americans how i would implement it. americans welcome this rededication to american security, liberty and prosperity. new leadership is incomplete without accountability. if accountability does not start with ourselves, we cannot extend it to our friends and oured a ed opponents. we must uphold the promises we make to others and an america that can be trusted is essential in achieving our goals and securing our security. we must hold oui’ securing our security. we must hold our allies to commitments they make. this is an injustice to our and others. our failure ourfailure to do our failure to do this over the

recent decades has encouraged bad actors around the world to break their word. we cannot afford to ignore violations of international accords as we have done with iran. we cannot continue to accept empty promises like the ones china has made to pressure north korea to reform only to shy away from enforcement. looking the other way, when trust is broken, only encourages more bad behaviour. and it must end. we cannot be accountable if we are not truthful and honest in our dealings. as you are aware, my long—standing involvement with the boy scouts of america, one of our bedrock ideals is honestly and indeed the phrase, "on my honour" begins the boy scout oath and it must underline our foreign policy. we need to be honest about radical islam. it is with good reason that our fellow citizens have concerns about a radical islam.

radical islam poses a grave risk to the stability of nations and the well—being of their citizens. powerful digital media platforms now allow isis, al-qaeda, and other terror groups to spread a poisonous ideology that runs counter to the values of the american people and all people around the world who value human life. these groups are enabled and emboldened by organisations sympathetic to their cause. these actors must face consequences for aiding and abetting what can only be called evil. the most urgent step in thwarting radical islam is defeating isis. the middle east and its surrounding pose may challenges including syria, iraq and afghanistan. there are competing priorities in this region which must be and will be addressed, but they must not distract from our upmost

mission of defeating isis because when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. defeating isis must be our fore nothing is a priority. defeating isis must be ourfore most nothing is a priority. defeating isis must be our fore most priority in the middle east. eliminating isis would be the first step in disrupting the capabilities of other groups and individuals committed to striking our homeland and our allies. the demise of isis will allow to increase our attention or other agents like al-qaeda and the muslim brotherhood and certain elements within iran, but defeat will not occur on the battlefield alonement we must win the war of ideas. if confirmed, i will ensure the state department does its part in supporting muslims around the world who reject radical islam in all its forms. we should acknowledge the realities about china. china's economic and trade practises

have not always followed its commitments to global agreements. its deal in intellectual property. its deal in intellectual property. it has not been a reliable partner in using its full influence to curb north korea. china has proven unwillingness to act in pursuit of its own goals which at times put it in conflict with american interest. we have to deal with what we see, not with what we hopement but we need to see the positive dimensions in our relationship with china as well. the economic well—being of our two nations is deeply intertwined. china has been a valuable ally in curtailing certain elements of radical islam. we should not let disagreements over issues preclude partnership. we must be clear about our relationship with russia. russia today poses a danger, but it is not

unpredictable in advancing its own interests. it has invade the ukraine, including the taking of crimea. our nato allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent russia, but it was in the absence of american leadership that this door was left open and unintended signals we re was left open and unintended signals were sent. we back tracked on commitments we made to allies. we sent weak or mixed signals with red lines that turn into green lights. we did not recognise that russia does not think like we do. words alone do not sweep away an uneven and at times contentious history between our two nations, but we need an open and frank dialogue with russia regarding its ambitions so we know how to chart our own course. where co—operation with russia based on common interest is possible such as reducing the global threat of

terrorism, we ought to explore these options. where important differences remain, we should be steadfast in defending the interests of america and her allies. russia must know that we will be accountable to our commitments and those of our allies and that russia must be held to account for its actions. our approach to human rights begins by acknowledging that american leadership requires more clarity. we do not face an either or choice on defending global human rights. our values are our in our interest when it comes to human rights and humanitarian assistance. it is unreasonable to expect that every foreign policien defer will be driven by human rights considerations alone. especially when the security of the american people is at stake. but our leadership demands actions specifically focussed on improving the conditions of people the world over. utilising both aid and where

