in is the investment we want to put in is intended _ the investment we want to put in is intended to — the investment we want to put in is intended to trigger private investment at a ratio of one to three — investment at a ratio of one to three we _ investment at a ratio of one to three. we have an extensive discussions with global investors as to how— discussions with global investors as to how that will work. the date that the check is written is not _ the date that the check is written is not the — the date that the check is written is not the date did mission is delivered _ is not the date did mission is delivered. obviously, we have pushed back the _ delivered. obviously, we have pushed back the ramping up to £28 billion, it doesn't— back the ramping up to £28 billion, it doesn't mean there is nothing before _ it doesn't mean there is nothing before that, it is ramped up to £28 million _ before that, it is ramped up to £28 million subject to the money the government may already be pulling in. government may already be pulling in and _ government may already be pulling in~ and to— government may already be pulling in. and to our fiscal rules. but that— in. and to our fiscal rules. but that is— in. and to our fiscal rules. but that isj'ust _ in. and to our fiscal rules. but that isjust sensible investment. looking — that isjust sensible investment. looking at — that isjust sensible investment. looking at the changes since we first announced this in the cost of debt, _ first announced this in the cost of debt, and — first announced this in the cost of debt, and looking at the practicalities, now we are in quite intensive — practicalities, now we are in quite intensive discussions with the partners _ intensive discussions with the partners that we hope to deliver with about what can be done when, what needs—

with about what can be done when, what needs to be tackled first. so for example planning would be pretty hi-h for example planning would be pretty high on _ for example planning would be pretty high on my— for example planning would be pretty high on my list of priorities to start— high on my list of priorities to start with _ high on my list of priorities to start with to get the ball rolling on this — start with to get the ball rolling on this. but there is no pushing track— on this. but there is no pushing back on— on this. but there is no pushing back on the _ on this. but there is no pushing back on the mission. clean power by 2030. _ back on the mission. clean power by 2030, nobody is suggesting we are watering _ 2030, nobody is suggesting we are watering that down or pushing it back _ watering that down or pushing it back on — watering that down or pushing it back. on peter mandelson, i do try to give _ back. on peter mandelson, i do try to give full— back. on peter mandelson, i do try to give full answers in the sessions, i don't know any more than you sessions, idon't know any more than you do— sessions, i don't know any more than you do and _ sessions, i don't know any more than you do and therefore there is an much _ you do and therefore there is an much i — you do and therefore there is an much i can— you do and therefore there is an much i can add to what you already know _ much i can add to what you already know that's— much i can add to what you already know. that's simply the state of affairs — know. that's simply the state of affairs. thank you.— affairs. thank you. you've 'ust expressed�* affairs. thank you. you've 'ust expressed a i affairs. thank you. you've 'ust expressed a desire * affairs. thank you. you've 'ust expressed a desire to i affairs. thank you. you'vejust expressed a desire to lower i affairs. thank you. you'vejust. expressed a desire to lower the affairs. thank you. you'vejust- expressed a desire to lower the tax burden for working people, yet there seems to be no firm commitment to prevent an overall increase in the tax burden under a labour government, can you provide a concrete assurance that under your leadership the overall tax burden will not rise and they will be no

