22/12/2017 Breakfast

Hello - this is Breakfast,

with Charlie Stayt

and Naga Munchetty.

An early Christmas present

for motorists as hundred

of roadworks are temporarily lifted.

But there's a warning that there'll

still be severe delays

as millions of drivers take

to the roads on one of the busiest

days of the year.

I am here at the RAC control centre

in Birmingham are expecting a busy

day as the Christmas getaway begins.

Good morning - it's

Friday 22nd December.

Also this morning:

The woman who accused the former

deputy prime minister Damian Green

of inappropriate behaviour,

says a Downing Street official knew

of claims against him

before he was promoted.

Back to blue - the colour

of the British passport will change

when we leave the European Union.

In sport, the best of football kicks

off tonight with Arsenal looking for

seasonal jeweller by replacing

liveable in the top four Champions

League places. -- seasonal joy. --

Liverpool.

Six Breakfast presenters, what could

possibly go wrong?

And Carol has the weather.

The forecast for the next few days

is mild. Rain at times. Also windy

across the north-west. The brightest

conditions in the east and

north-east.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

Hundreds of miles of roadworks have

been suspended by Highways England

as the great Christmas

getaway begins.

Today is predicted to be

the busiest travel day

of the festive period,

with millions of extra vehicles

taking to the roads.

There's good news for rail

travellers as planned strike action

on the West Coast mainline

has been called off.

Our reporter Kathryn

Stanczyszyn is at the RAC's

headquarters in Walsall.

How is it looking?

It looks like it

might be the calm before the storm.

Still looking pretty quiet out

there. And in here as well although

staff say they are gearing up for an

extremely busy day. It is a double

whammy before Christmas because it's

fat Friday that people go away for

the Christmas weekend. It would be

busy anyway but of course, you've

still got people who are finishing

work today, finishing school because

of the way Christmas has fallen and

that is why it's being advised to

and avoid journeys if you don't have

to do them. It's going to be

exceptionally busy, particularly

between 4pm and 8pm tonight and if

you don't have to make a journey, if

it is visiting auntie Mildred and

uncle Bob, you can do it tomorrow

it's just a supermarket, you can do

it elsewhere. The motorways and the

roads will be busy. 3 million people

will be expected on the roads today.

It will be busy at our ports and

ports and international train

stations around 4.5 million people

expected to get away there as well.

But some good news for travellers

today. 392 miles of roadworks which

caused so much misery have been

suspended from midnight last night

all the way up to the second of

January so that should help you if

you are getting out and about and

also good news for rail travellers

as well. That Virgin Trains strike

has been suspended. Here at the RAC,

they are saying determination will

get them through today because it

will be a busy one.

The woman who alleged Damian Green

made inappropriate advances

to her has told BBC News she spoke

to a senior Downing Street official

about his behaviour -

before he was promoted

to First Secretary of State.

Number Ten denies Theresa May

was aware of the claims.

Mr Green was sacked on Wednesday

for making misleading statements

about the discovery of pornography

on his Commons computer

nine years ago.

Our political correspondent

Leila Nathoo is in Westminster.

How damaging are these new claims?

I think it is an increasingly

serious suggestion that number ten

new about Damien Green before he was

promoted to number ten flatly denies

the Prime Minister knew anything

about it but it does raise questions

about the culture here in

Westminster, the working culture,

how serious the allegations of

inappropriate behaviour were taken

in the past. Remember, it was Kate

Moore to be, the Young conservative

activist, her claims that Damien

Green Centre suggested texts,

touched her on the knee fleetingly.

It is those claims which led to the

investigation. She says she told the

BBC yesterday that she was coming

forward because she said things

needed to change your in

Westminster.

There seemed to be an

improper mixing of mental ship and

sexual advance within the

Conservative Party. -- mentorship.

In his case, I was aware he was the

Deputy Prime Minister and I was

aware that number ten new about it.

The investigation into Damien Green

found Kate Moore to be plausible but

Damien Green, although he has

apologised, he says he does not

recognise that version of events.

Competing accounts of what were

private meetings. Downing Street

said it was very clear that he wants

everybody to work in Westminster.

The party leaders are working

together to try to implement new

grievance procedures. Parliament is

also trying to put new measures in

place but it will take a lot of

convincing for people to think that

things really have changed. They

will be taken seriously. And that

action will be taken against people

against whom claims are made.

Boris Johnson will warn Russia

to stop cyber attacks which threaten

Britain's national security or face

retaliation of a similar kind

from the UK.

He's making the first

visit to Moscow

by a British Foreign Secretary

for more than five years.

He'll say he wants the two countries

to co-operate on international

challenges, including the threat

posed by North Korea.

Pro-independence parties

in Catalonia have won a majority

of the seats in an election

for the regional parliament.

The result is a setback

for the Spanish government,

which called the poll

after an independence referendum

held by the region in October

was declared unlawful.

Speaking in Brussels,

where he is in self-imposed exile,

Speaking in Brussels,

where he is in self-imposed exile,

the Catalan leader

Carles Puigdemont said

the "the Spanish state

had been defeated".

A man is being questioned

on suspicion of murdering a woman

who was stabbed in a supermarket

in North Yorkshire yesterday.

The 30-year-old woman

was attacked in an Aldi

store in Skipton.

Police said the suspect, who's 44,

was detained by shoppers

and supermarket staff.

The dark blue British passport

is to make a return after Brexit.

The government said what it

described as the "classic" colour

would be reintroduced

from October 2019.

Here's our Home Affairs

Correspondent Tom Symonds.

What does Brexit mean?

It turns out Brexit means no

more European burgundy.

Brexit means British blue.

And on the new passport,

the E word is nowhere to be seen.

Some like this person will rejoice.

It is the reality of what we are,

where we feel we belong.

And for some people,

pocket sized burgundy simply is not

British.

The past is something so many people

still have fond memories of.

The British blue passport

was with you for many years.

I am pleased to let people know

we are going back to the classic

blue and gold design.

Not quite.

The classic 1980s era passport

was bigger and hard-backed.

The EU one, definitely easier

to slip into a shirt pocket.

The new one will be the same design.

The government says the new colour

will not cost any more.

Passports are redesigned regularly

to make them harder to forge.

The blue one will start appearing

in 2019 as passports are renewed.

Tom Symonds, BBC News.

MPs are calling for the introduction

of a national deposit scheme for

plastic bottles to protect the sea

from pollution. The Environmental

Audit Committee wants free drinking

water and public premises and using

phones which uses plastic house --

packaging companies financially

responsible. A policeman in the US

State of Florida has been dragged by

half a mile. Despite falling off at

high speed, the officer was

unharmed. Filmed by his body camera.

