The Telegraph looking at days lots of Britains shall not be working

By Danny Boyle  A month of railway disruption has begun, with workers walking out for their first in a wave of 48-hour strikes – as ministers consider ways to mitigate unprecedented industrial action in the NHS. We also have the latest forecast as snow and ice beset the UK.

Ministers consider block-booking cabs for paramedics

With the NHS facing unprecedented strike action, ministers are considering a plan for taxis to be used as makeshift ambulances during walkouts by paramedics. The Government is looking at proposals to “block-book” cabs to take patients who have called 999 to hospital when ambulance workers down tools later this month over calls for a pay rise. Soldiers have already been drafted in to drive ambulances, but health minister Will Quince said further plans to limit disruption could include offering taxi rides to hospital for lower risk patients. Mr Quince raised the proposal as talks last night between Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, and the Royal College of Nursing over their separate strike ended with no progress, meaning their industrial action on Thursday will almost certainly go ahead. And a month of rail disruption begins today, as members of the RMT union walk out for their first in a wave of 48-hour strikes. These are the full details of dates and lines affected. PS: Figures this morning show that strike action is to blame for Britain losing its highest number of working days in 10 years.

Beware the big refreeze as snow turns into black ice Drivers are being urged to stay at home today as roads across the UK are expected to be coated in black ice caused by the “big refreeze”. The Met Office issued a yellow level snow and ice warning for northern Scotland and north-east England until noon on Thursday. There was also a warning covering much of the South East, until 11am. When snow melts and refreezes, black ice can appear on roads and pavements. Because it cannot be seen, the AA said that motorists are left with a “false sense of security”. Forecasters provisionally recorded the coldest night and day of the year yesterday, with the mercury in Braemer in Aberdeenshire dipping to a low of minus 15.7 Celsius. Follow our live blog for the latest forecast, weather warnings and travel updates. Meanwhile, it emerged that a boy who died after falling into a freezing lake was trying to rescue three other children. Jack Johnson, 10, died alongside two other boys, aged eight and 11, after the ice cracked at a nature reserve in Solihull on Sunday afternoon. His aunt revealed yesterday that he had seen the children from another family fall through the ice and tried to save them before getting into difficulty himself. When news of the boys’ death was announced, viewers of BBC News watched presenter Joanna Gosling fight back tears – the second time this year she has been overcome with emotion live on air.

Camilla Tominey: The truth about Harry’s grievances It took three slick trailers and three hour-long episodes, but could we at last seem to have arrived at the “truth” of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary? Associate editor Camilla Tominey thinks so. And far from love – or even race – being the central theme, like all the most destructive royal tales, she says that sibling rivalry lies at its heart. There were not-so-subtle clues in the first episodes, but Camilla says the kid gloves really come off in the latest trailer, which you can watch here.

Also in the news this morning Migrant crisis | Rishi Sunak is set to announce an immigration deal with Albania as soon as today that will speed up deportations to the Balkan state. After weeks of intense negotiations with the Albanians, in which the Prime Minister has been directly involved, he will outline plans to stem the record-breaking flow of small boats across the Channel fuelled by a surge in migrants from the country. Charles Hymas explains how ministers will attempt to head off criticism from human rights lawyers.