appropriate economic sanctions as instruments of foreign policy. we must adhere to standards of accountability. our recent engagements with the government of cuba was not accompanied by any significant concessions on human rights. we have not held them accountable for their conduct. their leaders received much, while their people received little. that serves neither the interests of cubans or americans. abraham lincoln declared that america is the last best hope of earth. our moral light must not go out if we are to remain an agent of freedom for mankind. enclosing let us be proud about the ideals that define us and the liberties we have secured at great cost. the ideas and culture of americans that came before us made the united states the greatest

nation in history so have their sacrifices. we standard on the —— stand on the shoulders who have sacrificed ruch and sometimes everything. they include our fallen heroes in uniform, ourforeign service officers and american americans in the field who like wise gave all for their country. if confirmed, in my work for the president and the american people, i will seek to engender trust with foreign leaders and with governments and put in place agreements that will serve the interests of american and foreign policy. the secretary of state works for the president and seeks to implement his foreign policy objectives. to do that, i must work closely with my cabinet collea g u es must work closely with my cabinet colleagues and all relevant departments and agencies of the administration to build consensus, but let me also stress that keeping the president's trust means keeping the president's trust means keeping the public trust. and keeping the public trust, means keeping faith with our elected representatives. i

wa nt with our elected representatives. i want all the members of this committee to know should i be confirmed, i will listen to your concerns and those of your staff, and partner together to achieve great things for the country we all love. . i'm an engineer by training. i seek to understand the facts, follow where they lead and apply logic to all international affairs. we must see the world for what it is. have clear priorities, and understand that our power is considerable, but it is not infinite. we must where possible build pathways to new partnerships and strengthen all bonds which have frayed. if confirmed, i intend to conduct a foreign policy consistent with these ideals. we will never apologise for who we are, or what we hold dear. we will see the world for what it is, be honest with ourselves and the american people, follow fa cts and the american people, follow facts where they lead us, and hold ourselves and others accountable. i thank you for your time and look

forward to your questions. thank you very much for your testimony. do you commit to appearand very much for your testimony. do you commit to appear and tv upon request from this committee? yes, sir. with that, i'm, i know the committee members now rarely give opening statements. certainly not expansive ones like i gave in order to move this along, i'm going to reserve my time for interjections and then we will move to the senators. thank you very much. do you agree with me that creating a stable, democratic free societies around the wormed, that support the aspirations of their people including basic human rights is in our long—term national security interests? without question, senator. do you also agree that russia under mr putin's leadership fails in that category? yes, sir. so, what we try to do, in order to provide national, international leadership, is to put a face on an issue. thousands of

people in russia have been harmed or killed as a result of mr putin's leadership. and millions have been impacted by that. there is one person who lost his life in a courageous way. person who lost his life in a courageous way. a young attorney, representing a client, with us interests. found corruption, did what any lawyer is supposed to do, reported it to the authorities, as a result he was arrested and tortured and killed and those who benefited from the corruption were held with no accountability whatsoever. through us leadership, we brought that case to the international forum. the congress has passed a law, other countries now pay similar laws to deny our banking system and the right to visit our country to the right to visit our country to the people who violated those human rights that were not held

accountable by russia. do you support that law? yes, sir, i do. i thank you for that because under the obama administration that had been 39 individuals who have been individually sanctioned, under the law, and five more were just re ce ntly law, and five more were just recently added on monday. that law provides for congress to be able to submit through appropriate channels, additional names to be reviewed by the administration for inclusion for sanctions. do you commit that you will follow that... studio: we're going to pull away from that. we heard from rex tillerson outlining there foreign policy with regards china, russia, and very much sticking to what he said in advance he would be talking about. we are waiting to hear from donald trump, who is giving a news conference at about 4pm our time and let's go to our correspondent gary o'donohue who is in york for us now.

gary, regardless of what's going on in washington, all eyes are on donald trump, this news conference this afternoon which has a bizarre quality now given what happened in the last 2a hours. i feel like the last 2a hours. ifeel like i'm wearing myself the last 2a hours. i feel like i'm wearing myself out saying things that, when you think about what is on the table, and what he is going to have to face in the lobby of trump tower, in less than an hour's lime time, it belies believe in terms of a president—elect of the united states. not only was he going to have to talk today about how he was going to disentangle his business interests from his family and his conflict of interests postponed from last month, not only was he going to haveit last month, not only was he going to have it talk about the controversial cabinet appointments he has been planning to make, not only was he going to have to talk about whether or not he was in lock step with