Have you got ID? A police officer in

Florida are putting on protective

gloves. This car pulled over with

two suspects inside. The officer has

spotted what he believes could be

heroin and needles in is about to

search the vehicle. But the driver

has other idea.

It's going to be in

front of Cambridge and M.

Clinging

to the open door and with one foot

in the car, he takes off at high

speed. Despite his shouts, the

driver shows no signs of slowing

down. For the officer, this

unexpected ride is only and in one

way. -- ending one way. Amazingly,

the officer gets back on his speech.

The suspect is long gone but the

video camera is still recording.

You

are a hero, awesome.

The Pembroke

Pines police Force later posted this

to ditch that Facebook, the office

are somehow unharmed.

I came and saw

syringes everywhere.

And with the

evidence they need to pursue these

dangerous drivers.

You got the

camera.

Good job.

All should on

camera. -- should on camera. -- all

captured on camera.

Now, what do you think

a Japanese Christmas tradition

would look like?

Something like this.

A choir of around 10,000

people get together each

year to perform Beethoven's

ninth symphony.

It's thought the tradition began

during the First World War

when a group of German prisoners

of war being held in the country

sang 'Ode to Joy' at Christmas time.

Wow, that would get in the mood. A

busy time. They play mostly tomorrow

and Boxing Day as well. They don't

have any time off but we don't feel

sorry to them. With the wages they

get.

Borno State told to hold.

They

can't have that extra roast potato?

Arsenal against Liverpool. It's a

big victory to kickoff the

traditional run of festive fixtures.

Chamberlain returns to his old

ground as Arsenal hosts Liverpool.

Milk was thrown and it all turned

sour but both Mancheter clubs have

escaped punishment after the Rumble

in the Tunnel folowing the recent

derby.

And the start of the Six Nations

is still six weeks away,

but two of England's stars may

miss the tournament.

And South Africa's Devon Peterson

is at it again at the PD World Darts

Championship.

You might remember his walk-on

efforts going viral in year's gone

by - this was his latest

effort at Ally Pally -

but it couldn't stop him going

to defeat against Darren Webster.

He is really put a lot of effort

into that. The precision, the

make-up. I have another story after

the weather. Carol was in sparkling

form. As always. Even more so. In a

sparkle has come out. Good morning,

Carol. Good morning, all. This

morning, not very sparkly outside.

It is quite grey but it's also a

mild. It will continue in that way

as we had on towards Christmas. Some

drizzle around, some of us seeing

some splashes of rain but the

drizzle was clearing away. This

ridge of high pressure builds across

us and as you can see from the

squeeze on those isobars, breezy in

the north of the country but in the

south, in south-west England, there

is a fair bit of drizzle. A lot of

low cloud around. And it is mild.

Some murky conditions around. For

East Anglia and the Midlands, a lot

of cloud as well. Seven o'clock, 10

Celsius. Also some patchy frog

across northern and -- northern

England and Central Scotland.

Northern Scotland seeing a fine

start to the day. Northern Ireland,

YouTube have some patchy fog. We

have also got some drizzle across

southern and western parts of Wales.

There is a weather front -- the

weather front taking things with it.

Behind, there will still be a lot of

cloud around. The brightest breaks

will be across eastern Scotland and

also north-east England.

Temperatures rise, --

temperature-wise, pushing down

towards Cardiff. Overnight, it could

be fairly cloudy and once again,

some patchy mist and fog. It's also

going to be breezy in the North with

coming in. Not particularly heavy.

To visualise, between five and 10

degrees. Most of those temperatures

are pretty good overnight lows.

Tomorrow, we start off on a cloudy

note. The front is still across the

North of Scotland. Fairly windy.

Elsewhere, the wind won't be as

noticeable. Much lighter but still

cloudy with one or two brighter

breaks. The temperature creeping up

in Aberdeen. In the Christmas Eve,

if you're travelling, we still have

a weather front. Bringing in some

heavy rain. By then, starting to

mount up. Can see how it sinks into

southern Scotland. Some showers and

murky conditions. A mild day

generally. For Christmas Day, if

you're travelling, it's going to be

wet across the northern half. We

still have the south-westerlies

coming in. Not quite as great.

I think this is on every front page.

One picture dominating this morning.

The royal pictures, Meghan Markle

and Prince Harry. Their engagement

shots. Some people commenting on

that, others just using it as a

moment. The other main story,

following on from Damian Green, the

suggestion that police turned on

officers who brought down Green.

There are questions about the

behaviour of the police in the

run-up to the revelations.

The

black-and-white version of that

action, Harry and Meghan Markle on

the front page of the Telegraph,

also leading with that story about

the police, saying that they had a

Green vendetta, according to Boris

Johnson.

On the front page of the

Daily Mirror, a very different

story. A suggestion of a Russian spy

in Downing Street, standing inches

behind Theresa May. A political aide

was arrested yesterday over claims

he has been spying.

Boris Johnson is

on his way to Russia. The UK is

prepared and able to launch a

massive retaliatory cyber attack

against Russia, he warned yesterday.

And on the front page of this

newspaper, the return of the blue

British passport. That is coming

back after Brexit.

Well, we've heard

of grunting in tennis. Putting off

opponents. Now there are accusations

of coughing in darts, on the cue. --

occy. Bernie Smith throwing arrows

from the occy, and behind him is

Justin Smith. Nothing was set at the

time. Justin had a cough. It was one

of the commentators on TV who said

it was disgusting trying to put him

off.

It seems to be happening at

particular moments?

Yes, and not

turning away.

So who won?

The bloke

coughing one, but there was no

complaint from Bernie at the time.

It was the commentator who raised

it, saying that Justin should be

investigated. He has hit back,

saying he certainly didn't mean to

put anybody off and it is hurtful to

him and his family has been accused

of this. He said he would never do

anything like that. It might be a

story that just goes away, it

depends if the comments are taken

further.

I am thinking of snooker,

the accepted norm is that there is

no noise.

Yes, darts is different

because there is the enthusiastic

crowd. They do tend to go quiet for

the vital points. Now, Santa Claus

wears a red, but Sam Allardyce is

wearing a blue hat and bringing some

festive cheer to the Children's

Hospital in Liverpool. His team are

in good form, so he is smiling away.

That looks white.

No, the hat is

blue. And what looks like red, Angry

Bird.

The whole team turned out?

Yes, lots of teams do their bit at

this time of year. It is all over

social media this weekend, teams

going to local hospitals and helping

out.

