this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at 2.00pm: the european commission ‘regrets' the departure of britain's eu ambassador, but there's a mixed reaction at home from both sides of the brexit debate. we should have somebody leading for the uk who clearly believes that the outcome can be beneficial to the uk. i think that makes us all believe what we already suspected, which is the government does not have a plan. four men are charged over the car crash in oldham in which two cousins, aged 12 and 11, were killed. shares in next dive — as the retailer reports falling christmas sales, and warns of ‘great uncertainty‘ post—brexit. an israeli soldier filmed shooting a wounded palestinian knife—attacker is convicted of manslaughter. i'm christian fraser, and in the next hour...

and a bbc investigation into private ambulance staff training. some crews responding to emergencies say they've had just one hours' training in so—called ‘blue lights' driving. and dismantling a dinosaur — a team at the natural history museum will take three and a half weeks to prepare dippy the diplodocus for his nationwide tour. a bit sad that he is going but maybe i can see other dinosaurs. and what do you think of dippy? he goes, "rawr!" hello and welcome to bbc news. the european commission has expressed regret over the departure

of britain's eu ambassador, sir ivan rogers, saying he was very knowledgeable and always defended his government's interests. sir ivan issued a strong resignation email — warning of muddled thinking over brexit. but leading eurosceptic conservative, iain duncan smith, said he'd undermined ministers' trust when his private advice that a brexit deal could take ten years was leaked. our political correspondent ian watson reports. camera shy in public, outspoken in private. sir ivan rogers has exited his role as britain's eu ambassador. when the bbc revealed his private advice that a trade deal with the eu could take ten years, he was attacked by some leave campaigners for being pessimistic. diplomats are supposed to be, well, diplomatic. but in his resignation e—mail, he is anything but. he tells his staff, "i hope you will continue to challenge ill founded arguments and muddled thinking, and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power." so until a recently faceless bureaucrat in brussels resigns, why should that matter here in britain? well, the clock is ticking on the uk's departure from the eu.

the process has to get underway by the end of march. now, it was sir ivan rogers' job to find out and then report back the thinking of other eu member states before these crucial negotiations begin. it will take time to replace him. the government can't yet tell us a timescale and some former whitehall mandarins say his experience will be sorely missed. ivan rogers leaving at this time, so shortly before the triggering of article 50, is a loss to the government because he is a man of great experience and expertise in european matters, with deep knowledge. and we need that sort of experience to take forward the negotiations. you know her catchphrase by now, ‘brexit means brexit‘. but the most damaging accusation in ivan rogers' resignation letter is that perhaps she isn't so sure what it means after all. he says, ‘we do not yet know what the government will set what the government will set as negotiating objectives for the uk's relationship with the eu after exit." i think that makes us all believe what we already suspected, which is the government does not have a plan. it does not have clear objectives for these negotiations.

that's quite different from not revealing your hand, not revealing your tactics. it means you don't actually know what you want. david cameron tried to negotiate a new deal with the eu ahead of the referendum. but many leave campaigners blamed sir ivan rogers, their man in brussels at the time, for not pushing the other eu states hard enough in those talks. so they say his early departure as our eu ambassador is no great loss. it makes sense that as we go into what is an incredibly important negotiation, we should have somebody leading for the uk who clearly believes that the outcome can be beneficial to the uk. i think it is fairly apparent that that was not sir ivan rogers's view. sir ivan rogers is likely to be replaced by another senior civil servant to negotiate our departure from the eu. but this diplomatic appointment has now become highly political. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels for us. on what estranged and damian, people

close to government here criticising sir ivan for leaking this e—mail whereas in brussels people are saying he was quite effective and very good? yes. quite unusuall think. the resignation of the ambassador yesterday was a bit of a shock ear. people had not seen that coming —— shock here. today what we have heard from the commission here, just a few words on this, and they say, as you point out, that sir ivan was a diplomat who always loyally defended the interests of his government and he was not always an easy interlocutor. remember, sir ivan was the person who handled david cameron's renegotiation with the eu and the charge against him has been that that e—mail showed he was a pessimist, that he was not batting for britain, as some have said. here, that, in diplomatic

terms, is pretty much a very open way of saying, from the view from the commission, they felt he was a pretty tough negotiator for the the commission, they felt he was a pretty tough negotiatorfor the uk, and it is worth also saying that here the view that what was in that e—mail, that he said it could take ten yea rs e—mail, that he said it could take ten years to negotiate and settle trade arrangements between the uk and the eu, that that is a view that was long held here, has long been discussed here and was discussed before the referendum, and was even in british government foreign office publications given to parliament before the referendum in the uk, saw in this town that was nothing controversial at all. 0k, damian, for the moment, thank you very much. let's get more reaction here in the uk from our chief political correspondent vicki young at westminster. we just heard the view there from brussels, but certainly the view

from people close to government here, that sir ivan was a bit like your? yes, that in some ways he was too much part of the establishment in brussels. —— that he was a bit eeyore—ish. they would say it is a blow and a loss he will not be here for this crucial period. there is also the idea that the new ambassador has to be in some way pro brexit if you like, the role of the civil service in all of this, which would be a certain departure from the way things work. let's discuss this a bit more. joining me now is dave penman, general secretary of the first division association, the union which represents senior civil servants — he's in our westminster studio. are you concerned about some of the discussion about the role of civil serva nts discussion about the role of civil servants and all of this? yes, a lot of concern in terms of both what former ministers have been saying

this morning and indeed potentially some ministers saying we need someone some ministers saying we need someone who is more enthusiastic about brexit to replace sir ivan, but what is more concerning for us is the deafening silence from both the prime minister and the government supporting the civil service and the value of political impartial civil service and what it delivers for the country. what about brexit itself you have spoken before about how great a task it is. can you outline what concerns you have about that? the government in the autumn statement only give resources to international trade and the former commonwealth office but every department faces an enormous challenge around brexit. for some, up challenge around brexit. for some, up to half of what they do is to do with the eu but there has not been a single penny of resources. if the government wants to make a success of this for the uk it has to resource the civil service to deliver brexit. double—mac do you think there could be consequences for the outcome of negotiations —— and do you think. , for the way

brexit goes? for a successful outcome we need clear political objectives, people with the capability to negotiate and deliver in those hard negotiating is and the civil service has to be given the capacity to deal not only with the negotiations but also what comes after brexit —— those hard negotiations. when all that legislation is back in the hands of the uk, and that is about delivering the uk, and that is about delivering the best outcome for the uk and sadly up until now that is not what the government has delivered for the civil service. what about those former ministers who have said at the end of the day you need someone in that role who wants a good deal, and that actually sir ivan, from everything we have seen, leaked memos and all the rest, did not seem to be working in a team with downing street and the others? you either employ people because of what they can do or because of what they can believe. ultimately, the civil service is there to deliver

impartial advice to ministers and the prime minister herself said in an interview that was what she wanted. the idea we just need people who are more enthusiastic and that will deliver a better outcome is just complete nonsense. ministers need the best advice possible, whether that is uncomfortable or support their position, but ultimately ministers make the decision. this is only advice and thatis decision. this is only advice and that is what civil servants are there to do. ministers are there to make the decisions. thank you very much indeed. the thing for the government, the problem for theresa may, is this feeds into the criticism of some mps that there is no plan, that actually the government and theresa may are not giving any guidance to the civil servants. of course all eyes will now be on who she chooses to be the replacement for sir ivan in brussels. for the moment, thank you very much, vicki young, at westminster. four men have been charged following a collision in oldham

on new year's eve where two young girls died. helina kotlarova aged 12 and zaneta krokova aged 11, died when they were struck by a peugeot 807 on new year's eve. the man who has been charged gabor hegedus, who's 38 and from the town, is also accused of failing to stop after the collision which killed the ii and 12—year—old girls on new year's eve. our correspondent yunus mulla is in salford and has the latest. greater manchester police arrested a number of men following this incident on new year's eve which claimed the lives of two cousins in oldham. fourof claimed the lives of two cousins in old ham. four of those claimed the lives of two cousins in oldham. four of those men have now been charged in connection with that incident on new year's eve, and one of their men, named today as gabor hegedus, has been charged with two cou nts hegedus, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, driving, conspiracy to pervert the course ofjustice, driving without a license, and failing to stop after a collision and failing to report the collision. three other men have also been charged with perverting, with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. all three men there are

also from oldham. the two cousins, helina kotlarova, who was 12, and za neta helina kotlarova, who was 12, and zaneta krokova, who was 11, were holding hands when they were struck bya holding hands when they were struck by a vehicle on new year's eve. police immediately launched an investigation and tried to ascertain what actually happened on new year's eve, and these arrests followed that. in oldham, and i have spent some time there, there has been a huge outpouring of support, community grief, over what has happened. the family had seven sisters and one brother and have received a lot of support from members of the community there and that support is continuing. a lot of flowers have been laid at the scene there. the men who have been arrested today will appear at the magistrates' court this afternoon. all right, from salford, yunus mulla, thank you for now. an israeli soldier has been

found guilty of killing a palestinian knife—attacker as he lay wounded on the ground. it happened in hebron last year, after the palestinian, abdel fattah al—sharif, had attacked an israeli soldier. he was shot and wounded, but then shot again at close range by sergeant elor azaria, who said he believed the wounded man might detonate a suicide belt. prosecutors said his motive was revenge. our correspondent in tel aviv, yolande knell has the latest. just behind me is the israeli defence building where these proceedings took place amid tight security. the key evidence in this trial was a shocking video filmed by a palestinian activist. caught on camera in hebron last march, a chilling moment. a young israeli sergeant cocks his gun and then this. gunshot. a single bullet to the head killed a wounded palestinian, abdul fatah al—sharif. a few minutes earlier,

sgt azaria, a medic, had helped treat a wounded soldier, one of those attacked by the palestinian and his friend. today, the sergeant was in court, smiling to see a supporter and his mother. soon afterwards, he was found guilty of manslaughter. the militaryjudges in the court here said that abdul fatah al—sharif was shot needlessly. they rejected the defence argument that he posed a threat. during the trial, the prosecution said sgt azaria acted out of revenge and broke the army's ethical code. but the 20—year—old does have loyal backers, in a country where most young people do military service. they accused the army of abandoning one of its own. this soldier came to protect about little children, about families, about parents. this soldier is a hero.

the military chief of staff and the minister of defence were against him. they elect the judges. they tell the judges what to decide. and he didn't have any hope. on the palestinian side, a different view. ahead of the verdict, id met the parents of abdul fatah al—sharif, who accused the idf of using excessive force. translation: i feel like any father would feel. i've seen my son executed on tv, murdered. it's so hard to see that — no—one can endure this. it's still hard for me every time i remember what happened. if he died instantly, it would have been much easier than to see your son executed like that. such a public trial of a soldier for killing a palestinian is very unusual in israel. the shooting happened during a wave of palestinian attacks, when there was a national debate about how to respond. and this case has proved highly divisive, even setting top politicians against the army's top brass. to underline those tensions the

israeli politician spoke out strongly in support of sergeant elor azaria soon after his arrest. he is now the defence minister and has put out a statement urging people to show restraint about what he said was a difficult verdict. sentencing in this case is expected at a later date. reporting from tel aviv there. just a reminder of the day's headlines... just after quarter past two. the uk's outgoing ambassador to the eu, sir ivan rogers, has attacked the government for ‘muddled thinking' and ill—founded arguments in its approach to brexit. four men have been charged over the car crash in oldham in which 12 year old helina kotlarova, and her 11—year—old cousin zaneta krokova were killed. shares in next fall as the high street chain warns the year ahead will be ‘challenging'. it follows weaker sales in the run up to christmas. in sport: hull city begin their search for a new manager, following the sacking of mike phelan afterjust three months in permanent charge.

middlesborough sign benin international rudy gested from aston villa, thought to be for a fee of between 6—7 million pounds. the striker‘s contract will run untiljune 2020. and paralympic champion kadeena cox has her uk sport funding suspended, while she takes part in channel 4 winter sports programme the jump later this month. i will have more on those stories just after half past. the high street chain next is warning that uncertainty over brexit and a weaker pound will mean an "even tougher" year ahead, after a dismal festive period. shares dipped 14% at the start of trading, as the firm announced a drop in sales of 0.4% in the two months up to christmas. here's our business

correspondent, emma simpson. next — it is one of our biggest clothing chains, often seen as a bellwether of the high street. and it has had a difficult winter, sales have fallen. not a great start as retailers reveal how they fared over the all—important christmas season. undoubtedly, it is a big disappointment that next has reported such weak figures as the first retailers report. it is one of the best retailers on the high street. so you would think overall results will not be that great. having said that, all retailers are not doing the same things — some are trading different strategies and there will be ups and downs, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that christmas was pretty disappointing. 2016 was tough for many fashion retailers. although consumer spending has been resilient since the brexit vote, people are spending less on what they wear, and more on what they do — like eating out. the sales are on, but there have

been discounts all year — competition is cut—throat and we have been changing our shopping habits by spending more online. next warn today things are going to get even tougher this year, a view shared by many in this industry. we have got all sorts of headwinds, we have got a year of national living wage, costs will be a lot higher. but the real, real challenge is going to be dealing with a sterling exchange rate that is 15% or so lower than before the referendum. next is warning its prices will go up by 5% this year as a result. profits will take a hit. and that inflation may mean consumers will have less spare cash to spend on clothes. in manchester, some shoppers say they are cutting back. we will be reining it in in the new year. definitely spend the normal amount this christmas, i didn't have to go crazy.

probablyjust pull back on certain things and see what it is like. as ever in retail, there are winners and losers. the signs arejohn lewis had a decent christmas with a surge in sales in the final weeks. the full christmas story will unfold in the coming days. train drivers with southern railway are cutting their six—day strike — planned for next week — to three days. but their union, aslef, says it will strike again for another three days later in the month. the drivers are striking over the increasing use of driver—only operated trains. the northern ireland first minister, arlene foster, has described calls for her to stand down from the job as "misogynistic". ms foster, who heads the democratic unionist party, has been urged to resign because of her involvement in the controversial renewable heat incentive scheme.

our ireland correspondent, chris page, is in belfast for us now. arlene foster has been under pressure certainly for quite a few weeks. can you explain this latest development? we basically have a stand—off at stormont between the two power—sharing parties, the dup, arlene foster's party, and sinn fein. at the heart of it all is this renewable heat incentive, the green energy scheme, which began in 2012 and was run by a department which at the time arlene foster was in charge of. she has since moved on to become the stormont first minister. that scheme basically gave over generous subsidies to

businesses and domestic consumers who wanted to switch to environmentally friendly fuels, and it ran massively overbudget. it will now cost stormont £1190 it ran massively overbudget. it will now cost stormont £190 million, it is thought, over the next 20 years. she has been under sustained pressure for a number of weeks from opposition parties in the assembly to stand down from herjob. the coalition partners have said she should temporarily leave the job for a few weeks to facilitate an independent investigation into the green energy scandal. she has come out fighting today, has given interviews, and dead again she has no intention of standing down at the behest of republicans and said a lot of the criticism levelled at her has been misogynistic because she is the first female leader of northern ireland, but other parties here have been particularly dismissive of that claim. another high—profile woman, naomi long, in northern irish politics, has said mrs foster is confusing misogyny with accountability. what are the potential outcomes here? it sounds as the moment like it is still a sort of who blinks first scenario. could the inquiry, the investigation, into this scheme continue, and she might still be in

place? what other options now?|j think place? what other options now?” think you have put it very well. —— what are the options. we have a stand—off between the dup and sinn fein and no obvious resolution. there will be a showdown, it looks like, on monday the 16th ofjanuary, 12 days from now, with the stormont returning after the christmas break. sinn fein are planning to put down a motion saying she should stand aside as first ministerfor motion saying she should stand aside as first minister for an investigation. today the dup have said they have set the terms of reference for a potential independent investigation to sinn fein but sinn fein has not got back to them, but sinn fein says there has been no agreement with the dup on the terms of reference for any investigation so we are not sure what will happen, whether the parties will be able to find some kind of compromise as they have in the past with other crises enabling the past with other crises enabling the administration to continue, and if they do not one option sinn fein has mentioned is that could resign from the stormont executive which would mean the administration false

and we would be into fresh northern ireland assembly elections, just seven or eight months after the last election. thank you, chris page, from belfast. military and security experts in the uk are urging people to learn lifesaving skills in case they're caught up in a terror attack. they've launched an app called citizenaid, which offers people a step—by—step guide to saving lives in the event of such an attack. they say people need to know how to give vital first aid, such as stopping severe bleeding, before paramedics arrive. with me is security analyst paul beaver. what do you think? any information must be a good thing, even the most simple information, but i regard this will be —— guess this will be something people will read on the train, rather than sitting at home looking at their app. they will do exactly that. i was part of the generation that all did that at school, worked in the mining industry, did really serious first aid, theni

industry, did really serious first aid, then i was a territorial army officer and we all had compulsory first aid officer and we all had compulsory firstaid and officer and we all had compulsory first aid and the really big stuff, you know, the sort of gaping wounds, arms blown off and the like. sadly, arms blown off and the like. sadly, a lot of that military training could well be used should we be in the unlikely position of something serious happening here. notjust terrorism, but serious car or rail crashes. you never quite know when you will be in a position where you could save a life, and surely that must be a huge draw for anyone to get this out. i know as journalists, and plenty of people in riskyjobs do the same, we have that training. iam do the same, we have that training. i am always severely embarrassed, i have to say, that i do not know simple things, like what to do if someone has a heart attack on a train, for instance. but i am just wondering whether in the event of a terror attack, members of the public are equipped to deal with this, because there will be concerns about secondary attacks, fear, and perhaps some of this training will be lost?

of course we will not really know until the unthinkable happens, but if it goes, is just one or two people are able even to direct other people are able even to direct other people and say, do that, or do that, one of the things you learn, and i am sure will be in this app, and i are waiting for my son to come home to load it for me, is that you can actually save lives by getting other people to do things. i am sure many of us have been in basic road accidents, just having that basic ability to stop the bleeding, for example, because it would take over 15 minutes for ambulance to get there because it was on a motorway. soi there because it was on a motorway. so i think it is notjust a counterterrorist type of training. i actually think it will be good if schools were able to do more with this. the problem is of course you have all the insurance issues, all of the people, the naysayers, saying, you might just of the people, the naysayers, saying, you mightjust do something wrong. actually if someone is going

to bleed to death you really want to be in there. imagine your conscience if you felt you could not. yes, if they are bleeding to death, they will die, so they are bleeding to death, they willdie, so any they are bleeding to death, they will die, so any intervention is a good thing. jane and i were discussing earlier that in the russian theatre siege some years ago lots of people died because they just choked. if they had simply been turned over onto their front, just choked. if they had simply been turned over onto theirfront, they may not have died. exactly, into that position that i am us us who have done stjohn's, or the red cross, the recovery position, to put people into that. ok, there is the risk of a broken limb which you might exacerbate, but better to exacerbate a break, i would have thought, than to have somebodyjoke. absolutely, we should all go and download the app. on that note, we will just pause download the app. on that note, we willjust pause and catch up with the weather prospects. thank you. good afternoon. fairly bright weather around for the rest

of the day but it has been turning chilly and certainly will be cold and frosty tonight because the skies have been clearing. quite a few clouds earlier in warrington. more in the way of sunshine developing, our weather watcher capturing that. the sunshine continues to drift away to the south west. showers blown into eastern and coastal areas of scotla nd into eastern and coastal areas of scotland and england. fairly keen and cold winds they're making it raw for the east coast particularly but everywhere it will be a pretty chilly day. as soon as it darkens tonight temperatures will plunge. icy stretches in lincolnshire and east anglia were showers continue through the night. towns and cities below or around freezing. in the countryside, one or two places at —7 or possibly minus eight degrees. cold and frosty start tomorrow morning therefore but beautiful for the most part, blue skies and crisp winter sunshine. temperatures easing away from the east coast. in the west, here, two 8 degrees, a cold

feeling day but towards the weekend it turns milder, and as it does that there will be more in the way of cloud and perhaps some patchy rain. you're watching bbc news. it's exactly 2:30pm. the headlines. the european commission ‘regrets' the departure of britain's eu ambassador, but there's a mixed reaction at home from both sides of the brexit debate. it has been welcomed by campaigners who said there's an issue with public trust. four men are charged following the car crash in oldham that killed two cousins, aged 11 and 12. shares in the clothes retailer next drop by 9%, following worse—than—expected sales before christmas, and a gloomy 2017 forecast. an israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded palestinian knife attacker as he lay on the ground has been convicted of manslaughter. former drivers for a private ambulance firm that provides

emergency nhs cover say they had only one hour of so—called ‘blue lights' training. we will have more on that later in the hour. we will have more on that later in the hour. lets get the sport for you now. former olympiacos coach marco silva is the odds—on favourite to become the new man in charge at hull city, according to several bookmakers this morning. the 39—year—old portuguese left the greek champions last summer. hull sacked mike phelan last night after picking upjust 13 points in his 20 league games in charge at the k com stadium, although he did take the club to the semi—finals of the efl cup. the first multi—millon pound deal of the january transfer window in the premier league has been made by middlebrough. they have signed aston villa's rudy gestede from the championship for around £6 million. gestede has been at villa for 18 months. he has made 55 appearances for the club, scoring ten times,

but was out of favour under new boss steve bruce. the striker has signed a contract until 2020 at middlesbrough. one women's football story for you. notts county striker rachel williams has been called up to the england squad for the first time in almost three years. the lionesses play friendlies against norway & sweden later this month, and manager mark sampson has named a 28—player squad. she last featured in the squad back in april 20 13. there's also recalls for carly telford and ellen white, also of notts county, as england play their first matches of 2017, in preparation for the european championship this summer. leicester and england centre manu tuilagi will be out for the rest of the season, as a result of the knee injury he suffered during his club's premiership defeat by saracens at the weekend. tuilagi's latest setback comes after eddie jones confirmed that he would have been part of his international plans. it's frustrating for him. you know,

he's a good kid. he really wants to play well for england and leicester, and he was just coming back into some form. he was just getting his power back a bit, so it's enormously frustrating for him, for us. he's a player we'd love to have in their camp, but if he's not there then we just get on with it. paralympic champion kadeena cox has had her uk sport funding suspended while she takes part in channel 4 winter sport programme the jump. cox, who won cycling and athletics golds in rio, is one of three current sports stars among the 1a participants, along with olympic taekwondo champion jade jones and gymnast louis smith. the medical teams from both athletics and cycling are believed to have advised cox against participating in the show but have allowed her to make her own decision. two england cricket captains past and present were the key figures in today's big bash game where the sydney thunder beat the melbourne stars first, kevin pietersen impressed first, kevin pietersen impressed for melbourne, hitting 7 fours and 2

sixes in a brilliant innings of 60. it looked as though that would be enough, but england's one—day captain eoin morgan needed a six from the final ball to win it for the thunder — and he delivered in style it's clear it's clear to see what it meant to morgan. this his final match, before leading england in the odi series in india. british number two kyle edmund is through to a first atp tour quarter—final of 2017, after his opponent retired in the second round of their match, at the brisbane international. this morning. edmund, ranked 45 in the world, beat luca pwee, after the frenchman retired, when trailing 6—3, 3—1. edmund will take on us open champion stan wawrinka in the last eight. great britain suffered another 3—0 defeat in the hopman cup in perth. they lost to france after heather watson was beaten by kristina mladenovic and dan evans lost to richard gasquet. the pair also lost the doubles. britain have already lost to switzerland,