republicans in congress over the speed and pace of the repeal of health care legislation for example, but here, he will be asked questions about whether or not he was the subject effectively of a russian sting on his personal, and financial affairs. i mean, if you read the dossier, the alleged dossier, unverified details, we know, but taken seriously unverified details, we know, but ta ken seriously enough unverified details, we know, but taken seriously enough by the intelligence services here to be briefed to the president to mr trump and to the senior members of congress. they took it seriously enough to put that information in front of those people, even though it is unverified, he will face questions about that, lure i had details about potential blackmail situations and here we are just nine days away from the inauguration. i mean, it's one of those moments where you think what on earth do you say if you're donald trump? but then he is never short of something to

say. he hit twitter as expected, and defended himself rigorously. but there is a which have of validity to some of the claims and that's the damaging aspect to this? well, i mean, we don't know how true they are. i mean, a number of news organisations have sent people all over eastern europe trying to verify, to disprove the allegations and the might of some pretty big us organisations have been doing that. and been unable to do so, but i come back to this fact, if this was just, could be just dismissed as tittle—tattle, as nothing, as insubstantiated tittle—tattle, as nothing, as insubsta ntiated as coming tittle—tattle, as nothing, as insubstantiated as coming from nowhere that could be regarded as reliable, why would the intelligence services include it, all be as an index, apresent dibtion to put in

front of the president and the president—elect and those members of congress, that's the question i keep coming back to in my mind. they took it seriously enough, even though they couldn't prove it one way or another, to put it in front of those people. as you say, donald trump vigorously denying this and lashing out the intelligence community again. i mean, you can see why questions about the intelligence community arise in his mind. here we are the day before the press conference, the first he has done in 168 days, the first formal press conference. comes out on the eve of that with some potentially embarrassing stuff in it. you can see why he's sceptical, can't you? but he has lashed out on twitter as you say, talking about fake news, and asking the question, extraordinary, are we back in nazi germany? gary, we will back to you later once the news conference has got under way. gary o'donohue there.

we were listening to the confirmation hearing on capitol hill for rex tillerson. the session is very much going on. that's got some time to run. with me now niall stanage — associate editor of the us political website, the hill. niall, it is good to see you're still smiling because this is a lengthy, wordy, session, isn't it, but what stands out for you about what rex tillerson has or hasn't been saying? i think the comments he made a few moments ago about russia we re made a few moments ago about russia were interesting particularly, of course in light of the other story which your correspondent has just discussed. rex tillerson is seen by some democrats and some republicans asa some democrats and some republicans as a little bit close to russia because of his business ties. he did seem to be stressing that he would

not be like that. it was really emphasising the idea of russia as an adversary to the united states. i found that interesting. and a reference to islamic state as well, i mean, that was almost inevitable, but again saying that it is tackling islamic state is a priority. yes. absolutely. i mean, that's no surprise in a sense, but of course, it goes to this other question of what the us policy in syria ought to be. i mean, this again, all connects with russia in a sense. donald trump has suggested that the us and russia could co—operate to battle the islamic state. how that would happen in a practical, on a practical level is more questionable, but interesting, that rex tillerson is commenting in that rex tillerson is commenting in that regard. i mean, iwas that rex tillerson is commenting in that regard. i mean, i was struck, we we re that regard. i mean, i was struck, we were watching a lot of the session and anyone watching would have heard the woman taken out of the room by security, she was shouting loudly at the back of the room saying, "i reject you." she

said, "my home was destroyed by hurricane sandy. " i said, "my home was destroyed by hurricane sandy." i thought was more striking, rex tillerson did not blink, he didn't make reference to it, he acted as if it hadn't happened? yes, i think, that's more than anything, evidence of the fact that all of these trump nominees are very well prepared. i mean they are put through essentially rehearsals for the hearings because they can matter so much and because a moment where a nominee shows anger or harass ability can be a problem. we saw similar disruptions of course forjeff sessions as he was beginning his hearings to be attorney—general. i think no quinnsquence that rex tillerson did not respond in any notable way to the intuptions. -- interpretations. a quick thought to what's coming up in the next hour or so. i can't let you go without asking what you might expect, as much as we can ever

