The Church of England needs to “kneel in penitence” and “be changed”, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is expected to say in his Christmas Day sermon.

It comes at a challenging time for the Church which has faced criticism over how it handled a number of abuse scandals.

Mr Cottrell will next month effectively become the Church’s temporary leader in place of the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Mr Welby announced his resignation in November and will step down on 6 January after a report found prolific serial abuser John Smyth may have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported him to police in 2013.

But Mr Cottrell has himself also faced calls to quit after revelations David Tudor, a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case, was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford.

With Mr Welby not giving the 25 December sermon, the focus has moved to what Mr Cottrell will say at York Minster.

He is expected to say the Church must “kneel in penitence and adoration” this Christmas and “be changed”.

He will say about Jesus: “At the centre of the Christmas story is a vulnerable child; a vulnerable child that Herod’s furious wrath will try and destroy, for like every tyrant he cannot abide a rival.

“The Church of England – the Church of England I love and serve – needs to look at this vulnerable child, at this emptying out of power to demonstrate the power of love, for in this vulnerable child we see God.

“If you’re in love, show me. If you have love in your hearts, embody and demonstrate that love by what you do.”

‘Put the needs of others first’

The archbishop will add: “This is what we learn at the manger. Put the needs of others first – those who are cold and hungry and homeless this Christmas.

“Those who are victims of abuse and exploitation. Those who, like the little holy family, have to flee oppression and seek refuge in a foreign land.”

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With regards to the Tudor case, Mr Cottrell has acknowledged things “could have been handled differently, and regrets that it wasn’t”.

But Tudor’s victims have branded Mr Cottrell’s response to the case “insulting and upsetting”. They have suggested it’s “inevitable” that he resigns or is forced out of his role.

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley questioned how Mr Cottrell could have any credibility, and Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek declined to publicly back him.

Meanwhile, the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, is giving the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral in place of Mr Welby and will speak of the birth of Jesus as a triumph of “light and hope” over “fear and darkness”.

Around half of accident and emergency departments, polled by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), have said they are “full to bursting” this Christmas.

The vice-president of the RCEM, Dr Ian Higginson, told Sky News’ Gareth Barlow on Christmas Eve that the situation for the NHS in the UK is “pretty grim” at the moment.

The group, representing emergency doctors, put a call out to senior managers on Friday night. Dr Higginson said half responded and “all but two of them said that the emergency departments were absolutely full to bursting”.

“Normally just before Christmas, we’d expect a bit of a lull. So I’m afraid things are looking pretty difficult out there for our patients and for our staff,” he added.

The NHS has warned that hospitals are under severe pressure because of winter flu cases and a so-called “quad-demic”, combining respiratory infections with norovirus.

Commenting on the challenges facing the NHS, Dr Higginson said: “We simply don’t have enough beds in our hospitals for patients who are admitted as emergencies.

“We don’t have enough staff for those beds and we don’t have any headroom at all. So if something like flu hits as it has done, it makes a bad situation even worse.”

England ‘about 10,000 beds short’

Dr Higginson added he believes the answer is “strategic solutions and strategic investment”.

He said: “In England alone, we reckon we’re about 10,000 beds short in our hospitals to deal with the predictable, urgent and emergency care… the equivalent of approximately two wards in every hospital.”

Recently the RCEM also attacked the “nonsensical” guidance on how to treat patients in corridors – describing it as “out of touch” and “normalising the dangerous”.

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Dr Higginson said recent pressures mean “we’ve got patients all the way through our corridors because we can’t admit them to hospital when they need to”.

He added: “It may be that their ambulance is outside in car parks because those patients can’t get into our emergency departments.”

And he argued that social care is “in a really difficult place at the moment” – needing investment to prevent older patients from remaining in hospital longer than they need to.

“When they’re ready to leave hospital, they get stuck in hospital, and that contributes to that shortage of beds even more,” he said.

Since its election victory in July, the Labour government has acknowledged the NHS needs investment with the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying it is “broken”.

In October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day spending on the NHS in her budget.

Commenting on rising pressures within the NHS, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We inherited an NHS that is broken but not beaten, and staff are already working hard to tackle an increase in admissions this winter.”

“For too long, an annual winter crisis has become the norm. We will deliver long-term reforms through our 10-year health plan that will create a health service that will be there for all of us all year round,” he added.

The UK’s oldest man has celebrated his 110th birthday with a special performance from opera singer Alfie Boe at his care home in Derbyshire.

A party was laid on for Donald Rose – who’s now ranked as a ‘supercentenarian’.

Mr Boe joined the bash in Ilkeston by video call and sang happy birthday, adding it was “a pleasure” to perform for him.

Mr Rose, who served in the Second World War with the Queen’s Royal Regiment, said: “Today is the best day I’ve ever had.”

Canal Vue Care Home announced his birthday with a post on Facebook: “Today we’re celebrating a remarkable milestone. Our beloved Donald is turning 110 years young!”

Activity coordinator Naomi Allsop also shared a touching tribute on Facebook: “Happy 110th birthday to my amazing best friend, the UK’s oldest man and a remarkable WWII and D-Day veteran!

“We’ve shared so many incredible experiences together, and there’s still so much more to come!”

“Donald is a lovely character – and a true national treasure,” said the Mayor of Erewash, Councillor Kate Fennelly, who also paid him a visit.

Mr Rose, who was born in 1914 in Westcott, Surrey, also received a card from The King and Queen, which he proudly showed off.

Other performances at the care home included Kate from D-Day Darlings, an all-female singing group who reached the finals of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

She sang Dame Vera Lynn’s The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.

On 5 December, the war hero was among 200 veterans and their guests to attend a Christmas reception at St James’s Palace, hosted by the Duke of Gloucester.

The event was organised by The Not Forgotten veterans’ charity, which aims to combat isolation and loneliness in the armed forces and those who have served through social activities and holidays.

Mr Rose served as a sniper and Desert Rat in North Africa in the Second World War, according to The Gerontology Research Group, and was part of the liberation of Italy and France.

He earned a number of medals during his service including the Legion D’Honneur – France’s highest honour.

After working various jobs as a labourer, lorry driver and bin man he moved to Derbyshire in 2000 following the death of his wife, and at the age of 106 moved into his care home in Ilkeston.

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On 25 November, following the death of 112-year-old John Tinniswood, he became the oldest known living man in the UK.

The world’s oldest living person is Japan’s 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka.