live from london. this is bbc news. up to 3,000 uk jobs expected to be cut at tata steel, as they look to shut down the blast furnaces at britain's biggest steelworks in port talbot. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu publicly rejects us calls for the establishment of a palestinian state once the gaza war comes to an end. and — as measles cases soar in england, warnings it could spready rapidly across the uk — unless there's urgent action to increase uptake of the mmr vaccine. hello, iam lauren hello, i am lauren taylor. tata steel is set to announce formally the closure of both its blast furnaces in port talbot in south wales later today, putting 3,000 jobs across the uk at risk. the site will still make steel,

but will instead use a greener electric arc furnace, which requires fewer staff to operate. the switch will be assisted by £500m of government funding pledged last september. the firstjob losses are likely to begin in april, with most expected to be cut by september. 0ur reporter lucy vladev has more. after years of questions about the future of steel making, the answers being provided for workers here are about as bad as they get. both blast furnaces in port talbot will close, as part of major changes to the way tata produces steel. jobs will go across the uk, but south wales will be hardest hit. the news will be officially announced this morning and unions say they'll fight for every job. gmb and the other trade unions will be using all tools at our disposal to make sure we're safeguarding steel—making and the jobs that that supports within the area. we want to ensure that any transitionary money that's been promised — there's £100 million promised to the transition board — is invested in industrialjobs

of comparable levels to make sure that we're maintaining lifestyles and livelihoods in south wales. under plans shared with the unions during crunch talks yesterday, tata steel will close the blast furnaces in port talbot this year. up to 3,000 jobs will be lost across the uk, and it'll happen quickly with most redundancies happening by september. tata steel has previously said it was losing £1 million a day. it's a financial pressure as well as a green transition which is driving the changes. the uk government has given tata steel half a billion pounds to help it build an electric arc furnace here, while also managing a £100 million fund to support workers affected by the changes. it can be used for training people. it may be used to change infrastructure — to bring other companies in. but the most important thing for me is that if 3,000 people are going to lose theirjobs, the uk government is not going to walk away and not turn their backs on those people or that community.

tata's plans ripple beyond the steelworks, and have caused concern right across the community. there's thousands of people on the supply chain and the contractors, who work for tata, who actually work in businesses that supply those businesses. it's a huge impact upon our communities and this will see a huge loss of employment in a time when people are going to be struggling financially anyway. we have the cost—of—living crisis and here we go — thousands of people put out of work. ahead of today's announcement, the focus for politicians of all parties has been on the workforce. significant changes are about to begin in port talbot and tata's other sites around wales, with workers waiting to find out if theirjobs will be lost in the process. lucy vladev, bbc news. we will have more from our correspondent later on in the bulletin from outside the plant. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says he has told the united states he opposes the establishment of a palestinian state, once the conflict

in gaza comes to an end. in a news conference, mr netanyahu said israel must have security control of all territory west of the riverjordan, which would include the territory of any future palestinian state. there's been a critical response from washington — a us state department spokesman said there was "no way" to ensure israel's long—term security without a two—state solution. many nations, including the us, have long called for a "two—state solution", in which a future palestinian state would sit side—by—side with an israeli one. mr netanyahu, however, has spent much of his political career opposing palestinian statehood. let's have a listen to what he told thursday's news conference. translation: in any arrangement in the foreseeable future, - with a settlement or without a settlement, israel needs security control over all territory west of the jordan river. this is a necessary condition and it clashes with the idea of palestinian sovereignty. what can you do? i tell this truth to our american friends and i also stopped the attempts to impose a reality on us that would harm israel's security.

the prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends, saying no when necessary and saying yes when possible. meanwhile, the israeli military has admitted it removed bodies from a cemetery in southern gaza to search for the remains of hostages seized by hamas during the 7th of october attack. it said the operation had been carried out earlier this week under what it said were "optimal professional conditions and respect for the deceased". footage on social media from the cemetery in khan younis showed the area severely damaged, with graves destroyed and human remains left exposed, causing widespread outrage. the israeli army said the bodies had been re—interred with dignity after forensic tests had found the remains were not those of hostages. under international law, an intentional attack on a cemetery could amount to a war crime. let's go live to mark lowen

following events for us. going back to benjamin netanyahu's comments, clearly he is putting out his position and is at odds with what the us want, isn't it? trier? position and is at odds with what the us want, isn't it?— the us want, isn't it? very much so and i think— the us want, isn't it? very much so and i think shows _ the us want, isn't it? very much so and i think shows a _ the us want, isn't it? very much so and i think shows a widening - the us want, isn't it? very much soj and i think shows a widening chasm between the government of benjamin netanyahu and its most important ally, the us, which is actually something which has been repeated throughout this conflict. repeatedly, the us has tried to influence israeli military policy, using more military precise weapons, delaying or even abandoning plans for a ground invasion. talking about a two—state solution eventually with a two—state solution eventually with a role for the palestinian authority, which is empowering the other part of the palestinian territories in the west bank and very publicly quite often benjamin netanyahu has brushed aside or rejected these comments and advice. i think that shows clearly a classic defiant benjamin netanyahu, who has spent his whole career, as you say,

rejecting the idea of palestinian statehood. last month he boasted he was proud he had stopped it from being established. but it also shows that he is really relying on support now from his kind of crumbling support base here, particularfrom the far right. the far right ministers who prop up his government and have threatened to topple the government unless he stays the course with the offensive in gaza and that he really brushes aside now criticism from israel's western allies. that is a dangerous position he is taking, however, in a us election year in which there is the possibility of donald trump returning to power, it is also red meat to mrtrump, returning to power, it is also red meat to mr trump, who is likely to use these kinda things to rally jewish support in the us and israeli support in the us. he is making a gamble that that is where his money lies but it is a public slap in the face for the biden administration. how does this play into any efforts on going to get the hostages

released? i on going to get the hostages released? ~ on going to get the hostages released?— on going to get the hostages released? ~ , ., . released? i think polls now, recent olls released? i think polls now, recent polls showing _ released? i think polls now, recent polls showing the _ released? i think polls now, recent polls showing the majority - released? i think polls now, recent polls showing the majority of - polls showing the majority of israelis believe benjamin netanyahu needs to prioritise getting the 130 hostages back to israel, over and above the potentially impossible aim of destroying hamas. so there is growing anger over the continued military policy as it stands. there was a pro—peace demonstration in tel aviv last night, several hundred people out on the streets. the majority of israelis want, believe in the military offensive but the vast majority want their hostages back. i think they feel this twin policy that netanyahu is trying to achieve, destroying hamas and getting the hostages back is impossible. just recently, saudi arabia dangled in front of mr netanyahu the possibility of normalisation of ties if there is a possibility of a two—state solution on a ceasefire. so not only is

benjamin netanyahu going against the majority of israeli public opinion on being very headstrong, not only is he going against the americans and vital western allies but also going against some arab states that are trying to coax him back to the negotiating table and saying to him, the only way to end these constant cycles of violence is diplomacy and a sustainable long—term solution. mark lowen, thank you very much indeed. let's return to our top story and plans to close both the blast furnaces at port talbot. we can join close both the blast furnaces at port talbot. we canjoin lucy close both the blast furnaces at port talbot. we can join lucy who close both the blast furnaces at port talbot. we canjoin lucy who is there for us. thank you, today there is a lot of meetings and a lot going on. the first thing we are expecting is probably one of the most emotionally charged events of the day. the managing director of tata steel is due to meet workers here. that is ahead of the official announcement which we are expecting at 1130 this morning, where we believe they will confirm that up to 3000 jobs will go