I will draw attention to the

inside pages, you might have heard,

there has been lots of hype. The

musical Hamilton, which has been an

amazing success story in the United

States on Broadway. It had its

opening night in London last night.

Almost all the critics now agree,

believe the hype. Sensational. A

view of the others have in talking

about this. The reviewer says, I

didn't want the interval to happen.

I was sorry when the show ended.

I

feel a bit ignorant about this.

Hamilton, the musical. It has had

this extraordinary reception in the

US.

What is it about?

It is sort of

a story about... It is in American

history story, really. It involves,

as it explains here, what they call

the maelstrom of wrap, hip-hop and

the ballet and jazz. -- rap. So it

works as a historical monument, but

also a show in its own right.

It is

about Alexander Hamilton, a leading

politician in the creation of the

United States. A bit of contrast.

It's good, but don't believe the

hype. That is what the Daily Mail

says. Hamilton is no revolution.

These things are no good if they

don't divide us.

Exactly.

We will

see later on, my. -- Mike.

Are you prepared

for Christmas dinner?

Lots of us still aren't and today

is expected to be the busiest day

of the year for food and drink sales

as we stock up for the big day.

In a moment we'll hear

from John Maguire, who's

at a hospital in Stockport

where staff are preparing to cook

some of the 400,000 Christmas

lunches the NHS will serve

up across England.

First, let's join Ben Thompson

at a supermarket in East London,

where the doors have just opened.

Yeah, that's right. Welcome to east

London. The doors at Morrisons have

just opened and already people were

queueing outside when I write this

morning to make sure they get the

last-minute things they need before

Christmas. -- when I arrived. There

are just two shopping days left for

people to get their self-service

supermarkets have a lot of work to

make sure they get the right stuff

on the right shelves at the right

time. Let me run you through the

numbers. We are expected to spend a

staggering amount of money over the

next 48 hours, about 1.5 million

pounds. That is just over the next

two days alone. -- £1.5 billion.

That is up nearly 3% on last year.

That is interesting, because there

has been a lot of talk lately about

whether we are tightening our belts,

especially on things like food and

drink. That is partly because food

and drink prices have gone up. They

are about 4% higher due to the

inflation we have heard about this

year. So, even though prices have

risen we are still spending more.

And for the big supermarkets, that

has been good news. Their sales are

up about 2%, for the big five

supermarkets. They are cashing in on

what is a pretty crucial time of

year for them, to make sure that we

spend and spend it with them. Let me

introduce you to Jennifer. Good

morning. Explain to me how you make

sure you get all of this right. It

is pretty crucial.

Yes, it is the

busiest time of year for us. To put

it in context, we will sell about

twice as much as normal in a typical

week this week. It is a bit

challenge. We have 1000 lorries on

the roads, getting stock to our

stores. We have lots of measures in

place inside the stores to make sure

that customers can to the right

shelves. We have a new online

ordering system that will help stop

you to our stores and make sure it

is the right stock.

Just explain to

me, we have a full weekend this

year, so you can shop on Saturday

and Sunday before Christmas Day,

which is Monday. But Sunday is a

sure today and that could catch

people unawares?

Yes, it is

restricted due to Sunday trading

hours. Customers will have six hours

to shop on Sunday. At Morrisons we

are doing what we can to make sure

customers get what they need on

Sunday. There are helpful reminders

around the store. We know how

frustrating it is if you forget an

item on Christmas Eve. We have help

is at the checkout to walk run to

get items if you have forgotten one,

and we have arrows all over the

store pointing people to the right

items.

Thank you. So, that is how

the supermarkets are preparing.

Buying all the food we are going to

cook. Who is going to cook it? My

colleague John Maguire is in south

of -- Southwark, with some people

who have their work cut out over the

next few days.

Yes, a busy day. The

NHS will be cooking the use of --

biggest Christmas lunch in the UK on

Monday. There will be 1 million

people working across the country on

Christmas Day. The NHS will serve

400,000 meals. Here at Southwark

Hospital, it is busy, it smells

wonderful, they will cook 30

turkeys, 3500 Russell sprouts, Love

them or loathe them, and they will

serve 450 patients, 250 staff. --

brussels sprouts. Let's see what is

on the menu today, just one of the

choices. A beautiful joint of beef.

Some roast potatoes and some pigs in

blankets. You can already smell the

rosemary coming off the beef, it

smells wonderful. We were here

yesterday filming during a busy

lunch service, and I spoke to a

couple of patients to ask them what

they thought of the food in the

hospital.

It is something you look

forward to, yeah. As far as I'm

concerned, it is this good.

It is

delicious. A surprise, because I'd

always heard hospital food is, you

know, not very good. Every meal is

gorgeous. It really is.

Satisfied

customers all round. Greedy bubbling

away. Paul, good morning. What do

you cooking this morning?

Just

getting breakfast ready for the

restaurant.

Most people do not have

a cooked breakfast in hospitals, but

it is just for the people who really

need to eat something in the

mornings to get them going,

especially some of the elderly

patients. You'll do something like

700 people, 900, on a normal day?

How do you achieve that kind of

level of service?

Teamwork, you

know. We go through the teamwork, we

just crack on with it, you know?

Can't stress out. You just get on

with it.

If you can't stand the

heat, get out of the kitchen. Let me

show you his festive apron. Look at

that. What a body. It certainly is

Christmas. Let's come around and

have a chat to Tracy. Good morning.

The girls are chopping away, all

very busy this morning. It is quite

a challenge to feed that many people

at the same time. You have so many

different dietary requirements and

speciality needs. How do you cope?

Dawn is the back and of all this,

she keeps it to gather.

Absolutely.

It is important to note is that you

have the different dietary

requirements?

Yes, about eight or

nine different dietary requirements,

every lunchtime and evening.

Good

stuff. Lovely. The patient's order

their food one day in advance. The

system is very impressive and

sophisticated. As we say, certainly

the people we have spoken to so far

have been satisfied customers.

Wonderful smells from the kitchen. I

hope we are not making you feel too

hungry yet at home.

Everybody looks

very neat and tidy there stop don't

they just.

We will be back with John

this morning, and Benjamin. We have

been talking about people travelling

back home for Christmas.

Yes, if you

need to know if there are any

problems with the news travel and

weather

Plenty more on our website

at the usual address.

Now, though, it's back

to Charlie and Naga.

Hello this is Breakfast

with Charlie Stayt and Naga

Munchetty.

We'll bring you all the latest news

and sport in a moment.

Do you remember these?

Well the blue passport will be

making a come back after Brexit.

What could possibly go wrong?

Six Breakfast presenters,

one Christmas song and an audience

of over 1000.

See how we got on in rehearsals

for our BBC Sing challenge.

And after nine, finding their feet

in their frozen world.

The story of two polar bear cubs

as they travel 400 miles

in search of food.

There is a summary of this morning's

main stories.

Hundreds of miles of roadworks have

been suspended by Highways England

as the great Christmas

getaway begins.

Today is predicted to be

the busiest travel day

of the festive period,

with millions of extra vehicles

taking to the roads.

Many airports are also expecting

a pre-Christmas rush.

There is good news for rail

travellers as planned strike action

on the West Coast mainline

has been called off.

In a few minutes, we will talk to

someone at the RAC headquarters for

all the latest on the roads.

Kate Maltby, the woman who alleged

Damian Green made inappropriate

advances to her, has told BBC News

she spoke to a senior Downing Street

official about his behaviour -

before he was promoted

to First Secretary of State.

Number Ten denies Theresa May

was aware of the claims.

Mr Green was sacked on Wednesday

for making misleading statements

about the discovery of pornography

on his Commons computer

nine years ago.

I wrote about the problem of sexual

harassment in Westminster because I

knew it was a persistent problem but

I also knew of similar experiences

with many other people in

Westminster across all parties. What

I was not seeking was a resignation.

I've never called for Damien Green's

resignation as an MP or minister,

frankly I was expecting an apology.

Boris Johnson will warn Russia

to stop cyber attacks which threaten

Britain's national security or face

retaliation of a similar kind

from the UK.

He's making the first

visit to Moscow

by a British Foreign Secretary

for more than five years.

He'll say he wants the two countries

to co-operate on international

challenges, including the threat

posed by North Korea.

It will

Pro-independence parties

in Catalonia have won a majority

of the seats in an election

for the regional parliament.

The result is a setback

for the Spanish government,

which called the poll

after an independence referendum

held by the region in October

was declared unlawful.

Speaking in Brussels,

where he is in self-imposed exile,

the Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont

said the "the Spanish state

had been defeated".

the dark blue British passport is to

make a return after Brexit.

It will

replace the current burgundy design

from October 20 19. The Immigration

Minister said the change was a

tangible symbol of the UK taking

back control.

A policeman in the US State of

Florida has had a lucky escape after

being dragged for more than half the

Nile -- half a mile clinging to a

car door.

Officer John Cusack

was about to carry out a search

of the car after spotting

the driver asleep, surrounded

by suspicious packages.

The video, recorded

on a body-camera, shows the driver

suddenly waking up and driving away

with the officer still holding

on to the car.

Despite falling off at high speed,

he was released from hospital

the next day.

The driver was eventually arrested

and charged with attempted murder

and drug offences.

634 is the time. Mike is here with

sport. Gearing of festive fun.

Boxing Day as well. A busy time.

Obviously a great time probably the

only time in the year that families

do that. And it kicks off tonight

with Arsenal Holst in Liverpool. --

hosting.

The festive run of fixtures

in the Premier League kicks off

tonight at the Emirates,

where Arsenal welcome,

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

It'll be Liverpool's Alex

Oxlade-Chamberlain's first game

against his former club,

since leaving Arsenal in the summer,

and his current manager,

still thinks, the England midfielder

can improve as he adjusts,

to his new club's style of play.

It is on the pitch, he needs to be

involved in these situations as

well. The moment, it is fine, I am

all good. But I see space for as

well.

Milk was thrown and it all turned

sour, Guardiola took the points,

Mourinho got the pint.

But both Manchester clubs have

escaped punishment after the tunnel

bust up at Old Trafford,

folowing City's recent

2-1 derby win.

Separately, Mourinho has also

escaped with a warning

about his pre-match comments,

regarding match officials.

Now, how about this

for a Christmas present?

Huddersfield Town defender

Mathias Yorgensen has offered to buy

a pint, for every fan who makes

the 500 mile round trip

to Southampton on Saturday.

(TX OOV) It's payback

for their amazing support,

he says, but that's a round that

could end up costing the defender,

who's nicknamed "Zanka",

over 8 thousand pounds....

It easy to say yes, this is

football, they get a lot of money,

drive flashy cars but we are all

people, we all just normal people

that enjoyed the life that we have

been given and sometimes, you get at

the show that. Having thought about

how much this is going cost you.

It's Christmas anyway.

It's Christmas anyway.

England will be without,

wing Elliot Daly, and back row

Nathan Hughes for at least,

half of the six nations.

Daly has an ankle injury

and could miss up to 12 weeks,

while Hughes is suffering

from a knee problem,

and is expected to be out for 10.

Missing both players,

will be a blow for Eddie Jones'

side, who are looking to win

a third 6 nations title,

on the bounce.

They start their title defence

on the 4 February against Italy.

WBO World Middleweight Champion

Billy Joe Saunders says former

Heavyweight Champon Tyson Fury

is doing all the right things

as he bids to make a return

to competitive boxing.

Fury hasn't fought

since his victory over

Wladimir Klitschko in 2015,

but Saunders thinks he could

announce his return

to the ring any day.

He's linked up with Ben Davies who

is a very good trainer. I've had on

my corner. He's the youngest man

ever, youngest man ever to be

involved in a world tournament. That

is a good element. He is on it. I

speak to him every day. He is in the

gym twice a day. He is back in love

with boxing. He is looking at

opponents now. Expect an

announcement as soon as he teams up

with a promoter.

There are plenty of characters that

grace the stage at Darts' PDC

World Championship, but one person

who goes the extra mile for his walk

to the oche is this man.

Devon Peterson's known

as the African Warrior -

he's the only player

from the continent of Africa in this

year's draw - and you may

remember his walk-ons going viral

in previous years.

These were his latest moves

for the Ally Pally crowd but it

didn't help him to victory

in his first round match

against Darren Webster.

And very intricate. You know what?

You didn't make any difference to

his darts because he was beaten by

Darren Webster. So we won't be

seeing any more of that.

It was a

cross between blow, body popping and

lots of things. Keeps us

entertained. -- though.

For many of us today marks the start

of the Christmas break,

meaning millions will take

to the roads and railways

as the great Christmas

getaway begins.

This evening is expected to be

the busiest day period

for holiday travel.

Our reporter Kathryn

Stanczyszyn is keeping an eye

on the roads from the RAC's

headquarters in Walsall.

What is the situation today?