so their last group match against germany is now meaningless. meanwhile a shock defeat today for the 22—time grand slam champion, serena williams, who lost in the asb classic to world number 72, madison brengle from the united states. williams lost in three sets, making a huge 88 unforced errors in the windy conditions of auckland. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. jessica, thank you very much. lets return now to the news that britain's outgoing ambassador to the european union, sir ivan rogers, has strongly criticised the government's preparations for brexit he warned of muddled thinking as the government pairs to leave the eu. some of the brexit campaigners say his outgoing isn't unwelcome. you

may have had plenty about his e—mail today. let's speak now to the former minister and conservative mp, dominic raab, who joins us from westminster. good afternoon. in this linked the resignation e—mail, he talks a lot about the need for expertise and a lack of preparation and clear thinking. is he making some valid points? it's a long letter, and what the media will do is pick out anything remotely negative, and ignore the principal reason why he is stepping down. he was due to step down in november, the negotiations starting march, and it will be common ground from the foreign office and ministers, he believes we should have the head ambassador in brussels seeing it through from start to finish. don't get me wrong, there will be a lot of froth around this story, but that's the principal reason why he is stepping down. its perfectly professional and i believe

it will make sense to a lot of viewers. he's making a point, this is january, it starts in march. there needs to be a battle plan for this very complex process? i've got the letter in front of me, and i don't see any remarks which reflect that. he has talked about the different crisscrossing being king in whitehall, and some of the commentary i picked up from foreign office diplomats, and i spent six yea rs office diplomats, and i spent six years there, is about some of that herfall years there, is about some of that her fall within the oracle of this, and between the foreign office and the treasury, and whitehall, generally. he is right to say that people from all walks of life should challenge ministers. i know from my days at the frying office, that a lot of the time, when you are advising ministers, when you want them to listen to you, you really

wa nt them to listen to you, you really want them to do what you say. it would be beneficial to look at the advice being given, and make sure you had the most rounded advice, and making sure you think through all the options. that tension is very healthy. having been someone on both sides of that, i wouldn't read too much into the dysfunctionality of that, it would actually be more dysfunctional if you didn't have a healthy tension between the parties, ministers with ambitious plans which they need to deliver on. he does say that, in his opinion, serious bilateral negotiation experience is in short supply. is that a concern for you? there are people who want to leave the eu that still recognise its complex, and good negotiators will be needed ? its complex, and good negotiators will be needed? i'm one of those. the reason why we have a dearth of

multilateral skills within the foreign office and the government is because we given up so much power to negotiate on britain's behalf to the eu. sol negotiate on britain's behalf to the eu. soifound negotiate on britain's behalf to the eu. so i found an irony to sir ivan's comments when it comes to trade negotiations. that stung by the eu on our behalf. but i know from discussions with both the ministers in the brexit department, also the trade department that there has been huge effort to try and tap into the very best expertise we have, and make sure any holes are filled. time is pressing, are you confident this will happen on track, that the timescale is not affected, that the timescale is not affected, that this can be done without causing detriment to the united kingdom? we see that the task at

hand —— at hand is enormous. once we've triggered article 50 and get into negotiations, which are scheduled for two years, it will narrow down the focus, and you talk about the absence of a plan. the plan is very clear. the prime minister wants britain to leave the eu, and deal with what's stopping british parliament and british mps deciding on the roles that apply to our citizens, she wants to take that over, we wait be subject to the free movement rules, and we will have the capacity to deal with these trade negotiations in our own right. she is scheduled to layouts more of the detail in the new year, but at the same time, you wouldn't want to give to the other side, the detail, your negotiation hand, before we deal

with this two years of diplomatic poker. we won't be putting more meat on the bones in the weeks ahead. that lies a huge amount of preliminary, preparatory work that has gone on. just because it's not in the public domain, it it doesn't mean that there should be any delusion about the level of negotiation. we have breaking news from berlin, we are hearing that german prosecutors are resting and arrested a second tunisian civilian links to the christmas market attack. you might rememberjust five days after that attack, the nephew

of amis amri was arrested. german prosecutors say they are arrested —— they have arrested him in connection with backtrack attack in berlin. a train derailment in the new york area has injured at least 15 people. it happened at the atlantic terminal in the borough of brooklyn. all injuries reported are non—life—threatening. when there's an emergency, and people call for an ambulance, there's an expectation that the crew which turns up are fully trained. but the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire programme has discovered that some staff at a private ambulance company based in essex, had as little as an hour's training on how to respond to emergencies. james melley has this special report. sirens. when we dial 999 for a medical emergency, most people expect nhs ambulances and their highly trained crews to respond. but increasingly, nhs trusts are having to use private companies to meet demand.

one of these companies is the private ambulance service, which is based in basildon, in essex. it carries out work like taking patients to hospital appointments, transferring sick people between hospitals, and also provides cover for 999 calls for the east of england nhs ambulance trust. but whistle—blowers have told us staff are not properly trained, and the equipment they use is not up to scratch. the private ambulance service was in the news last year after the essex coroner criticised it over the death of 54—year—old gary paige. one of the company's crews responded to a call, saying he was suffering chest pain. they ran tests and said mr paige had got indigestion or had a hurt muscle, and didn't take him to hospital. he later died, having suffered a heart attack. we've spoken to several people that work or have worked for the private ambulance service. paul would only speak to us if we disguised his identity. he worked for pas as a medic, but lost his job last year.

i never had any induction or training. pretty much just sent out and that was it. so you had no induction, no training? no. it was quite clear that i was working with people that, not through their own fault, were not trained. they were not competent in the job and they certainly were not confident in dealing with situations. didn't know how to take simple things like blood sugars, ecgs. didn't know how to do manual blood pressures. basic, basic stuff, really. we started to hear more disturbing stories about the lack of basic training for staff at the private ambulance service. dan duke worked at the company in patient transport until 2013, when he was sacked. thejob could require him to drive under blue lights when taking an emergency patient between different hospitals. what training where you actually given in order to drive under blue lights? an hour's training. that was it. one hour's training? one hour's training on blue lights, that's it. that's astonishing. it is astonishing. so what is an acceptable level of

training to drive under blue lights? our whole course is four weeks long and the first two weeks are the foundation, if you like, to actually move on to doing blue light training. and then training takes two weeks. we approached the private ambulance service for an interview. they declined. and told us: the nhs east of england ambulance service, which uses the private ambulance service to provide cover

for emergency calls, told us: the east midlands and the trust is increasing the east midlands ambulance trust is increasing its front—line recruitment. but nationally, nhs trusts are struggling with the level of patient demand, so private ambulance providers, which are regulated, are increasingly likely to respond to emergency calls in the future. james melley, bbc news. we have all the business use with ben, but now the headlines. there's been a reaction to the resignation of britain's ambassador to the eu. four men are charged following the car crash in oldham

that killed two cousins, aged 11 and 12. an israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded palestinian knife attacker as he lay on the ground has been convicted of manslaughter. i'm then bland with the business use. next show that their sales were down by 0.4% before christmas. it used as an indicator to see what's going on on the high street. meanwhile, jon lewis reportedly pre—christmas surge. meanwhile, john lewis reportedly pre—christmas surge. pay gets worse for women in their 30s — 40s. they can expect to be paid 10% less than men when they hit their 30th birthday, that's a bigger

gap than men and women in their 20s. having children widens the gap. good news for the construction sector. there has been suggestion that construction companies have enjoyed a rise in new orders last month. stronger demand led to morejobs. suppliers passed on higher raw imported material prices. ! sales could be hit by rising inflation and could be the result of consumers spending less. joining me now is tara hounslea, a senior reporter at drapers. next is seen often as a picture of the health of the high street. do you think it's underperforming its

rivals? in general, next is seen as a bellwether, as you said. in terms of other retailers, this is a warning sign. it will be interesting to see what they report. is this down to strategies by the retailers that are working so well, or simply that are working so well, or simply that we are changing our habits? spending less on some things and more on others? it's a bit of both. we've seen a massive discounting in the run—up to christmas on the high street. it's been a last few years with the likes of black friday. we've also seen with discounting, people are generally looking for a bargain. next sticks to its guns and sells all price until boxing day, which hasn't paid off as much as they have expected. this year. these

aren't just from they have expected. this year. these aren'tjust from next. the chill has been felt by other retailers, marks & spencer ‘s, debenhams, down today. most of them will report next week, their christmas figures. do you think we are in for a rocky time, or do you think that next is going to be the high point of those?” do you think that next is going to be the high point of those? i think it would be a rocky time going forward. as blood as lord wolfson said people are spending more money on experiences, and there are a lot of close shop so there are lots of different competitions out there. tara, thank you very much. let's take a look at some of today's other business news. top bosses will have earned more

by midday today than the £28,200 that the average worker earns in the entire year, according to the high pay centre think tank. they're calling it fat cat wednesday and it assumes that the executives work 12 hours a day, most weekends and take fewer than 10 days holiday a year. holiday company all leisure group has stopped trading with immediate effect, leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded at their destinations. the shutdown of the atol—protected firm affects cruise lines swan hellenic and voyages of discovery. the civil aviation authority will help to bring home the 400 people who are currently abroad, but 7,000 future bookings have been cancelled. personal borrowing and debt rose at its fastest rate in more than 11 years in november. that's according to figures from the bank of england. the amount consumers owe through credit cards and loans jumped by £1.92bn in the year to the end of november, well ahead of forecasts. let's ta ke