across the uk, mostly here at the port talbot site. joining me now is the local mp, stephen kinnock. how are people feeling this morning? people are feeling very, very concerned and also very disappointed. we know that the multi—unions have put a plan on the table which was a compelling plan that would enable us to keep one of the blast furnaces open whilst building an electric furnace which would have given us a bridge to the future we want to have rather than this cliff edge which is going to potentially lead to up to 3000 job losses and remove the ability of the united kingdom to make its own steel. we would be the only country in the g20 not able to do that. so we urge tata steel to get back around the table with the trade unions and to look at this again. tata steel say they need to move to a greener way of operating in the uk government is helping them, giving the money, helping to move to that

electric arc furnace. do you think they shouldn't be doing that, do you think they should be doing something different? ., ,., , , think they should be doing something different? ., , , , , different? nobody here is burying their heads in _ different? nobody here is burying their heads in the _ different? nobody here is burying their heads in the sand. _ different? nobody here is burying their heads in the sand. everyone j their heads in the sand. everyone accepts we need to decarbonise. that is what customers want. everybody wants cleaner, greener steel in their cars and buildings and in every aspect of life where steel is used. but it is a question of how you do it. the plan that tata steel has done with the uk government, £500 million of taxpayer money for 3000 redundancies and removing our ability to make our own steel is not the right way to go. labour has committed to a £3 billion clean steel fund and we urge tata steel to take account of the fact that there will probably be a general election this year and with keir starmer in number 10, tata steel will have a very, very different partner who is ready to invest, ready to support and ready to build a betterfuture

based on a bridge, not a cliff edge. thank you. it depends where you sit politically aware that you agree with that or not but in the meantime, unions are going to be meeting with their workers to decide next steps. they haven't yet ruled out the potential for industrial action. lucy, thank you very much. health officials have warned that measles is likely to spread rapidly in more areas of the uk — unless there is urgent action to increase uptake of the mmr vaccine. more than 200 cases have been confirmed in the west midlands in recent months, mostly in birmingham. here's our medical editor, fergus walsh. measles is back. the highly—contagious viral disease is spread through coughs and sneezes. it can cause serious complications, like pneumonia and brain swelling and, in rare cases, be fatal. those most at risk are infants and the immunocompromised. measles should be a disease of the past. two doses of the mmr jab give almost complete protection, but coverage is at its lowest in the uk for more than a decade. parts of the west midlands have very

patchy mmr uptake and the measles outbreak there has prompted the uk health security agency to declare a national incident, which enables more resources to be given to laboratory and data teams. since october, there have been 216 confirmed and 103 probable measles cases in the west midlands, mostly in birmingham. mmr coverage is lowest in london. last year, the ukhsa said an outbreak of between 40,000 and 160,000 cases could occur in the capital. but child health experts say outbreaks could happen anywhere. it's such an infectious virus that it spreads about amongst all the children, who are not already protected. and that might be in the west midlands, it might be in london, but it might well also be in other parts of the country simply because the virus hasn't spread there yet. so it's notjust a case of worrying about this if you happen to live

in birmingham or london. wherever you live in the country, if your child's not had their two doses of mmr, it's really important that they get them now. since a measles vaccine was introduced in the uk in 1968, it's estimated that 20 million measles cases and 11,500 deaths have been averted. but it remains a potentially deadly threat to those who've not had the mmrjab. fergus walsh, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. british retailers suffered the biggest drop in sales in almost three years in december — raising the risk that the economy entered a recession in the fourth quarter. official figures reveal a sharp fall in demand for goods, but also food sales, in the run up to christmas by 3.2%. data appeared to show people did their shopping earlier, taking advantage of black friday sales.