They

are gearing up for a busy day here

at the nerve centre of the RAC, the

place where they manage all their

patrols. This is the Eastern team,

Knights team who swapped quite soon.

But the eastern team has been quite

at the moment, hasn't it?

We don't

use the cute word. Because that all

the workload in quickly.

What is

going to get you through today?

Team

spirit, and working together and

some Christmas treats. And then we

break for 12 days.

There you go.

Lots of people are saying it will be

an extremely busy day. 3 million

motorists on the road today. A bit

of a double whammy going on because

as well as people finishing the

Christmas weekend and heading to are

over they will be the Christmas,

there are people finishing work on

school today because of the way the

Christmas weekend has fallen. That

means it will be very busy,

particularly between four and 8pm

tonight although some good news on

the roadworks suspension. Nearly 400

miles of roadworks will be

suspended. I am joined by the travel

editor to the Independent and

all-round travel guru.

Telstra

hotspots will be. The morning rush

hour is getting under way and it's

fairly quiet. Problems in the 850

and Stanford share. But it is later

on that things get really exciting

when you have the normal end of the

week working rush combined with lots

of people if they start our journeys

between four o'clock and eight

o'clock. Particularly on the M6

mainly southbound just where we are

here. Any direction around the M25

and then worst jams of all of last

Friday before Christmas last year is

anything to go by. Stonehenge, we

have four lanes coming down for two.

Just where the ancient stones. They

have 13 hours of jams there last

year. If you are aiming between

south-east England and south-west

England. A really good idea.

A bit

of good news for rail travellers.

The Virgin Trains strike was called

off late yesterday. They are having

to run a full service today.

They

have now got to plan everything

again. The still got a strike taking

place in Merseyrail. A gap in the

middle of the day. Elsewhere, the

rail engineering works, the best of

times kicking in tomorrow. Airports

are going to be very busy as well.

You need to pack some festive cheer.

There will be lots of festive cheer.

As this is Breakfast. That is the

main story this morning. Hundreds of

miles of roadworks have been

temporarily lifted on what is

predicted to be the busiest travel

day of the Christmas period. The

woman at the centre of allegations

of inappropriate behaviour by Damien

Green said a senior Downing Street

official knew about games before he

was promoted. Lots of people on the

roads, a lot of travel. What is the

picture across the UK?

roads, a lot of travel. What is the

picture across the UK? Fairly cloudy

and some patchy fog and drizzle but

it smiled. The drizzle will clear

through the course of the morning.

Foremost, the will remain. The

drizzle was courtesy of the weather

front pushing away. If you look at

isobars in the north of the country,

they are tightly squeezed. For

south-west England, very murky this

morning. A lot of low cloud and

patchy fog. The drizzle continues.

Continuing to push away to the

continent. Look at temperatures. Not

bad at this late in December. A lot

of low cloud and some fog,

especially around the Vale of York.

North of the Central Lowlands is

this different story. A beautiful

but cold start to the day. Western

Scotland and Northern Ireland,

murkier. Also some patchy fog across

Wales. The drizzle will continue

through the Channel Islands. The fog

will slowly lift and the most, a

cloudy day. The brightest breaks

will be in the shelter of any

mountains soar across north-east

Scotland and England adhere to

example, only six degrees in

Aberdeen. Through this evening in

overnight, cloudy. We also have the

wind strengthening with a weather

front coming in. Not terribly heavy.

Alert times heavier bursts. Again,

around the hills, it will be damp

and murky. The weather front on the

North of Scotland, producing some

rain. It could reach gale force.

Away from that, a lot of dry weather

and cloud. Murky once again in the

West. A big difference in Aberdeen

tomorrow. For Christmas Eve, the

weather front producing wet and

windy conditions. If that is sinking

and across northern England by the

end of the day, showery conditions

and drizzle across West Wales and

south-west England. The

south-westerly is bringing a smile

throughout. Some snow in the hills.

A wee bit uncertain. Windy, cloudy,

but not quite as cloudy and grey as

the next few days.

It's 06:45 and you're watching

Breakfast from BBC News.

This week we've been hearing

all about the benefits of singing.

So the producers set us

the challenge to have a go

ourselves.

Did you notice that Carol got out of

it?

Yeah, she wasn't there.

She got

out of it.

They gave us just a few

hours to learn a Christmas classic,

and then perform it to a crowd

of more than 1,000 people.

What could possibly go wrong?

I think you are going to see the

breakfast team a

I think you are going to see the

breakfast team a little bit naked.

People have come to hear nice

singing. That's us.

What could

possibly go wrong.

Six presenters

and the ultimate Christmas

challenge.

Here we are. I hope you

are ready for this.

We've all got a

bit of a voice in us. But actually,

we sound terrible.

They have just a

few hours to learn a song. And sing

it, in front of a live audience.

1400 people. That is daunting, isn't

it?

I am terrified.

Via presenters will be singing with

the gospel choir Manchester

Inspirational Voices, led by Wayne

Ellington.

We are going to nail it.

I know is a sure that I can't, Naga.

When we walked out earlier I

suddenly thought, I'm not sure I can

do this.

APPLAUSE

.

No pressure, then.

To make things a

bit more fun, they don't yet know

which song they have to learn.

Good

morning.

Good morning!

Welcome to

the beautiful Ridge -- the beautiful

Bridgewater Hall. The song, you have

been waiting to find out what this

song is going to be. And the song

is... The Christmas song.

How does

that go?

You might know it as

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.

# Chestnuts roasting on an open

fire.

# Jack frost nipping out your nose.

Is there a soul singer, a crooner,

add adding that King Cole lurking in

this group? Let's find out. -- a

budding Nat King Cole.

BRAYING.

The team have just over an

hour with the whining to learn the

song. It starts fairly well.

# Chestnuts roasting on an open

fire... I have the opening line.

# Jack Frost nipping at your nose...

Nos!

And I'm pleased, because in my

head, number one, I know the line.

I've heard the line before. I'm

fairly comfortable with it. But

also, I've got it out of the way.

That's good.

It is not the sort of

singing that I'm used to. I'm

struggling without it.

# And folks... It is like around the

corner a bit, I'm a straight down

the middle man.

If Dan is

struggling, Naga is flying.

# Everybody knows a turkey and some

mistletoe... I feel joyful. I really

do. The song is bringing us joy, so

I feel good.

# Out to make the season bright.

Sing loud, sing proud.

Will it?

I

presumed we would be singing

together in a quiet, I did not think

for one second, one milli second,

that at any point I would be singing

on my own.

# We will find it hard to sleep

tonight... I literally don't even

know how it should be.

OK, it

sounds...