expect, as much as we can ever expect anything from donald trump, but what do you think we might hear? what are you expecting the tone to be? well, it's certainly, another episode of the trump show, isn't it? i expect his tone to be pretty combative, that's certainly what we have seen on his twitter feed and he has to push back at these unverified allegation as vigorously as possible, i imagine, that's what he will do. we will find out soon enough, thank you very much, niall. we're going to westminster where sir simon stevens is facing questions before the public accounts committee over the nhs. let's join before the public accounts committee over the nhs. let'sjoin the hearing now. down to about £600 million, that would be a significant achievement and we will have shown that providers have got to grips with

this issue, but that £600 million has to be covered. there is still a deficit. so, the year we are in, we are looking to make substantial progress towards getting back to the situation we want to be in. you are making substantial progress, but £450 million of the quarter one deficit includes £450 million of sustain yablet funding. without that funding the deficit would have been 911 approximately mds which compares with £930 million for the first quarter of the equivalent quarter in 2015/2016. 50 not quarter of the equivalent quarter in 2015/2016. so not as good as it is painted? the extra investment is an important part of what we are doing. as has been described the health service as well as we are at... you say extra investment. the sustainability funding, you're saying that's extra. just be clear... well, that's part of the

front loaded increase... not extra, extra... this is part of the spending review. this is the case we made for 16/17 given the pressures in hospitals are legitimate and real. they are to the because hospitals are being effect feckless. you have been robust about hospitals managing their deficit. some trusts have been allowed to get their deficits up to exceeding 5% of their income. why has that happened and what are you doing about this? the financial position deteriorated over a period of five years. there is very few organisations created a large problem quickly. most of them

have been doing it for a few years. the purpose of the reset really was to say this has got to stop now. let's start eating into it. and the work we've done with those organisations that went into special measures has been really, really effective in addressing that. so, by the end of this year, we're expecting aboutjust the end of this year, we're expecting about just over half of organisations will be in surplus again versus 30%. if it is possible in the two year planning process to get 18, 19, to 13, 14 levels of deficit in terms of the numbers of organisations. this must be disappointing for you. you came to ta ke disappointing for you. you came to take on the role 18 months or two years ago, forgive me... november 2015. it must seem like a lot longer for you! to do the improvements while dealing with the structural deficits because of the 4% efficiency that

was imposed, doesn't that put the improvement agenda on the back foot? you're just chasing the financial agenda to the detriment of the improvement of transformation that you were brought in to deliver? we should be able to spend all of our time on real clinical improvement and there is a lot of that going on in the service. i think one of the dangers at the moment is everybody gets fixated on the money and at the moment on the aed crisis. everywhere you go, you see fantastic improvement and often you are in an organisation and clinical activity. in liverpool yesterday, they had their worst day on monday, lots of financial challenges, but i met some impressive clinicians doing amazing things. so i think there is a real danger we over simplify this thing andi danger we over simplify this thing and i strongly believe that organisations will always struggle

to improve who have lost control of their money. it is a part of managing it, managing a system. it is not money versus quality. all those things have to work together. you do quality better. it was clear and when we look at the hospitals with the highest cqc ratings on quality, they are also the ones with the lowest deficits. and... the correlations is very clear. fairly clear, but the quality management and financial management do go together. philip boswell. a question on sustainability, the health committee report shows that extra funding, it states that extra funding, it states that extra funding to the department of health responsibilities is increasing by £4.5 billion and not the £10 billion as stated. £10 billion, £4.5

billion, definition, duration, can you explain what the figures are and if it is £4.5 billion, what impact will have that on the improvement agenda? the difference between those numbers, and this is in a way much simpler than it appears, is the £10 billion refers to the nhs budget. that was the commitment in the governing parties manifesto, it was extra money for the nhs. the resources that the department of health has which are outside the nhs need to make their contribution to austerity measures in the same way as every other government department. it is not dissimilar from the situation that i had into inn my previous department in education where the schools budget was protected, but not the wider education budget and the government parties manifesto was very clear that it was the nhs budget that that