let's take a look at the markets. the ftse 100 rather flat this afternoon. down from the record high it hit yesterday. the downward pressure is coming from a sharp fall in next shares, after those disappointing sales figures and its warning of a chill in the air for trading in the coming year. down more than 17%. that chill also being felt by other big retailers. marks and spencer, primark owner british foods and debenhams all trading lower. one bright spot among british retailers on the ftse250, b&m shares are up. the discount shop reporting record christmas figures. that's all the business news. i'll be back with more shortly. now, to the dinosaur who's about to go on tour. christian and i have been practising our pronunciation. it's not how you

pronounce it at school! dippy the diplodocus has been the centre piece at london's natural history museum since 1905, and has appeared in two hollywood blockbusters. i thought it was hocus—pocus diplodocus! but today he's being dismantled, ready to be cleaned up, and then sent round the uk on a two year long tour. he's being replaced by the skeleton of a blue whale. our correspondent, daniela relph, has more. it's busy here most days, but for those queueing today, there was a goodbye to be had. the first sight of dippy has been a lasting memory for so many children. it's the first thing you see when you arrive. the natural history museum estimates that 19 million people have stood here and looked up at dippy. it's not known whether the diplodocus is a he or she, but today, it is the last chance to see dippy at the museum. because it's the last day, people might want to... people might not have seen it before, so they want to come over. that's why there's lots of crowds.

what do you think of dippy? he goes "rahh! " it's amazing to think it lived a long time ago though. it was actually walking around. i'm a bit sad that he's going, but maybe i can see other dinosaurs, maybe. dippy first came to the museum more than 100 years ago. made up of 292 bones, the dinosaur arrived in 36 cases. during the second world war, the dinosaur was taken to the basement to protect it. the diplodocus is a plaster cast replica of the real thing. it would have weighed 13 tonnes when alive. it's been cleaned up and cared for in the main entrance hall since 1979, when it took up its current position. pulling it apart and moving the dinosaur will be detailed, delicate work. in the morning, we will be starting to take dippy down. we take the glass barrier away and then we start working from the tail, back up to the body, and then the neck, and then over the next month, we'll be taking each bone down. each of those 292 bones.

we will be cleaning them, inspecting them and then packing them up. once cleaned up and reassembled, dippy goes on tour for two years. it begins appropriately on dorset‘sjurassic coast, before moving to birmingham, glasgow, newcastle, cardiff and other locations. and this is what replaces dippy. the skeleton of the blue whale, hung from the ceiling to give the impression of it diving, of it being a living species that needs protecting. but today, it's all about dippy. for those feeling a little sad about the departure, there are tentative plans to recast the diplodocus in bronze and place it in the museum grounds. but for now, it is goodbye. that's the story of the day, isn't it? daniela, reporting from the natural history museum in london.

let's get your weather now. it will turn cold when the sun goes down. a widespread frost is on the way. some cold air working its way in through the east. it will be making a return when we head to wards the end of the week, the milder. a spot of rain, behind this cold front, the colder air, working in. here are some pictures captured by our weather watchers. this, in south gloucestershire, but towards the eastern coast of scotland and the north—east of england, some being blown in on some blustery weather. if you are in wick or aberdeen, very, very cold, some showers, even

in — land, we will see some sleet and snow over high ground. out west, they will be some sunshine to end they will be some sunshine to end the day. and as soon as it gets dark, the temperatures will plunge. this haze of blue through the evening. we will be developing a widespread frost, and some showers continue across lincolnshire and east anglia. how cold will it get? tonight, towns and cities at freezing, or below, maybe —8 can't be ruled out. a very cold start the tomorrow, but a beautiful day in prospect. blue skies, sunshine to start, maybe a patch of freezing fog. later in the day, cloud wobbling its way in. temperatures

below freezing in the night. high—pressure could give some dense fog patches. then a things will be considerably milder over the weekend, but a fair amount of cloud, and some patchy, light rain and drizzle. that's all from me for now. more in half an hour. this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at 3.00pm: the european commission ‘regrets' the departure of britain's eu ambassador, but there's a mixed reaction at home from both sides of the brexit debate. we should have somebody leading for the uk who clearly believes

that the outcome can be beneficial to the uk. i think that makes us all believe what we already suspected, which is the government does not have a plan. four men are charged over the car crash in oldham that killed two young cousins. an israeli soldier filmed shooting a wounded palestinian knife—attacker is convicted of manslaughter. i'm christian fraser, and in the next hour: shares in next tumble as the retailer reports falling christmas sales. the high street giant warns of uncertainty because of a consumer spending squeeze and brexit. and visitors to the natural history museum bid farewell to dippy