The babies will be crying

if I sing this. I look at the words

and literally, the tune goes out of

my head.

# They know that Santa's on his

way...

I've got to rein myself in.

# He's bringing all sorts of goodies

and toys...

Who knows what can happen? In

rehearsal I learned the lines off by

heart but suddenly couldn't think of

the word... I've forgotten it again.

Presence? No, goodies.

# He's bringing lots of toys and

goodies on his way...

I was thinking of chicken giblets

for some reason. It is not just

remembering the notes, it is

remembering to make short lines,

which has so far proved difficult.

You can either sing or you can't,

that is how I see it. And I'm

definitely one of the people who

can't.

# To CF reindeer really know how to

fly...

You will be absolutely fine.

It is

very hard.

With just a few hours ago

you could say there is quite a bit

of work to do, and we haven't even

shown you the harmonies.

# And every mother's child is going

to smile...

When I'm harmonising,

I'm just hearing other stuff the

whole time. That is... I really am

struggling with that.

# To CF reindeer really know how to

fly... -- see if.

HUMMING. In quiet corners of

Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, there

is determined, slightly panicky

humming. We know they get up early.

# We know... They know...

They can

even read an autocue.

# Santa's on his sleigh... On his

way, not on his sleigh.

But as

showtime approaches...

# Every mother's child is going to

try...

There is genuine fear.

My hands are

sweating. My heart is going. I'm

going to lock myself in a room and

hopefully nobody can find me.

Next

time, Charlie loses his trousers.

Apparently Mike took my trousers.

The audience arrives.

Today will be

a doddle.

Enjoy yourselves!

And it

is showtime.

I think we are on.

Will

the Breakfast presenters rise to the

Christmas challenge?

So, you can find out how we got on

on Christmas Day, if you can bear to

hear it. It will be on Breakfast on

BBC One. The big mystery as Mike

Bushell and your trousers.

There

was... There was a deal of

confusion, in the dressing room. We

went going to the details. That will

emerge as the story unfolds. I don't

know about you, but seeing those

people arriving at the hall, this

was filmed last week, it made be

quite nervous again. Just watching

that unfold. If you have performed

regularly in front of a lot of

people you might be more comfortable

with that. As we all were. It is a

good team bonding exercise.

It was

interesting. We are going to see

some beautiful polar bears later in

the programme. Kate Winslet has

narrated a documentary that is

coming. We will be talking to the

person behind that and all the

filming as well. Lots to come.

Yes,

slightly better with pictures. If we

have them we will float them. Maybe

we will see those later on. It is a

remarkable story, like travelogue.

It is an adventure of two babies and

their journey across the ice, as

they try to escape predators.

We

will see what else is coming up this

morning.

So, the knives were

sharpened and the gas was turned up

higher, but only one chef could be

crowned champion of Master Chef. We

will be speaking to the winner. That

is after 8:30am.

Time now to find out

if there are any problems

where you are.

from 6pm tonight, resuming on the

second of January.

I'm back with the latest

from the BBC London newsroom

in half an hour.

Bye for now.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Charlie Stayt and Naga

Munchetty.

An early Christmas present

for motorists as hundred

of roadworks are temporarily lifted.

But there's a warning that there'll

still be severe delays as millions

of drivers take to the roads on one

of the busiest days of the year.

I am at the National RAC control

centre as a busy Christmas period

begins.

Good morning, it's

Friday 22nd December.

Also this morning the woman

who accused Damian Green,

of inappropriate behaviour

talks to the BBC.

Kate Maltby says a Downing Street

official knew of claims

against the former deputy

Prime Minister before

he was promoted.

Back to blue - the colour

of the British passport will change

when we leave the European Union.

Today is expected to be the busiest

grocery shopping day

of the year as people stock up ahead

of the Christmas holiday.

How other supermarkets preparing for

the rush? I am in East London this

morning to find out.

the rush? I am in East London this

morning to find out. And the NHS are

gearing up to prepare Britain's

biggest Christmas lunch, in the

kitchens of southpaws -- Southport

Hospital were it smells fantastic.

And in sport, festive football kicks

off tonight. Arsenal are hoping to

get -- to take away the last

Champions League place from

Liverpool. Six Breakfast presenters,

1000- strong audience. What could go

wrong? Find out how we prepared for

our big debut. Voices of angels. If

you're out and about today, it will

be cloudy and mild. Some drizzle in

the south which will clear and in

the north, especially in Scotland,

some blue sky. I will have more in

15 minutes.

Hundreds of miles of roadworks have

been suspended by Highways England

as the great Christmas

getaway begins.

Today is predicted to be

the busiest travel day

of the festive period,

with millions of extra vehicles

taking to the roads.

There's good news for rail

travellers as planned strike action

on the West Coast mainline

has been called off.

Our reporter Kathryn

Stanczyszyn is at the RAC's

headquarters in Walsall.

The morning.

Of course, the last

thing anyone wants to do today

breakdown that people will and so

the RAC will be on hand to try and

help. That is the map which shows

the current incidents. It is likely

to get busier throughout today. It

will be busy. We have a double

whammy of Christmas travel today.

People who are finishing their

standard week, the working week.

There have been at work right up to

the 22nd. And some schoolchildren as

well. We have those and everybody

was travelling to get where they

need to be for Christmas. It's not

looking too bad out there on the

motorways at the moment but it is

getting busier and we hear the

busiest time today will be between

4pm and 8pm. The advice is not to

travel than if you can help it. 3

million motorists expected to be out

there. On the railways, now that the

virgin strike has been called off,

it's better but it likely to be very

busy and all our international

sites, airports, ports and

international train stations

expected to be extra busy. 4.5

million people expected to travel

through international sites. Here at

the RAC, they are gearing up for it

to get busier. They have got the

Christmas chocolates out and they

will power on fruit. We will be back

with your across the morning

throughout the morning. Thank you

very much.

The woman who alleged Damian Green

made inappropriate advances

to her has told BBC News she spoke

to a senior Downing Street official

about his behaviour

before he was promoted

to First Secretary of State.

Number Ten denies Theresa May

was aware of the claims.

Mr Green was sacked on Wednesday

for making misleading statements

about the discovery of pornography

on his Commons computer

nine years ago.

Our political correspondent

Leila Nathoo is in Westminster.

How damaging are these new claims?

Many would have built perhaps

Theresa May had managed to draw a

line under this.

There is a

suggestion that Downing Street was

aware of Damien Green's behaviour

before he was promoted to first

Secretary of State. Although as you

say, number ten denying the prime

ministers knew anything about it.