commitment related to. so the envelopes budget was going up by £10 billion in real terms. if you look at the wider health budget including that outside the renneses, you get some of the numbers. so those numbers are not in contradiction at all. the government has been very clear about what its commitment was. mr stephens. i think the health select committee have dissected that and dr wool son set out the difference between the numbers. i think this debate about 2020, 2020245 that misses the point in the here and now there are real pressures. 0ver here and now there are real pressures. over the next three years, the funding will be highly constrained and in 2018/2019, real terms nhs spending per person in england is going to go down. ten years after lehman brothers and austerity began. let's not pretend that's not placing huge pressure on the service. is it misleading to say

it is £10 billion, or are you getting £10 billion? when you say each of the numbers, it is not misleading, but if you conflict or gloss them together then that would indeed not do what a select committee recommended. indeed not do what a select committee recommendedm indeed not do what a select committee recommended. it is very clear in the government parties ma nifesto clear in the government parties manifesto that it is the nhs that we are referring to. within the system money is being moved from one place to another. you could say we are robbing peter to pay paul. setting up robbing peter to pay paul. setting up special funds like the special ca re up special funds like the special care fund. outside the renneses for the nhs -- care fund. outside the renneses for the nhs —— ring—fence, health budgets... so you are robbing peter to pay paul. you can't say that because are' perm —— you're permanent secretary. no, we are

making our contribution to austerity like every other public... mr stevens, would you like to comment on that and i will bring in mr evans? parts of the offsets that we re evans? parts of the offsets that were made on the budget are as a result of policy changes and they won't have a direct impact on front line services. there are others where clearly, there are bigger concerns. sustaining preventive services that are commissioned by local authorities is one of them. no doubt we'll come on and talk about social care. i think the original proposition in the five year forward view was we would need to expand capital investment in practise u nfortu nately, capital investment in practise unfortunately, we're having to cut it by about £1 billion a year. unfortunately, we're having to cut it by about £1 billion a yearlj wa nt it by about £1 billion a yearlj want to, before i pass to mr evans, who will come in very briefly, the cash reserves of trusts are dwindling. mr stevens highlighted theissue dwindling. mr stevens highlighted the issue about capital funding which has been turned into a

resource so there was a reduction in capital spending. this is all causing hidden stresses on the system, that are going to come to fruition down the line, doesn't that worry? mr williams, does fruition down the line, doesn't that worry? mrwilliams, does that fruition down the line, doesn't that worry? mr williams, does that not worry? mr williams, does that not worry you? that is a symptom of the underlying problem. the underlying problem is that the cost to nhs providers of delivering services is higher than the income they are getting through that activity. but they still need to find sufficient cash to cover the cost and make payroll and pay suppliers, where that is insufficient they need to draw down on cash reserves where they will been able to build those up in previous years. or they need to borrow cash from the department. i would describe it as, it is another... it is not sustainable.

you can't keep drawing down on the reserves and reducing capital expenditure year on year and expect to... you're storing the up problems. you would want a level of cash reserve in individual organisations just to keep... aren't you concerned they're dwindling at such a rate? i'm not surprised they're reducing. i would not want them to reduce substantially further. but we are part way through a process to recover the financial performance of the nhs providers and i don't expect those cash reserves to move in isolation from what we are doing on the over all deficit. 0n the basis of could we continue on the trends we saw in 15/16, all of

us have said at different points, we acce pt us have said at different points, we accept that no, we can't and that was why a financial reset was necessary in lastjuly, was why a financial reset was necessary in last july, why the financial measures we put in are necessary and i'm sure we will come on to some of these other things and why we need to tackle unnecessary demand. you haven't done an assessment of the impact. that is something you must be looking at. if you allow hospitals to turn their capical into resource to —— capital into resource and you have buildings and it that is deteriorating, you're storing up problems for the future. why haven't you done an analysis in the department about it? clearly doing capital to revenues, which is not something that you want to do,

there is a prioritisation decision that protecting front line services... we know why it happens. and we want to reduce them. are you looking at what the long—term cost is to the system and the individual trusts? we are doing some work. at the departmental level it is difficult to get a line of sight to consequences of individual nhs providers of changes in their local capital plans. at the group level, most of reduction in capital spend in 2015/16 in ourjudgment was delivered through natural slippage. it is not uncommon for... most of it. at group level most of it was