the government's being warned that people are becoming "trapped in a cycle of homelessness" after they come out of hospital or prison. the all—party parliamentary group for homelessness has written to ministers urging them to do more to stop the practice of discharging people who have no home to go to. mps say any crackdown on landlords who fail to fix mouldy homes following the death a two—year—old boy must protect private tenants too. measures forcing social housing landlords to repair unsafe homes have been proposed after awaab ishak�*s death from exposure to mould in rochdale. you're live with bbc news. let's turn now to the post office it scandal in the uk — fujitsu's european boss is set to give evidence to the public inquiry into the matter later today. paul patterson faces his second grilling of the week after appearing

at the business and trade committee on tuesday, where he apologised for fujitsu's role in what he called an "appalling miscarriage ofjustice". fujitsu developed the horizon software used by the post office which was later found to be faulty and incorrectly made it look like money was missing from branches. more than 900 sub—postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for theft and false accounting from 1999 to 2015 based on horizon evidence. 0ur correspondent zoe conwayjoins me live from outside the inquiry. what can we expect to hear today? i think there is evidence from paul patterson is going to be hugely significant and that is because fujitsu played a central role in the post office scandal and that is because fujitsu employees were giving evidence in court cases over many years that led to a sub—postmaster is being sent to prison. what we have been hearing

from this inquiry over the last few daysis from this inquiry over the last few days is that whilst fujitsu employees were signing witness statements, saying the horizon software the post office was using was operating properly, at the same time, fujitsu staff members were sending each other memos, e—mails, holding meetings about their concerns about the fujitsu software system, horizon. they were even raising questions to themselves about the integrity of those witness statements they were providing. yesterday, we heard about the case of lee castleton who was wrongly accused of stealing £25,000. the reason why he was not believed in court was because a fujitsu employee gave evidence against him and as a result, lee castleton was bankrupt or dead. i caught up with him yesterday and asked for his response

that one fujitsu employee called him a nasty chap out to rubbish the fujitsu name. lee castleton said he was surprised by this because he had never met any fujitsu employees and he said of the fujitsu manager who sent that e—mail, i hope he has as many sleepless nights as i have. i think it's about paul patterson is going to be saying today is what did fujitsu know about the problems with horizon, when did they know it, what were they telling the post office about it and perhaps also about behaviour of fujitsu employees. thank you very much indeed. i'm joined now by tom witherow — news and special projects reporter at the times. thank you very much for being with us. it does seem one of the big focus is now is on fujitsu and how much they knew and when? absolutely, we not a much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint — much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint earlier _ much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint earlier in _ much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint earlier in the _ much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint earlier in the week- we got a hint earlier in the week with paul patterson being europe chief executive, giving evidence to mps in parliament. he was effectively suggesting that fujitsu was fulfilling its contractual

obligations to the post office to run this horizon software and that they had told them about bugs and errors in the system from very early on and that it was the post office who were carrying out prosecutions. but as we have just heard from zoe's report, they looked like they have come unstuck because they were directly involved in these court proceedings, providing expert evidence and witnesses to courts and trials. ., ., ,., , ., trials. you also highlighted in your re ort this trials. you also highlighted in your report this week _ trials. you also highlighted in your report this week that _ trials. you also highlighted in your report this week that there - trials. you also highlighted in your report this week that there were l trials. you also highlighted in your report this week that there were a j report this week that there were a number of reports that should have rung alarm bells. talk us through the most significant ones and why they were not listened to. so from about the year— they were not listened to. so from about the year 2009, _ they were not listened to. so from about the year 2009, the - they were not listened to. so from about the year 2009, the scandall they were not listened to. so from . about the year 2009, the scandal was being circulated in the press, including computer weekly and bbc panorama a bit later on. these sparked internal investigations from forensic accountants, consultants and others to look into various aspects of the horizon computer system and also the evidence that

was being given about the system at trials. effectively, over that period, and some of those reports would have been passed to the board, they found that the post office was not able to account for all the cash that was going through it system. it found that a fujitsu expert seemed to have misled several trials by not disclosing bugs and then later it found issues with the support system and the fact the post office was unwilling or unable to help postmasters find problems on their computer software and was instead heading straight towards prosecution. really, the conclusion of all of this is you really have to ask how, when in 2015, the chief executive sat in front of the mps committee and said they had seen no evidence of miscarriages ofjustice, just how all of these reports could... hadn�*t reached the top table and hadn't led them to get to