But certainly these name -- these

claims made I Kate Maltby, that is

what led to the investigation into

Damien Green and her account of

events was found by the

investigation to be plausible. She

has told the BBC she wanted to come

forward because she wanted the

culture at Westminster to change.

There seemed to be an improper

mixing of men touring and sexual

advance within the Conservative

Party. -- people being mentors. In

his case, I was aware he was the

Deputy Prime Minister. I was aware

that number ten knew about it.

Damien Green has apologised the

making Kate Maltby uncomfortable but

he says he does not recognise that

version of events. Downing Street

say they are clear they want people

to be able to work at Wentz --

Westminster without fear of

harassment. This goes to the heart

of how serious these claims of

inappropriate behaviour were taken

in the past before we had this

flurry of activity and before we had

a flurry of claims, people coming

forward in recent months. Despite

the best efforts of party leaders,

but I must -- convened all parties

to introduce new grievance

procedures. Despite this impetus to

change, a lot of people will need

some convincing that the claims in

the warm words about changing the

culture in Westminster will really

make a difference.

Boris Johnson will warn Russia

to stop cyber attacks which threaten

Britain's national security or face

retaliation of a similar kind

from the UK.

He's making the first

visit to Moscow

by a British Foreign Secretary

for more than five years.

He'll say he wants the two countries

to co-operate on international

challenges, including the threat

posed by North Korea.

Pro-independence parties

in Catalonia have won a majority

of the seats in an election

for the regional parliament.

The result is a setback

for the Spanish government,

which called the poll

after an independence referendum

held by the region in October

was declared unlawful.

We'll be speaking to our

correspondent in Barcelona now.

Given the height of emotions and the

subsequent events, this vote takes

on a bit of significance.

The recent

election was a gamble ordered by the

Spanish government. The Spanish

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy recast

the system of government by ousting

the separatist government. Somewhere

in self-imposed exile. They were

trying to get both Spain parties

back in the business and it appears

to have backfired. Those who voted,

record turnout, 86%. The party with

the most seats was a pro Unity

Party. Ines Arrimadas would be the

youngest leader in the region. She

said she should be. I said, can you

form a coalition government? She

said it would be difficult but she

will try. Three separatist parties,

with Carles Puigdemont's party, they

together can take the majority. That

is reflected across the board. They

cannot hold the separatists. That is

Ines Arrimadas celebrating. Weeks of

wrangling in talks. It could be deja

vu in terms of the independence

crisis playing out again.

Thank you,

Gavin Lee, our correspondence on the

streets of Barcelona.

A man is being questioned

on suspicion of murdering a woman

who was stabbed in a supermarket

in North Yorkshire yesterday.

The 30-year-old woman

was attacked in an Aldi

store in Skipton.

Police said the suspect, who's 44,

was detained by shoppers

and supermarket staff.

The Environmental Audit Committee is

looking for making firms that make

plastic packaging environmentally

responsible. The UK uses around 13

billion plastic bottles each year.

Nearly half are put in landfill,

incinerated or lectures in it. Many

ultimately find their way into the

sea. The MPs are urging the

government to introduce a deposit

and return scheme for wattles 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.

The MPs also propose a sliding scale

of charges on plastic packaging so

firms using easy to recycle material

they least in those using conflux

materials pay the most. Ministers

say they are consulting with firms

to find the best solutions to what

they acknowledges a serious problem

with plastic waste.

A policeman in the US State

of Florida has been dragged

by half a mile.

He was trying to surge as -- search

a driver. A police officer in

Florida pulling on protective

gloves. I know

This car pulled over

with two suspects inside.

The officer has spotted

what he believes could be

heroin and needles in is about

to search the vehicle.

But the driver has other idea.

It's going to be in front

of Cambridge and Mike.

Clinging to the open

door and with one foot

in the car, he takes

off at high speed.

Despite his shouts, the driver

shows no signs of slowing

down.

For the officer, this unexpected

ride is only and in one

way.

Clinging to the open door

and with one foot in the car,

he is hurtled along at high speed.

Amazingly, the officer

gets back on his feet,

the suspects now long gone,

but the video camera

is still recording.

You're a hero!

Awesome.

The Pembroke Pines police

force later posted this

Now, what do you think

a Japanese Christmas tradition

would look like?

Something like this.

A choir of around 10,000

people get together each

year to perform Beethoven's

ninth symphony.

It's thought the tradition began

during the First World War

when a group of German prisoners

of war being held in the country

sang 'Ode to Joy' at Christmas time.

as we discuss Brexit, very little is

known about how life will change.

But one tangible consequences been

revealed, the British passport.

Burgundy? This latest announcement

just part of a long tradition of

announcements about the passport

which a bolt from a piece of paper

450 years ago to the document were

used to now. Martin Lloyd is the

author of passport: the most travel

document. It became quite an emotive

debate, didn't it? We will get back

our passport. A lot of attention

because it is a focal point, isn't

it?

Yes, the European burgundy passport

was a red rag to

Yes, the European burgundy passport

was a red rag to a bull to some

people. I wanted to keep their blue

passports. In fact, some people,

when we changed over, they went

abroad in order to renew their

passports at consulates abroad,

because the consulates didn't have

the machine-readable red passports.

So some people actually went abroad

to renew their passports there.

And

they are still travelling on

those...

? Well, they have now

expired. But they got another ten

years of Edward passport. 1990 was

the last time blue passports were

circulating.

So around 2000, they

were gone. Why is the colour so

significant?

It is not important, is

it? Why we chose blue is probably

because it was a serviceable colour.

It doesn't get dirty, it doesn't

show the dirt. It is probably a

cheap die. -- dye. So we just kept

with the blue.

You have brought in

some items. Let's go back in

chronological order. These ones are

the ones which look more familiar,

to those of us who remember the blue

passports.

Yes, the one on the left

is actually the first writ -ish blue

passport to be issued as a booklet.

-- the British.

When was that?

That

was 1921, we had about eight months

to design that.

And fast forwarding,

they haven't changed much.

Yes, the

design stayed the same for 70 years.

Then we went to the burgundy one.

And of course we have all the

technology as well, now, in the

burgundy one. Is that going to

change in terms of what we will have

with the next blue passports?

The

burgundy one, yes... I think

probably it will be the same.

I

mean... So it will be the same size?

The thing is, the passport design is

really dictated by the ICAO. That is

part of the United Nations, the

international civil aviation

Organisation, which decides what

passports should look like and what

information it carries.

So we are

still being told what to do by

somebody?

Yes, the UN.