new taxes? this will not rise and they will be no new taxes?— will not rise and they will be no new taxes? ~ , . . , . , ., new taxes? as far as new taxes are concerned. — new taxes? as far as new taxes are concerned. we — new taxes? as far as new taxes are concerned, we have _ new taxes? as far as new taxes are concerned, we have actually - new taxes? as far as new taxes are concerned, we have actually set - new taxes? as far as new taxes are | concerned, we have actually set out a number— concerned, we have actually set out a number of— concerned, we have actually set out a number of areas where we will increase — a number of areas where we will increase taxes, vat on private schools — increase taxes, vat on private schools is _ increase taxes, vat on private schools is one, ending the non—dom tax status— schools is one, ending the non—dom tax status is — schools is one, ending the non—dom tax status is another, closing some loopholes— tax status is another, closing some loopholes in the system. and that is the approach we will take, if we will increase taxes we will set out what _ will increase taxes we will set out what that — will increase taxes we will set out what that will be well in advance of the election and what the money will be used _ the election and what the money will be used for. when the burden, the tax trurden— be used for. when the burden, the tax burden is the highest it's been since _ tax burden is the highest it's been since the — tax burden is the highest it's been since the second world war, then i don't _ since the second world war, then i don't see _ since the second world war, then i don't see the way forward as increasing the burden, save in those express— increasing the burden, save in those express areas, i do want the burden on working — express areas, i do want the burden on working people to come down, but any tax _ on working people to come down, but any tax adjustments have to be fair, they have _ any tax adjustments have to be fair, they have to— any tax adjustments have to be fair, they have to be affordable. that is they have to be affordable. that is the difference between us and the government, fair and affordable is

the rule _ government, fair and affordable is the rule i— government, fair and affordable is the rule. i go back to my central point, _ the rule. i go back to my central point, that— the rule. i go back to my central point, that in the end we can argue about— point, that in the end we can argue about tax— point, that in the end we can argue about tax and spend all day long, if we don't _ about tax and spend all day long, if we don't grow the economy, that is never— we don't grow the economy, that is never reducing the discussion we are having _ never reducing the discussion we are having because we need to grow the economy— having because we need to grow the economy first. that is where everything i said about the missions is premised on growing the economy and att— is premised on growing the economy and all four— is premised on growing the economy and all four missions ladder up to growing _ and all four missions ladder up to growing the economy. the nhs argument isn'tjust growing the economy. the nhs argument isn't just about growing the economy. the nhs argument isn'tjust about health is about— argument isn'tjust about health is about the — argument isn'tjust about health is about the economy, the skills argument is about the economy. safe streets _ argument is about the economy. safe streets is _ argument is about the economy. safe streets is notjust about argument is about the economy. safe streets is not just about safe streets. _ streets is not just about safe streets, it is about safe places for businesses — streets, it is about safe places for businesses to thrive on high streets. _ businesses to thrive on high streets, clean power is to answer one of— streets, clean power is to answer one of the — streets, clean power is to answer one of the single problem is that every— one of the single problem is that every business tells me which is that the — every business tells me which is that the energy costs are through the roof— that the energy costs are through the roof and i can't afford it and you need — the roof and i can't afford it and you need to do something. thank you.

you have _ you need to do something. thank you. you have been very critical of the tory tax burden, so what is more of a priority, cutting personal taxes or business taxes? i’m a priority, cutting personaltaxes or business taxes?— a priority, cutting personaltaxes or business taxes? i'm not sure i could improve — or business taxes? i'm not sure i could improve much _ or business taxes? i'm not sure i could improve much on - or business taxes? i'm not sure i could improve much on the - or business taxes? i'm not sure i l could improve much on the answer or business taxes? i'm not sure i i could improve much on the answer i have given _ could improve much on the answer i have given two or three times now. in have given two or three times now. in the _ have given two or three times now. in the end. — have given two or three times now. in the end, the focus has to be on growth _ in the end, the focus has to be on growth i— in the end, the focus has to be on growth. i know the government is floating _ growth. i know the government is floating tax cuts, this is what liz truss _ floating tax cuts, this is what liz truss did, — floating tax cuts, this is what liz truss did, she floated tax cuts that were _ truss did, she floated tax cuts that were tested and it crashed the econonrv _ were tested and it crashed the economy. working people are paying, they are _ economy. working people are paying, they are paying more in their bills, mortgages, even now. she is now rewarding. — mortgages, even now. she is now rewarding, the government is rewarding, the government is rewarding the people who broke the economy— rewarding the people who broke the economy for which working people are still paying _ economy for which working people are still paying the price. i would never— still paying the price. i would never let _ still paying the price. i would never let a labour government ever do that— never let a labour government ever do that to _ never let a labour government ever do that to working people. this is

notjust— do that to working people. this is notiust an — do that to working people. this is notjust an issue do that to working people. this is not just an issue about going do that to working people. this is notjust an issue about going into the election with tactical positioning, i will never let a labour— positioning, i will never let a labour government do what liz truss has done _ labour government do what liz truss has done to— labour government do what liz truss has done to working people. that is why we _ has done to working people. that is why we have to be careful and cautious — why we have to be careful and cautious about the stability, the fundamental rock that we need in our economy— fundamental rock that we need in our economy because as i said in the speech, — economy because as i said in the speech, what on earth are people supposed — speech, what on earth are people supposed to think when they are paying _ supposed to think when they are paying more money every month for their mortgage, sometimes hundreds of pounds _ their mortgage, sometimes hundreds of pounds every month and they look at the _ of pounds every month and they look at the television screen and see the architects _ at the television screen and see the architects of their misfortune swanning around the house of lords, you swanning around the house of lords, vou witt— swanning around the house of lords, you will never get that from a labour — you will never get that from a labour government. thank you very much _ labour government. thank you very much indeed applause ending the question and answer session there, sir keir starmer was giving a big call to counter apathy

and a message of hope and he called for unity against what he described as the disunity that the tories had created. he described the country as having lost all hope, he said the general election against the despair of the country, he said you are right to be anti—westminster and politics but hold on to a flickering hopein politics but hold on to a flickering hope in your heart that things can get better. let's bring in our correspondence was been watching. a lot of messages about hope and trying to save the tories have lost credibility, he says he is happy to fight their general election on the issue of the economy.— fight their general election on the issue of the economy. yes, he turned the tables on — issue of the economy. yes, he turned the tables on the _ issue of the economy. yes, he turned the tables on the tories, _ issue of the economy. yes, he turned the tables on the tories, if— issue of the economy. yes, he turned the tables on the tories, if they - the tables on the tories, if they want to fight on the economy then he was suggesting they should bring this on. there is a degree of confidence on keir starmer in that

particular area but he painted a grim picture of the country, a picture of the country, decline he talked about, downtrodden, he talked about the rocks of decline, time and again he suggested that the past iii years under the conservatives have been pretty grim, notjust the most recent cost of living crisis. he said he would counter this with what he called project hope, i think people will be waiting to see what the substances behind that slogan that he coined during the course of the speech. i think you're right to say that most of the speech focused on countering apathy, this idea that the labour lead in the polls is quite wide but the support may be shallow beneath that. he needs to give people a reason to turn out and vote for change. whenever the election comes. a lot of the focus was on that, siding with those who are cynical about westminster,

saying that they are right to be critical, pointing out that he would tackle what he called cronyism in the system, pointing out that when he was director of public prosecution, he prosecuted the expense cheats, mps of whichever party, he is saying that i am on your site and i understand your concerns. he went into a section where he said that there were things worth fighting for, trying to counter this idea that labour doesn't have any policies or hadn't defined their policies. for example people wanted to get onto the housing ladder, he said that was a change worth fighting for, getting fair pay, he was trying to fire people up and suggest that they may well be disillusioned with the current government but a labour government would make a difference. he talked about national unity and

renewal, he talked about a decade of national renewal, things would not happen quickly, change cannot happen overnight. he talked about the need to grow the economy and that is why he is happy to fight the conservatives on that particular agenda. that tends to suggest that until the economy grows and some of the other things that his government may be promising, people will have to wait longer to see some of those things delivered. to some extent i think, he mentioned things like hope and holding on hope, by and large he was suggesting that labour could make a difference but it can't make a difference overnight. it can't make a difference quickly but it was worth actually using a vote this year to change the government because if we don't, the country can't possibly change direction. it was a big speech by keir starmer, i think there were some interesting things about what wasn't in it, specifically the question and answer