delivered by natural... you're not amalgamating individual trusts there? in terms of our expectation of how that was delivered, it was mainly as a result of natural slippage or over optimism in the profile of the spent, rather than direct action to slow down. around a third of the capital to revenue switch in 15/16 was nexted between mr matthews and the individual providers in those areas there would bea providers in those areas there would be a greater understanding of the extent to which that required deliberate action. for the remainder it was largely as a result of slippage. wouldn't it be easier to give a budget for the capital was needed so you're planning for invest. ? i don't think here would

argue that shifting money from capital into day—to—day expenditure isa capital into day—to—day expenditure is a sustain able approach for the long—term. i has been the a necessary approach to balance some of the financial pressures in that day —to—day expenditure. it is something we will look to repeat this year. how many times can you repeat it. it was done a lot last year. it won't be the last time. our plan is for that level of revenue tra nsfer to plan is for that level of revenue transfer to reduce and by the end of the spending year period i would like to eliminate any reliance on that. do you have something to add? in practical terms what does it mean for the nhs, in practical terms what does it mean forthe nhs, ithink in practical terms what does it mean for the nhs, i think it is clear that given what we fwheed to do to support gps coming together to be

able to offer expanded range of services, to both get better access for patients and to relieve pressure on hospitals, we will need investment. we got op some of that with the prep imss improve —— with the premises improvement programme. what we found when we asked people what the schemes are that you get a positive pay back on, we had our hands bitten off and there were many more schemes we could fund. before you get to the question of hospitals operating in old buildings or in multiple sites or ways we could drive productivity if we invested in infrastructure, there is an unmet need and to extend it becomes possible to meet that need with increased infrastructure investment, that will pay off, both in term of revenue savings and in terms of better patient services and more modern facilities. that is great. we

are concerned about the capital issues. i think makes sense for me to finish before i hand over. first, briefly, many trusts are delaying payments to suppliers to cover their worries about this year's budget settlement. is that something that concerns you or you're monitoring? it is something that we are monitoring closely with colleagues in nhs improvement. clearly it is not good practice. but it is another symptom of the financial pressures in the system. do you think it is acceptable ? in the system. do you think it is acceptable? it is not something i would like to see sustained over the long—term as a way of managing financial flows in the short—term i can see... there is a danger there

is very big surge of spending in april i suspect as they all pay their suppliers. we won't go down that line. the concern we have is the impact on patient care and on monday the secretary of state said the four hour a&e target is being dropped. no he didn't. he said it wouldn't be the target. he didn't. perhaps i didn't read the statement but the press coverage. he said the four hour target was important and was staying, the point that he made andi was staying, the point that he made and i suspect this is being debated as we speak, it came up at... the point he was raising and we want to comment on this, was we need to have

a conversation about how a&e is used. that is... for... the patients that a&e is designed for and there are a series of things that we are looking at. you're saying the secretary of state is not dropping the four hour target. no. it is being breached on many occasions, it is the worst level of performances almost since it started? it is an extremely important target. it is the, we believe it is the toughest access target that there is anywhere in the world. we are not meeting it and we need to get back. you're planning to keep that. are there plans to drop targets or extend waiting times? not at the moment. perhaps mr mackie can come on on what we are doing in a&e. but that target remains. mr mackie, are you looking at the targets from nhs

improvement to rejig? no, we have a session tomorrow with the college of emergency shed sin, colleagues from across the service from other colleges to look at how we improve. it is an important indicator of system health. but a lot of things have changed since it was introduced. what we have been trying to communicate, there is a lot of people who could be seen in other settings and we are going to try and create those other settings. this is not new, we have had people going to a&e with coughs and colds for years. yes but it has grown. after tomorrow's meeting, is there a chance that the a&e target will be altered or dropped or be redefined? it won't be dropped. there are seem

measures, the clinical community is saying rightly when we introduced the standard there was no such thing asa the standard there was no such thing as a sepsis six for our sickest patient. some clinical path ways that exist that save lives that didn't exist when the standard was created. we need to take that on board. what i'm bothered about it when departments are crowded, risk can be unmanaged and we need to make sure that departments are able to uncrowd themselves and alsoically also clinicians can focus on the sickest patients. if that means means there should be a standard that says you're seen by a doctor within two or three hours that, is what we will consider.