You have

brought some documents in, the

really early passports?

Yes, they

were not always issued by the

Foreign Office in London. Anybody

with authority could issue one. That

is the Harbourmaster in Port

Belfast, issuing a passport to a man

and his son to go to redneck, that

is 7099. -- Granik.

So that would

have been specific to one journey?

That's right. Going over to Grenech.

In the 19th century it was

reorganised so that passports were

issued centrally in London by the

Foreign Office in London. And the

passport would have looked like a

single sheet of white paper, I will

take this out...

Are you allowed to

take that out?

This is one of the

first ones to have a photograph.

Now, you can see that photograph.

Yes, just here.

The thing about the

photograph is, they were told, go

get a photograph or your passport.

So they did. There were no rules and

regulations. In this one, you can

see the lady has taken a photograph

from her family album and she has

cut off the persons and into the

side. You can see his left shoulder

and his fingers around her waist. I

don't think you would get away with

that today but that was what

happened.

When did we standardise

the passport, in terms of what we

see now?

Well, the passport you see

there, that lasted for about 70

years, again. A design which lasted

70 years. It then went to a pink

foldout, with two blue covers. Then

to the booklet passport.

Could I

just ask you, on a technicality, the

burgundy passport, which everybody

has now, people have had those for

quite a long time...

Ten years.

They

will remain valid.

So as you travel

around the world, the world will

know we are no longer part of the

EU. On the passport, you will still

be an EU citizen?

You could always

take a Magic marker and wipe out the

black is at the top. Wipe out the

European Community, if you want.

That is probably an offence in

itself, defacing a passport.

Yes,

don't do that.

We don't recommend

that. Very interesting. Thank you

for bringing these in.

Here's Carol with a look

at this morning's weather.

Carroll, others spots of snow that

you are predicting for Christmas Day

in Scotland still going to pop down?

-- Carol, are those.

Yes, but in the

Scottish mountains. Most of us will

not see it. If you are hoping to

alight Christmas you will be

disappointed. Not just today, but

the next few days it will be cloudy,

damp and mild. Not damp everywhere

but it will become mild even if it

isn't yet. A ridge of high pressure

above us. Breezy in the north-west

of the country, clearing in the

south. The weather front from the

south is still producing drizzle.

Lots of low cloud around this

morning. Some patchy fog. The fog

will be slow to lift. Look at those

temperatures. Nines and tens. That

is good for this time of December.

Those would be good for maximum

temperatures, not mine got in the

morning. As we go north into England

there is patchy fog across the Vale

of York, and some patchy fog across

the central allowance. North of

that, under clear skies, it is cold.

There will be sunshine. Not as cold

in the west. More cloud here. Across

Northern Ireland, a relatively mild

start, again, with lots of cloud and

patchy fog. Patchy fog across Wales.

As you can see in the chart, a lot

of low cloud. Through the day, as

the fog lifts, the drizzle pushes

away and goes through the Channel

Islands before doing so. Then the

best of the brakes are going to be

in the shelter of the mountains.

North-east Scotland, north-east

England, these are the best areas.

Six degrees in Aberdeen, highs of 12

as we push down towards the south.

Getting through the evening and

overnight, again, there will be lots

of cloud around. A further mist and

fog patches forming. The breeze

picking up in the north-west. Windy

overnight. Most of the rain will be

fairly light but you will see the

odd heavy burst. Temperatures

overnight, 5- ten. Not bad for the

end of December. Tomorrow we start

off with a lot of cloud. Patchy fog

slow to lift. The wind is still a

feature of the weather in the north.

Rain coming in courtesy of the

weather front which is going to be

sliding south through the course of

the day. So we will start to see

those amounts across north-west

Scotland, accumulating. Temperatures

in Aberdeen, 12. A six degrees

higher than had to what we are

looking at today. -- hike compare

to. That weather front is still

across the north-west on Christmas

Eve. Windy, breezy further south.

Lots of dry weather but lots of

murky conditions coming in on the

south-westerly winds to western

facing coasts and hills. Just before

I go, a quick look at Christmas Day.

Rain across the north, moving east.

This is the snow that Naga was

referring to on the mountains in

Scotland. It will be drier and

brighter, but fairly windy in the

Irish Sea.

Carol, that looks

fantastic. It is interesting, we

were just talking about the

Christmas dinner and obviously the

weather is important because

everybody is gathering with their

families. How much preparation have

you done to your big piece?

Absolutely none, because I'm eating

out.

I knew it!

That is too much.

You are a wise woman. Carroll, thank

you.

It is one way to avoid the

stress. Other people can't avoid it

because it is part of their job. We

will see some of those preparations.

Now, the NHS workers, they have a

heavy workload.

400,000 servings of Turkey

and trimmings to patients

on Christmas Day.

We've sent Breakfast's John Maguire

to a hospital in Southport to find

out how preparations are going.

Organisation is key, isn't it John?

Yes, it is a well oiled machine

here. A Christmas tune is playing in

the background. I think it is John

Lennon, Merry Christmas, war is

over. We are on the beef watch. We

have been keeping an eye on

disjoint. It has been in the other

four now, it smells amazing. Race

potatoes as well. A really big day

on Monday for the NHS. There will be

1 million people working across the

UK, all source of different walks of

life. The NHS in England alone will

feed 400,000 people. Here in

Southport, for Christmas lunch on

Monday, they will serve up a total

of 30 turkeys, three and a half

thousand sprouts, love them or hate

them. They will be feeding 450

patients and 250 staff. Let me show

you how the system works. These days

in hospital wards, patients have a

computer screen with a television

over their bed. They can order from

the menu is one day in advance. It

comes into the system here in the

kitchen. The staff are manning these

belts. We were here yesterday

filming, and it was extremely busy.

Each patient gets exactly what they

want and there order goes onto the

trade. The food goes on down into

the ward in a very large trolley,

which you can see at the back. We

spoke to a couple of patience

yesterday about what they thought of

the food here at Southport and this

is what they said.

It is lovely,

something you look forward to at the

end of the day. To me, as far as I

am concerned, it is great.

It is

delicious. It is a surprise, because

I had always heard hospital food

was, you know... Every meal is

gorgeous. It really is.

Good morning

to Pat and Eric if they are watching

this morning. Thanks for talking to

us yesterday. This is mellow vision.

What are we cooking here? A lovely

healthy option by our serving chef.

It is a lovely vegetable and sleet

potato curry. Dairy free. Obviously

at the hospital, we cater for lots

of different diets. We have a

long-standing menu but the most

common is high protein. If you are

having a long stay you get extra