Sturgeon mandarin | ‘We can keep working on indyref2 plans’ Nicola Sturgeon’s most senior mandarin has ruled that Scottish Government civil servants can continue working on her independence plans, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that she does not have the power to hold a referendum.Jon-Paul Marks, the Scottish Government’s permanent secretary, said that it was “entirely appropriate” that officials continue to support the SNP-Green coalition in “pursuing its policy objectives”. Trial | Anne Keothavong breaks down during husband’s rape trial Former British tennis number one Anne Keothavong broke down in court as she described her husband as a “fantastic person” at his rape trial.Ms Keothavong, 39, said she thought it was a “sick joke” when Andrew Bretherton, 49, was accused of rape because it was so beyond the “fantastic father’s” character, a court heard on Monday. She told Inner London Crown Court her lawyer husband, with whom she has two children, “has never been remotely aggressive”. MH370 | Evidence suggests flight intentionally destroyed by pilot A pilot on the doomed MH370 flight likely lowered the plane’s landing gear just before it plunged into the Indian Ocean, according to new evidence, which suggests it could have been a premeditated act of mass murder.The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, dropped off radar screens after taking off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, bound for Beijing on March 8, 2014. The plane took an unexplained U-turn from its planned flight path and headed back across the Malay Peninsula and the Malacca Strait before vanishing. The bodies of those on board have never been found. Electric cars | Soaring charging costs pull plug on vehicles BBC drama | Is Marie Antoinette’s lesbian kiss all hot air? New drama continues tradition of overly sexualised ‘gossip’ about queen of France, according to academics In a trailer for the new drama, titled Marie Antoinette, the eponymous queen of France is shown kissing one of her female courtiers despite experts saying there is no historical evidence that she was gay.

Around the world: Lockerbie suspect won’t face death

The suspected bombmaker behind the 1988 Lockerbie bombing will not face the death penalty, US prosecutors said, as he appeared in court in Washington to face charges. The attack, which downed Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town and killed 270 people, remains the deadliest terrorist attack on British soil. Abu Agila Masud, a former Libyan intelligence operative, was told he faces three charges as he appeared in federal court in Washington, as Rozina Sabur reports.

A relative of one of the victims of the bombing holds up pictures of those killed. Credit: Getty

Comment and analysis

Tim Stanley | Real reason Britain has gone woke under Tories HR-speak has conquered Westminster as top Conservatives talk politically correct nonsense in the hope of winning the centre ground Sherelle Jacobs | Rishi’s Invisible Man act will doom the Tories It’s delusional to think there are simple technical solutions to the biggest political issues of our time The famous line from Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man thuds with mortifying wisdom: “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” The Prime Minister, who appears lost in a convoluted cage of his own cunning, might want to pay heed. Since, for all his sticking plasters against illegal immigration and strike action, Rishi Sunak the “invisible leader” is losing all touch with what it actually means to be a national leader. Suzanne Moore | JK Rowling’s a hero for protecting women Beira’s Place, the new rape crisis centre that Rowling has founded and funded. A lot of people who are as rich as she is would decide to never work again and live on a Caribbean island or two, or at least buy and screw up a social media site. Rowling decided to do something for victims of rape who want women-only care. That this is controversial shows how insane gender politics has become, in Scotland in particular. Telegraph View | The RMT are holding Christmas to ransom Reader letters | NHS spending on agency staff reflects a failure

Editor’s choice

	Strictly semi-final results | The judges disagree over who should make the final
	Cate Blanchett v Tom Cruise | This may be the most thrilling Oscar race in years
	Fashion | Lisa Armstrong: How to dress for a party when it is freezing outside

Business briefing: Ex-FTX boss arrested in Bahamas Police in the Bahamas have arrested former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the country’s attorney general said early today, adding that the Bahamas has received formal notification from the United States of criminal charges against him. FTX, which had been one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy protection last month after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days.

Here is a selection of articles we think you’ll be interested in today.

Strike support threshold could be raised to 50pc in crackdown on union power Nicola Sturgeon’s civil servants can carry on helping her independence effort, mandarin rules Taxis could be used as makeshift ambulances in paramedics’ strike Labour vows war on ‘hostile’ health unions Opinion – The real reason why Britain has gone woke under the Tories

Police officer punched through ice in desperate bid to rescue children from Solihull lake Met Office warns snow here to stay as freezing temperatures to continue Anne Keothavong breaks down in tears during husband’s rape trial BBC newsreader overcome with emotion as she announces deaths of boys in frozen lake Solihull lake victim, 10, was ‘trying to save’ other children