fine.

It's been quite busy, just zipping

about the roads and stuff.

The motorway's not been too bad,

but the side roads with the snow

and stuff will be quite slippy.

Highways England are temporarily

lifting 400 miles of road works

to help ease any jams.

Airports will also have the busiest

day of the season -

with the biggest, Heathrow,

handling 130,000 passengers.

Another Christmas holiday

tradition is engineering

works on the railways,

with a £160 million upgrade

programme starting tomorrow.

If you're travelling, check online.

Some services will be cut.

Some London stations will be

shut or partly shut,

including London Bridge,

where they are putting the finishing

touches to a £1 billion rebuild.

If you've used London Bridge Station

over the last few years,

you know how stressful it's been

as they've tried to redevelop it

whilst keeping it open

as best they can.

There's going to be lots of work

going on over here over Christmas

so that these five platforms can

open on January the 2nd.

It's more frustration

for holiday travellers.

So why do it at Christmas?

We do it at this time of year

because the railway is closed anyway

on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

But also, at this time of year,

about 50% fewer people travel

by train, so in terms of the overall

level of impact on passengers, this

is the best time of year to do it.

Back on the roads, it

could be busy later today,

tomorrow and when the shops are back

open after Christmas.

A bit worrying for adults...

Well, yeah, it was kind of hyped up,

but we were going to have to make

the journey either way.

We kind of prepared for it,

but it's been a lot better

than we thought it would be.

But some have got other

things on their mind.

Happy Christmas!

Richard Westcott,

BBC News, on the M5.

In a moment, we'll hear

more from Richard,

who is at Highways England's

headquarters in Birmingham.

-- he's at the National traffic

operation centre in the Midlands.

But first, let's talk

to Ian Palmer, who is outside

Euston Station in London.

How has it been and how is it

looking, Ian?

Jane, a lot better now

that virgin train cancel the planned

industrial action that they

announced earlier. -- Virgin Trains.

The main headline as you have been

hearing in Richard's report is that

London Bridge station will be

completing the third phase of its

upgrade. That means there will be no

services into London Bridge one

London Charing Cross station is

between, well, from tomorrow until

January, end of play January the

1st. That is really going to disrupt

all mainline routes right across

Britain. The West Coast Main Line is

urging passengers to complete their

journeys by the end of play on

Saturday because London Paddington

station will be closed between the

27th of December and Christmas Eve.

And if you are travelling on the

West Coast Main Line, there is going

to be no service between Preston and

Lancaster West. If you have to

travel between London and Glasgow,

you are being urged to travel via

Edinburgh. And that will add an hour

to your journey. As far as the

airports are concerned, there are

going to be 4.3 million people

trying to fly to different climbs

over the festive period. Heathrow

Airport is expected to deal with 130

passengers today alone. Gatwick

Airport will deal with 67,000

passengers. There are no specific

problems if you are travelling by

air today, but the advice is that if

you are going to fly, then arrive at

least an hour before you normally

would. Jane.

E-on, thank you.

Richard Westcott, how was it looking

on the roads?

Well, that board

behind me sums it up. This is the

nerve centre of Highways England,

you can see all of the roads and all

of the cameras. We have the M1, the

M60, the M25. As you can see, pretty

free-flowing at the moment. I

suspect most people see things on

the papers, the TV on the radio that

it's going to be really bad, and I

suspect a lot of people stay awake

or stagger the journey across the

weekend. Because obviously you have

got Saturday and Sunday to get where

you want to go as well. We will see

what happens later on tonight when

the commuters darted in grade as

well. But as it stands at the

moment, touch wood, it's been OK.

Touchwood indeed! Thank you very

much, Richard Westcott and Ian

Palmer.

People should pay a deposit

for using plastic bottles

to help protect the seas

from the "devastating effects"

of plastic pollution -

that's the call from a group of MPs.

The Commons Environmental Audit

Committee recommends a deposit

of between 10p and 20p,

which consumers would get back

when they returned the bottle.

It also wants more public water

fountains and all cafes

and restaurants so people can top

up refillable bottles.

Here's our Environment

Analyst, Roger Harrabin.

The UK uses around 13 billion

plastic bottles every year.

Nearly half are put into landfill,

incinerated or left as litter.

Many ultimately find

their way into the sea.

The MPs are urging the Government

to introduce a deposit-and-return

scheme for bottles as soon

as possible.

They want a new rule obliging

all cafes, pubs and restaurants

to provide free tap water so people

can top up their own

refillable bottles.

And they want many more

public water fountains.

We want people to think before

they leave the house,

will I be needing water?

To re-use the bottles they've got.

We want people to be able to fill up

for free in cafes and restaurants.

And we want then to capture

the bottles that we do use,

so we have a sustainable,

resource-efficient economy.

But crucially, so that we end up

with far fewer of these bottles

in our streets and on our beaches

and in the sea.

The MPs also propose a sliding scale

of charges on plastic packaging -

so firms using easy-to-recycle

materials pay least,

and those using complex

materials paid most.

Ministers say they're consulting

with firms to find the best

solutions to what they acknowledge

is a serious problem

with plastic waste.

Roger Harrabin, BBC News.

How can we keep the memories,

and lessons, of the Holocaust

for future generations?

One idea is to capture

survivors' stories on film.

One Holocaust survivor, Eva Schloss,

the step-sister of Anne Frank,

has been taking part

in an interactive project

that will allow people

to ask her questions about her life,

and preserve her testimony

long into the future.

Reeta Chakrabarti has

been to meet her.

Three, two, one, go ahead.

Meet Eva Schloss.

She's 88, and survived

the horrors of Auschwitz.

She spent days being filmed

recounting the past,

so that people now and in the future

can question her virtual self

about what happened.