the bottom of what had happened. we heard earlier in the week from senior fujitsu leadership and they did apologise but what can we expect in terms of a timetable for them giving compensation, if indeed they get to that point?— get to that point? absolutely. paul patterson suggested _ get to that point? absolutely. paul patterson suggested he _ get to that point? absolutely. paul patterson suggested he would - get to that point? absolutely. paul patterson suggested he would sit i patterson suggested he would sit down with the government after the inquiry completes next year, saying that it inquiry completes next year, saying thatitis inquiry completes next year, saying that it is up to the inquiry to apportion blame and then they would negotiate some sort of settlement to contribute towards the £1 billion bill of compensation which is currently being borne by the taxpayer. now we don't know how much. there is no figure that has been placed on it and the post office, backed by the government, 0ffice, backed by the government, has potentially given up some of that leveraged that it had by waiting so long to get to the bottom of this scandal. litigation experts earlier this week said they believe that the six year time out period

has probably passed and so the government will be relying on the fact that it is such an important customer of fujitsu's, with £7 billion by the contract over the last ten years, it will look to the japanese company to want to keep on the right side of ministers... 50m; the right side of ministers... sorry to interruot _ the right side of ministers... sorry to interrupt you. _ the right side of ministers... sorry to interrupt you. tom, _ the right side of ministers... sorry to interrupt you. tom, thank- the right side of ministers... sorry to interrupt you. tom, thank you. we are running a bit low on time. thank you. here in the uk, the chancellor, jeremy hunt, has given a sign that he wants to cut taxes in the budget in march. speaking at the world economic forum in davos, he said the "direction of travel" for the uk was towards lower taxes, as seen in american and asian economies. mr hunt has been speaking to our economics editor faisal islam at the world economic forum in davos. we can go to our political correspondent helen catt. what is the impact of this timing of a hint at taxes? ,.., , at taxes? the next fiscal event is march the _ at taxes? the next fiscal event is march the 6th. — at taxes? the next fiscal event is march the 6th, the _ at taxes? the next fiscal event is march the 6th, the budget. - at taxes? the next fiscal event isj march the 6th, the budget. what jeremy hunt's words are being seen as a strong hint that at that budget we will see more tax cuts. the

autumn statement in november, he capped national insurance by 2p in the pound. there are concerns around some conservative mps about the historically high levels of tax that are being paid in the uk because of the government's previous policy of raising the thresholds at which people start to pay different bands of income tax, by example. so there has been a lot of calls for tax cutting to happen. what the comments today are being seen as as a hint that that will continue in that budget on march the 6th. as you said, what he talked about was having a direction of travel. in a way, this is not surprised. rishi sunak is talked about wanting to cut taxes. but what this tells us is when mr hunt had seen the book is, because they haven't been worked out yet, so he doesn't actually know how much room he may or decide he has to make cuts like this, what this tells us is that the government's priority for any spare money, if you like, is it would go into tax cuts as opposed

to putting it into, increasing spending. to putting it into, increasing spending-— to putting it into, increasing sendina. ~ , ., , to putting it into, increasing shendin, , ., ~' , ., , ., spending. they are keeping an eye on events in the — spending. they are keeping an eye on events in the red _ spending. they are keeping an eye on events in the red sea _ spending. they are keeping an eye on events in the red sea because - spending. they are keeping an eye on events in the red sea because there l events in the red sea because there is a possibility i suppose that some of the disruption to global trade might affect global economies and therefore reduce that headroom for making plans on tax?— therefore reduce that headroom for making plans on tax? certainly there are all sorts — making plans on tax? certainly there are all sorts of _ making plans on tax? certainly there are all sorts of factors _ making plans on tax? certainly there are all sorts of factors that _ making plans on tax? certainly there are all sorts of factors that could - are all sorts of factors that could contribute to how much headroom the chancellor thinks he has to be able to make those sort of financial decisions. he thinks and the treasury thinks he is going to have a little more room because he is expecting inflation to keep on falling and they are expecting the amount the government has to pay on government debt will go down. the thinking behind why they think they might have room to do things like greater tax cuts. but yes, there are a whole range of different scenarios which get taken into account. there are official forecasts being which get taken into account. there are officialforecasts being done by the office for budget response ability are coming back what we are getting from this is the political

dried is to cut taxes.— getting from this is the political dried is to cut taxes. when they talk about _ dried is to cut taxes. when they talk about potentially _ dried is to cut taxes. when they talk about potentially cutting i talk about potentially cutting taxes, everyone asks which one is, do we have any top three or four? that do we have any top three or four? git the moment, jeremy hunt is saying he doesn't know to the extent to which they will cut taxes and he is certainly not going to say which ones. but the ones that keep coming up ones. but the ones that keep coming up time and again in room in westminster is there is an expectation there will be a focus on income tax. when you hear politicians talking in westminster, they are talking about taxes on working people. the other one that keeps coming up as a rumour is the idea of cutting inheritance tax, which would be very popular with summer on the conservative backbenches but is only paid by a very small percentage of estates. helen catt, thank you. you can get more on all of the stories we are covering by checking out our website. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. the cold and wintry weather is coming to an end. yesterday, we saw temperatures barely limp above freezing in many parts of the uk. but as we hop forward into the start of next week, notice the big jump in temperatures. with it, though, will come wind and rain and, of course, with temperatures into the teens, a lot of snow that's fallen will have melted. at the moment, this is roughly where we've got snow lying on the ground, over a foot of snow this morning in the north of scotland. and still some snow falling here, but already some changes with a westerly wind, a lot of that snow is turning back to rain and sleet in lowland sites. still a few sleet and snow showers in northern england and northern ireland, but the vast majority stay dry and sunny through the rest of this afternoon. temperatures up just a little bit on yesterday, but still chilly at around 4—6 degrees. then into this evening, we'll see in central and southern parts of england and wales, a frost develop quite quickly,

but it will be one where the frost lifts later in the night. south westerly winds developing, cloud into the west and outbreaks of rain rather than snow pushing in across parts of scotland, northern ireland, northwest england and north west wales. and so as we start your weekend, temperatures for just about all will be above freezing and those temperatures climb further. you'll notice on this chart where we show the air mass with the pressure, something warmer comes our way for sunday, but also wetter and windier and even some wet weather around on saturday. saturday, some of the wettest conditions will be in parts of north west england, north—west wales, rain on and off here through the day, heaviest in the morning. to the south and east of that, many will stay dry. more cloud, though, than we've seen through recent days to north and west of it. during the day at least, scotland, northern ireland, a few splashes of rain. some will be dry and bright, especially to the north—east and temperatures up on today's values. we finish saturday with some increasingly wet and windy weather in the west with gales in places. and those strong winds will last into sunday, especially for england and wales, as more weather fronts wriggle across the uk.

so for sunday, lots of rain for england and wales, though around the english channel it may stay dry. that rain then spreads its way northwards into northern ireland, southern scotland. winds lightest across scotland, but gales further south and those gales coming from a south westerly direction lift temperatures into double figures more widely. sunday night there will be particularly wild and windy and that could have some impacts for those of you heading into work on monday morning. stay across the forecast because there could be some disruption possible.

this is bbc news, the headlines: up to 3,000 uk jobs expected to be cut at tata steel — as they look to shut down the blast furnaces at britain's biggest steelworks in port talbot. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu publicly rejects us calls for the establishment of a palestinian state once the gaza war comes to an end. and in the lead up to elections — south africa's seeing record levels of violent crime, soaring to a 20—year high. the daughter of a man — who was found dead with his young son in lincolnshire — says she doesn't blame social services for their deaths. 60—year—old kenneth battersby suffered a heart attack, and it's thought two—year—old bronson starved to death a few days later. melanie battersby spoke

exclusively to our midlands correspondent navtej johal.