session. he hadn't mentioned the issue of immigration which the conservatives are hammering in the new year. and although he was criticising the conservatives for the highest tax burden in 70 years, higher than under the last labour government, nevertheless when he was asked specific questions about tax thresholds he wouldn't commit, he said the growth of the economy had to come first. said the growth of the economy had to come first-— to come first. quite a few of the questions _ to come first. quite a few of the questions were _ to come first. quite a few of the questions were quite _ to come first. quite a few of the questions were quite specific - to come first. quite a few of the i questions were quite specific about tax but his answer was repeatedly that the focus has to be on growth. tell us a little bit more about those missions he talked about, he said he wanted the highest growth in the g7, do we know how that will be achieved? he the g7, do we know how that will be achieved? ., . the g7, do we know how that will be achieved? . , , , ., achieved? he was suggesting that these other— achieved? he was suggesting that these other missions _ achieved? he was suggesting that these other missions would - achieved? he was suggesting that these other missions would fit - achieved? he was suggesting that| these other missions would fit into this, if you look at his opportunities mission, giving people greater skills would help the economy. if you are giving fair pay to working people, rather than trying to force wages down that money would then feed into the

economy and that would help in turn to drive growth, he was also suggesting greater investment in education would drive growth. there is a lot that needs to happen for the growth mission to be delivered. i think what is interesting is the way that growth mission is phrase, the highest sustained growth in the g7. that is not an absolute measure, it is a relative measure so there are things he can control in terms of investment but there are things that he can't control which is how other countries in the g7 grow their economies, so it could be quite a difficult mission to achieve although he has set quite a long time scale out for it. some of these other things seem to be dependent on growth, and interestingly enough, this controversial area of ramping up this controversial area of ramping up to £28 billion of investment in greenjobs and green up to £28 billion of investment in green jobs and green energy, he was very clear in one of his answers, he

says we have these fiscal rules of debt as a proportion of national income, he was saying that if the fiscal rules can't be met, there will be less borrowing. he was an absolutely committing this £28 billion figure that the conservatives have to some extent focused on and suggested that this would require higher taxation, higher mortgage rates and all the rest of it. but what he wasn't backing down on was his commitment to clean energy by 2030, another one of his missions. whether he achieves that through investment or trying to get more investment from the private sector, he was suggesting also changing planning rules could help with more onshore wind, he was saying the mission stays the same. i thought in terms of the investment of £28 billion by the second half of the parliament, should labour be elected, he was to some extent hosing that down and suggesting very

clearly that the fiscal rules that the shadow chancellor has set leaves a specific figure.— a specific figure. thank you for that analysis. _ a specific figure. thank you for that analysis. moving - a specific figure. thank you for that analysis. moving on - a specific figure. thank you for that analysis. moving on to - a specific figure. thank you for i that analysis. moving on to other news. amana has been arrested after shooting in liverpool which place last night. shooting in liverpool which place last nieht. ., ., shooting in liverpool which place last nieht. ,, . ., , . last night. several hours after it ha--ened last night. several hours after it happened police _ last night. several hours after it happened police are _ last night. several hours after it happened police are still - last night. several hours after it happened police are still at - last night. several hours after it happened police are still at the | happened police are still at the cinema, officers have been going to and from the inside of the cinema, at 8:30pm last night a man walked into a newsagent and demanded cash, he fired a shot but left empty—handed, police say the newsagent was unharmed. about 20 minutes later police had reports of shots being fired outside the cinema

here. the man with a gun walked in and threatened staff. when he left police say he fired several shots into the air before escaping in a car. the police were called to the incident, the cinemagoers and staff were escorted to safety. the third incident was in the crocs to the area of liverpool, not far from here, police say shots were fired. police say then at quarter to five this morning they arrested a 49—year—old man, they say during this operation which was carried out by armed police, the man became aggressive and he was tasered. he has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and also suspicion of robbery and he is now being questioned at a police station on merseyside. the police are stressing that these incidents are rare, they