My name is Eva Schloss.

Would you like to ask me some

questions about my life?

Survivors are worrying what will

happen when we are not around

anymore, who is going to continue

telling the story?

Because we think

it is very important.

Now, at the Museum of

Jewish Heritage in New York,

people can directly ask Eva

about what it was like in Auschwitz,

how she survived, and how

it's affected her since.

One of the questions,

what was your most terrible

moment in the camp?

One day, my mother was

selected to be gassed.

And we were separated.

And I thought, you know,

I had lost her.

But through a miracle she was saved.

And about three months

later, we were reunited.

Over five days, Eva answered more

than 1000 questions about her story.

And while she was doing so,

a film-maker recorded the process.

I think what's different about this

experience is it puts the viewer

in a really active role.

So instead of sort of passively

watching a movie or reading a book,

you're sort of forced to think

of your own question,

what you want to ask.

And this is more or less

the only picture I have

with my mother and my father.

Because my father usually

took all the pictures.

Eva Schloss lost her father

and her brother in the Holocaust.

Remarkably, she say she has no

hatred or bitterness in her heart.

But she does want people

to listen and to learn.

This is what we have

to teach our young people,

to get involved with what goes on.

And to, if they see things

going on, to speak out.

Technology is helping to prepare

for the time when the survivors

of this monstrous crime

are no longer alive.

It means Eva Schloss can

continue telling her story

for many decades to come.

Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC News.

A policeman in the US state

of Florida has been dragged clinging

to a car door after he tried

to search a driver who was

suspected of taking drugs.

He has survived the incident.

The driver sped off,

but the policeman held on to the car

for more than half a mile before

falling off onto

the side of the road.

The whole incident was filmed

on his body-camera.

The driver was later arrested,

and the police officer

is recovering in hospital.

Andrew Plant reports.

Now, here is a festive tradition

you may not have heard of.

Every year, 10,000 singers in Japan

come together to perform

Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

The tradition is thought to have

emerged during the First World War,

when a group of German prisoners

of war being held in the country

sang Ode to Joy at Christmas.

Now, every year, hundreds

of professional and amateur choirs

from across the country meet

for a spectacular performance.

Jon Donnison has the story.

# Freude, schoner Gotterfunken

# Tochter aus Elysium #.

It is music to lift the soul.

Each December, 10,000 choristers

pack the Osaka Arena to perform

Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

A tradition with its

origins a century ago.

TRANSLATION:

I'm told it started

among German prisoners of war

during World War I in Tokushima.

So they'd sing it in prison,

despite the sad circumstances.

I think that is how it became

an important part of our culture.

In Japan, Beethoven's 9th Symphony

is known simply as kyu -

literally, "number nine".

It's become the traditional anthem

to celebrate the end of the year.

SINGING SCALES.

Many of those performing are not

professional singers.

For months beforehand,

they practice in smaller groups.

I really love it.

It's so powerful, energetic.

I love it!

It empowers me and encourages me

in the bad times and good times.

And singing in German

is no mean feat.

# Freude, schoner Gotterfunken

#

Tochter aus Elysium

# Wir

betreten feuertrunken

#

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!

When it all comes together,

it is something to behold.

The conductor reckons he loses seven

kilos during the performance.

His reward - an Ode to Joy

like you've rarely heard before.

Jon Donnison, BBC News.

Glorious! Let's have a look at the

weather, I wonder whether that is.

Here

weather, I wonder whether that is.

Here is Sarah Keith Lucas. It's

actually quite mild over the next

few days in the run-up to Christmas

with a lot of cloud around. Here was

the scene in Worcestershire taken by

one of our weather watchers. There

has been some fog. It has lifted

across many parts of the country,

and there is some brightness to be

enjoyed out the too. Please guys and

lots of sunshine in St Andrews in

Fife at the moment. Clear skies,

particularly Cross Keys departs of

the country, but right across the

board because we have a big area of

high pressure. -- dry across the

board. This area will be more of a

player as we head into Christmas

Day, particularly across parts of

Scotland. Now, dry and somewhat

cloudy weather. Cloud and the fog

around the coast and hills of the

West. The cloud is big enough to

produce outbreaks of rain across the

North West of Scotland, Eastern

Scotland in drawing the line's share

of the sunshine through the

afternoon. Parts of Northern Ireland

and northern England, quite grey and

murky. There are some clear spells

breaking through, particularly

anywhere to be is the firebrand. A

bit of sunshine for the likes of

Lincolnshire down towards Kent too.

Slightly thicker cloud further west

into Devon and Cornwall and across

Wales. For North Wales, we should

seek some clear spells into the

evening. Through this evening and

tonight we see the cloud thickening

up from the West, quite a lot of low

cloud bringing the fog. Towards the

south and East of the UK, patchy

mist and fog. Mild and frost free to

start off your Saturday morning.

Chilly Thursday across the East of

Scotland with clear spells.

Tomorrow, similar to today,

persistent rain pushing into the far

north of Scotland. But the wind

picking up too. Much of the country

seeing a dry day with a breeze help

and -- helping to break up the

cloud. Temperatures around 10-12dC.

Not much change into Christmas eve.

We have a weather front bringing

outbreaks of persistent rain to the

West of Scotland. Also for Northern

Ireland and north-west England,

there could be rain. Further south

and east you are likely to be

staying dry and mild. That continues

into Christmas Day as the band of

rain pushes further south into parts

of northern England, West Wales, to

the south and east of that it is

mild and windy. We could just see a

flurry of snow on top of the

mountains of Scotland. Little ranks,

Sarah. -- thanks, Sarah.

mountains of Scotland. Little ranks,

Sarah. -- thanks, Sarah.

A reminder of our main

story this lunchtime: