13/12/2016

0650

Post Office workers are to go on strike next week in a dispute over jobs, pensions and branch closures. The action, which is taking place at the busiest time of year, begins on Monday and will include Christmas Eve. Dave Ward is General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union.

0655

The European Parliament in Strasbourg will be winding down over the next few days. When it reconvenes in January we'll have a clear sign of how Europe's MEPs view their British counterparts six months on from Brexit. Kevin Connolly, BBC’s Europe correspondent reports.

0710

Almost no Southern trains will run today as drivers from the Aslef union go on strike. They're angry at plans to make drivers, rather than on-board conductors, close the doors on services. Ben Weisz, BBC reporter and Nick Brown, chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink .

0715

Gerard Coyne, the West Midlands secretary of the country's biggest union, is expected to challenge Len McCluskey for the leadership of Unite later today. Laura Kuenssberg is the BBC’s political editor.

0720

Scientists trying to establish why the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs, which was so catastrophic for life on Earth, may have found traces of the asteroid itself.  Professor Sean Gulick is co-chief scientist on the project.

0730

There are "system-wide" problems in the way the NHS investigates patient deaths which leave family members in the dark about failures in care, a new review has found. Margot Rodway-Brown’s brother Ivor Brown died in July 2015 and Sir Mike Richards, Chief Inspector of Hospitals.

0740

Tributes have been paid to the former BBC weather forecaster Ian McCaskill who died aged 78 on Saturday. He had been living with dementia for the past five years. Rory Bremner, comedian and John Kettley, Former BBC weather presenter.

0750

The Government has been told that it must set out “a clear game plan” for a transitional arrangement for Brexit early on in its negotiations with the EU. Peter Lilley is a former cabinet minister and member of the Select Committee for Exiting the EU and Anna Soubry, former business minister and Remain campaigner.

0810

Almost no Southern trains will run today as drivers from the Aslef union go on strike. They're angry at plans to make drivers, rather than on-board conductors, close the doors on services. Mick Whelan is general secretary of ASLEF and Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport.

0820

The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has told the BBC that the dissolution of the Soviet Union 25 years ago was "a crime and a coup." He had stepped down as Soviet president, he said, to avoid a bloody civil war. Steve Rosenberg, BBC’s Moscow correspondent reports.

0830

After warnings that the adult social care system could "topple at any moment," the director of the second largest home care provider in the UK says that his company is already pulling out of contracts with local authorities because they cannot afford to operate on the money they are being paid. Alan Long is Executive Director of Mears Group - the second largest home care provider in the UK.

0835

The Syrian army says it is close to taking complete control of Aleppo, where they’ve been fighting rebels for four years. Rebels have lost 90% of the territory they once held. Lyse Doucet is the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent.

0840

The era of the village phone box is coming to an end. Usage has dropped 90% in 10 years; almost 1 in 3 is now used less than once a month. The BBC’s David Sillito reports from North Yorkshire.

0845

Problem gambling can cost the government up to £1.2 billion a year. A new report out today by Gamble Aware, an organisation that promotes responsible gambling, found that the highest costs were in health, welfare and criminal justice. Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones is from Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic.

0850

A former West Ham and Bermuda football international Clyde Best was one of the first high profile black footballers in the UK. In his new book, The Acid Test, he describes the appalling and violent racism he dealt with in the early years of his career.

All subject to change.