say this is the first time on merseyside they have had to deal with an incident like this with very many shootings in a short space of time. three shootings in less than two hours. they are also stressing that in all of the shootings here, nobody has been injured. abs, that in all of the shootings here, nobody has been injured.- that in all of the shootings here, nobody has been injured. nobody has been in'ured. a row about emereen nobody has been in'ured. a row about emergency cover — nobody has been injured. a row about emergency cover has _ nobody has been injured. a row about emergency cover has broken - nobody has been injured. a row about emergency cover has broken out - emergency cover has broken out between health bosses as the strike of doctors enters its second day. nhs leaders made 20 requests for striking workers to cross the picket line. they were accused of misusing the system. a number of nhs areas have declared critical incidents. withjunior doctors out with junior doctors out on strike a row between the union and nhs

leaders in england has blown up. under agreed system, trust bosses can call striking junior doctors back into work in extreme circumstances. and if the safety of emergency services is threatened, but they have to demonstrate they have exhausted all other sources of staffing. the bma claims the trust is not making enough evidence and out of 20 requests all most all have been rejected. iterate out of 20 requests all most all have been rejected-— been rejected. we have had no revuests been rejected. we have had no requests in _ been rejected. we have had no requests in december, - been rejected. we have had no requests in december, we - been rejected. we have had no| requests in december, we have been rejected. we have had no - requests in december, we have had a handful of credible requests in the past including some we have granted but this time we have had substantial numbers with inaccurate or incomplete request forms. which are demonstrating a real change in the approach from nhs management which we think is a misuse of the process. which we think is a misuse of the rocess. ,, . , ., process. nhs england said strong evidence was _ process. nhs england said strong evidence was provided _ process. nhs england said strong evidence was provided when - process. nhs england said strong evidence was provided when the i process. nhs england said strong - evidence was provided when the most challenge systems need to support and it was expected that local

health managers would ask colleagues for allowances to be made to allow safe cover. it comes at a time of mounting pressure on health services in england with some organisations declaring critical incidents or warning that they were busy with long waits in a&e. this is not unusual in midwinter but the walk—out adds to the usual challenges faced by hospital bosses. with the strike moving into a second day, there seems little prospect of talks between ministers and the bma before the action is over on tuesday. that means more anxious days for hospitals and their patients. for more understory let's talk to our health correspondent. it seems like the atmosphere is quite tense, any sign of an agreement? there is not. more than 20 requests from hospitals have been made for striking doctors to leave the picket line and come back to work and not one of them has been agreed by the

british medical association. they have written to the nhs england to say they think the system is being misused strike is being politicised, accusing the nhs trust of trying to undermine the strikes. it is clear there is real tension there, but the nhs, for their part, so this is the busiest time of the year and this strike at six days is the longest in the history of the nhs so it is no surprise that hospitals are struggling to keep services running and patient say. it struggling to keep services running and patient say-— and patient say. it must be a worrying _ and patient say. it must be a worrying time _ and patient say. it must be a worrying time for _ and patient say. it must be a worrying time for anyone - and patient say. it must be a - worrying time for anyone waiting for an operation, it could be cancelled at any time, what are they doing to reassure patients that they will get treatment? abs, reassure patients that they will get treatment? �* ., ., reassure patients that they will get treatment? . ., ., ., _ treatment? a lot of nonemergency work has been _ treatment? a lot of nonemergency work has been already _ treatment? a lot of nonemergency work has been already cancelled i treatment? a lot of nonemergency| work has been already cancelled en masse. that is because senior doctors have to be drafted into emergency care to provide cover for

striking junior doctors. anyone who has an appointment during the strike period and hasn't been told that it has been postponed should still turn up has been postponed should still turn up for that appointment. the nhs says that they will be contacting those who had a cancellations. it is notjust those who had a cancellations. it is not just the those who had a cancellations. it is notjust the nonemergency those who had a cancellations. it is not just the nonemergency work, those who had a cancellations. it is notjust the nonemergency work, we are hearing of a&e units warning patients they will face long waits, one had a wait of over 11 hours, the target is four hours. this is really affecting all aspects of hospitals at the moment.— prince andrew and former president bill clinton are among high—profile figures named in newly released us court documents relating to sex offenderjeffrey epstein. they include associates, friends and alleged victims of the disgraced billionare, who died in jail five years ago.