studio: we are going to pull away from that questioning of the nhs bossin from that questioning of the nhs boss in england and looking at capital investments and that was the subject of that discussion. we will keep an eye on that. you're watching bbc news. the trial as begun of the former entertainer rolf harris who is accused of indecent and sexual assault and he is appearing in court via video link. 0ur correspondent is at court. what has the jury been told? the prosecution opened this case by telling the jury that this is not a first trial rolf harris has sat through here and two years ago he was convicted of indecently assaulting four women. that is why he is attending via video link from

prison. three of the complainants we re prison. three of the complainants were girls at the time. the allegation date back to 1971, but come up to 2004. some of them young girls who approached him for a photograph or an autograph and he put an photograph or an autograph and he putan arm photograph or an autograph and he put an arm around them and touched them intimately. some say they were assaulted on the sets of tv programmes or in studios. rolf harris denies all the allegations. the prosecution today has just been outlining the case for the jury. they're expecting to hear five or six weeks of evidence here and the unusual feature is rolf harris not being here in court himself to attend the trial. the jury has been told that he is an old man who is in poor health. he is 86 now. he is watching and listening via a video link and is visible to everyone in

court. that is how he will give evidence. but some weeks possibly of evidence. but some weeks possibly of evidence to be heard here. thank you very much. now something of an update on a story we brought you earlier in the afternoon. donald trump's nominee for secondary of state is still at his confirmation hearing at the us senate. until his nomination, rex tillerson was the ceo of exxon mobile ha has a long—standing relationship with vladimir putin. that grilling, yes, it is still going on. let's hear some of this, he was asked about the allegations of russian hacking aimed at interfering with the us presidential election. do you believe during the presidential campaign russian services directed a campaign russian services directed a campaign at the hacking of e—mails

and the leak of the e—mails and the dissemination of fake news to denigrate a presidential candidate? i have had no unclassified briefings, however, idid i have had no unclassified briefings, however, i did read the interagency report that was released. that report clearly is troubling and indicates that all of the actions you describe were undertaken. based on your knowledge of russian leader and politics, do you believe the activities could have happened without the knowledge and consent of vladimir putin? i'm not ina and consent of vladimir putin? i'm not in a position to make that determination. again that is indicated in the report. but i know there is additional classified information. you have engaged in business activities in russia and you know few things happen without vladimir putin's permission. i asked based on your experiences is it

possible for something like this to have happened without vladimir putin knowing about it and authorising it i think that is a fair assumption. they he would have? yes. rex tillerson ther nominated as secretary of state in america. that hearing is still going on. more to come from there later. also coming up come from there later. also coming up in about 15 minutes we are wait ing for the first news conference from donald trump since he was elected president. now back here. the immigration minister has sungted that once britain has left the eu, the government could charge businesses who want to recruit staff

from the eu. he made the comments in a committee meeting with mp5. 0ur correspondent has been listening to it. so there could be a charge explain more about what he has been saying. this is in the context of a discussion about how the government is going to regain control of immigration from the eu after brexit. that is clearly one of the massive talking points in whitehall about how they are going do that and whether they're going to be —— there are going to be restrictions on movement. if not there could be some other he verse. there is a new levy coming in in aprilfor workers other he verse. there is a new levy coming in in april for workers who from outside the european economic area, businesses will have to pay a thousand pounds to recruit somebody from outside the eu. robert goodwill

raised the prospect of that charge that, £1,000 charge being applied after brexit to companies that take on eu workers as well. he said that maybe something that has been suggested to us that could apply to the eu. so it is not something that it going to happen, but it is under consideration. the world could comes up consideration. the world could comes upa consideration. the world could comes up a lot. there is so much we don't know about life once we are no longer part of eu. i be it is interesting in terms of tone and approach, it is a once... just a one off charge at the time that individual is recruited. it is an annual charge of £1,000. a company employing somebody on a four—year contract will pay that per employee per year. there is an exemption for