the papers relate to a case that was brought against epstein's associate ghislaine maxwell. she is currently serving a twenty—year jail sentence for child sex trafficking. our correspondent in los angeles peter bowes told us more about what's in the documents. there are 9li3 pages in all transcripts of interviews, depositions, all part of a civil lawsuit brought by one ofjeffrey epstein's accusers against ghislaine maxwell, his long—time friend and associate, who is now serving 20 years in prison for crimes that she committed with him. and yes, these documents have references to several of the very high—profile people that we know were associates ofjeffrey epstein over the years. there are more than 60 references to prince andrew. there's the repeating of at least one allegation against him that in the past, buckingham palace has described as categorically untrue. former president bill clinton is also mentioned, as expected. he was known sometimes to use jeffrey epstein's planes to fly on humanitarian trips to africa.

but again, there is no suggestion in these documents that he did anything illegal. there are also some references to donald trump. and again, no suggestion that he was involved in any wrongdoing. and also references on the names of many other people who are not famous. in fact, it's notable that the judge who authorised the release of these documents said that many of those people had not objected to the release of these documents, which suggests that for those people, this could be, in a sense, a clearing of the air that, yes, they may well have crossed paths with epstein at some point in some way in the past, but for them, there is certainly no suggestion that they are implicated in his crimes. there is still more to come on this. there are some more documents that are due to be released in the coming days. our correspondent in

los angeles peter bowes. the funeral of the hamas deputy leader, saleh al—arouri, is due to take place in the lebanese capital, beirut. he was assassinated on tuesday, raising fears that israel's war with hamas could turn into a wider regional conflict. saleh al—arouri, will be buried in a cemetery in the palestinian camp of shatila. israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it carried out the assassination but the leader of the lebanese militant group hezbollah has warned israel of a "decisive response". speaking at a rally, hassan nasrallah described the death as a serious crime that could not go unpunished. earlier i spoke to our middle east correspondent hugo bachega who is in beirut, and asked, what the concern is around a potential response from hezbollah. well, i think there is the clear concern that this could trigger a retaliation from hezbollah because this attack happened in an area of beirut that is considered a hezbollah stronghold. so this assassination of saleh al—arouri was not only a blow for hamas but very symbolic

for hezbollah because it happened in an area controlled by the group. so, yesterday we heard from hassan nasrallah, the influential leader of hezbollah who described this attack as a flagrant israeli aggression and said this was a crime that would not go unpunished. but i think what we are seeing here is that again hassan nasrallah needs to be seen as being strong and something like this would not go unpunished. since the israel—hamas war started, hezbollah has been attacking israeli positions on a daily basis in northern israel. but so far, this violence has been largely contained to those areas along the lebanon—israel border and hezbollah has been really calibrating its actions to try and avoid a full—scale confrontation with israel. i think this is what the americans

are saying as well, a senior us official has said that there hasn't been any kind of indication that hezbollah is prepared to escalate the conflict. and, obviously, lots of people here in lebanon still remember the devastation caused by the 2006 war between hezbollah and israel. so it seems that even though we are seeing those very strong words from hezbollah, from hassan nasrallah, there hasn't been any kind of clear threat of direct action against israel in response to this attack. iran is holding a day of mourning for the nearly 100 people killed in two explosions in the southeastern city of kerman, which have further raised tensions in the middle east. the blasts came as hundreds of iranians gathered to mark qassem soleimani, iran's top military commander, who was killed by a us drone in 2020. crowds fled after two bags containing explosives were detonated remotely at the entrance to the cemetery.

it remains unclear who was behind the bombings. iran has blamed israel and the us for the attack, though that's been dismissed as "irresponsible" by washington. here's iran's president, ebrahim raisi. translation: i warn the zionist regime, do not have doubts, - you will pay the price for this crime and all the crimes you've committed, which will be very regrettable. the us has denied any involvement and says there's nothing to suggest that israel was behind the attack. here's national security spokespersonjohn kirby responding to reporters' questions at a white house briefing: we have no indication at this time at all that israel was involved in any way whatsoever. no indication, butjust to be clear, you don't think, did they support or assist in some other way? i'm not going to speak for another nation. i willjust tell you that we have no indication that israel was in any way involved in this. professor sahar razavi is director of the iranian and middle eastern studies centre at california state university.

she told us that today will be a very difficult day. i think that we can expect a response from iran. of course, it's not surprising that the president and the supreme leader have blamed israel and the united states, not just because of the situation in gaza at the moment, but also because of everything that has led here and the ongoing tensions between israel and iran. so i expect a response, certainly. i think that the days to come could inch us closer to a regional conflict that could go much wider than it is now. and certainly i'm very concerned about what's going to happen next. i think it is a given that we will see a response. after soleimani himself was killed, iran vowed a response and the response came. but it came at a time that there were no service members at the base in iraq and people were not killed. so it was a more symbolic act than it was an act of warfare. we don't know at this point who is responsible. i think it's far too early for us

to be able to come to any kind of responsible conclusions. but i think it's quite possible that there will be more of an escalation. it is also possible that there will be a strategic or symbolic act that is meant to send a message without engulfing the entire region in a wider war. stay with us here on bbc. time for the weather. after the seemingly relentless rain that some of us has seen, things are looking a little bit drier into the weekend. forthe looking a little bit drier into the weekend. for the here and now we still have a lot of flooding around, this was the picture on wednesday and still lots of flood warnings in force for thursday. we could see them increasing towards the south because we have yet more heavy rain on the way. low pressure moving in from the south—west, that will bring heavy rain late morning into parts

of dorset, devon and cornwall, spreading towards london and kent as we head into the afternoon. further north we have some drier weather, through parts of the midlands and into wales and scattered showers to the north of that, they will be blustery conditions. top temperatures a little cooler than we have experienced, seven or 8 degrees for many of us but that's on that heavy rain. could be between 20—50 millimetres of rain falling on saturated ground, flooding could be exacerbated and that rain edging way towards the east as we had through tonight. that more showers coming in across the north—east scotland staying windy and wet, it will be a little colder than recent nights, temperatures getting down to 2 degrees for many of us. friday, the area of low pressure will clear away towards the east, we still have the low pressure across scotland and the training front will bring more rain

across eastern scotland. the scattered showers blowing in on that north—westerly breeze, towards the east it will stay cloudy but that rain will clear and temperatures a touch cooler than we have seen of recent days. and then it will be all change as we head through to the weekend because eventually high pressure will building and this will be pretty welcome. it will squeeze away most of the showers, and will bring a drier and less windy spell of weather and with a bit of change in wind direction it would turn cooler so starting to rotate around at high pressure coming from the east. a return to the blue colours and think starting to feel more wintry. a drier outlook from the weekend onwards but colder and we could see a return to misty and frosty conditions through the night.

goodbye. are you paid enough? new research claims the uk's top bosses will overtake the average annual salary in just over an hour's time. and the $35 trillion question. when will the federal reserve cut interest rates? minutes from the last meeting hint they may have to remain high for some time. welcome to world business report. i'm lukwesa burak. we start here in the uk where it's been calculated that in just over an hour's time. the bosses of britain's biggest companies will have made more money in 2024 than the typical worker will all year.

that's according to the think—tank, the high pay centre —