highly skilled people, for phd and international students switching into work and it is a lower charge for small companies and charities. but the idea is to encourage businesses to take on british workers. now, we have had some response already, the liberal democrats have said the conservatives used to represent business interest, they have now sacrificed them on the alter of popularism. the government is stressing that there are options on the table. but it was mentioned. he wasn't pressed, he wasn't asked whether it was going to happen. he floated the idea. interesting. thank you. iam floated the idea. interesting. thank you. i am sure this will reemerge. a white supremacist has been sentenced to death for killing nine

black people at a church in the us state of south carolina in 2015. dylann roof opened fire seventy—five times during a bible study class in what prosecutors said was a racially—motivated attack. he rejected a final chance to plead for his life at the court in charleston, telling the jury he still felt like he'd had to do it. sophie long reports. this is the man condemned to death for the cold—blooded murder of nine people as they sat quietly praying. dylann roof was convicted last month of 33 federal charges including murder and hate crimes. he told the sentencing hearing that he felt he had to carry out the killings. the brother of one of his victims said the sentence would not bring back his beloved sister. this is a very hollow victory. because my sister is still gone. i wish that this verdict could have brought her back. but it can't. the prosecutor said on june 17, 2015, members of one of

charleston's most historic black churches had opened the door for a white stranger with a smile. he had come with a hateful heart and a glock 45. he had sat in a bible study group for 40 minutes before opening fire as they closed their eyes to pray. turning the peaceful church into a bloody crime scene. one of those who died was the local pastor and state senator, clementa pinckney. a personal friend of the outgoing president, who sang at his memorial. # amazing grace... # how sweet the sound... roof is the first person to face execution for a federal hate crime conviction. it a hard thing to know that someone is going to lose their life. but when you look at the totality of what happened, it's hard to say that this person deserves to live when nine others don't.

dylann roof will be formally sentenced later today. sophie long, bbc news. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc news: donald trump has denied that russia has obtained confidential information about him. a teenager has been remanded into secure accommodation after being charged with the murder of a seven—year—old girl. the bank of england governor has defended the central bank's

forecasts ahead of the eu referendum. he said the situation could have been worse if the bank hadn't taken could have been worse if the bank hadn't ta ken steps could have been worse if the bank hadn't taken steps to stabilise the economy. sainsbury‘s has reported record christmas sales of more than one billion pounds across the group. argos, which sainsbury‘s bought last year, also had strong sales over christmas and black friday. the uk's trade position deteriorated dramatically in november from the previous month. that's according to figures from the office for national statistics. the deficit on trade in goods and services was estimated at £4.2 billion in november, up from £2.6 billion in october. a new report shows that a quarter of people feel financial worries impact on their ability to do theirjob. joining me now from salford is sandi mann, a psycology lecturer and stress expert at the university of central lancashire. this survey interviewed about 1800

uk employees and said a third of people suffered from stress and felt it impacted their job people suffered from stress and felt it impacted theirjob and a lot of it impacted theirjob and a lot of it was concentrated in london and a third of people felt it impacted on their ability to do theirjob. how much of a cause of concern is this? anything that impacts on people's ability to do theirjob is a concern. this is particularly about financial constraints and worries. i think this is a particular concern in today's economic climate. and it is something that a lot of employers may think i can't do much about that, because the salary is it what it is. but there are thing they can do and they should take note. what can they do? i think a lot of financial stress is not necessarily just to do with not having enough money. i speak to a lot of people and treat a lot of people with stress in the work place, often it is more to do with managing money

and things like knowing which energy provider to go to and worrying about pensions and stocks and shares. an organisation can help with that. it is not always not making ends meet. thank you. a quick look at the markets. the ftse closed at another record high yesterday. today it has been treading water. the retail sector has performed well, led by sainsburies. that is it for this hour. i'm back later on. thank you. now here is the scene in new york, because the stage is set for the first news conference by the president—elect. the first since he

was elected in november. the inauguration is the end of next week and we expect to hear fairly soon from donald trump. we will be back in new york once that gets under way. i wonder if there are any flags flying outside, they all seem to be inside! now the weather. there is a lot going on with the weather. keep in tune with the forecast, because there is snow and some could be disruptive, particularly in the north. a lot of ice bars, we have this cold north—westerly air stream. it is very windy. north of england northwards blowing a gale and a rush of wintry showers in scotland and northern ireland and northern england and tonight ice could be a

hazard in some northern parts. as we get into tomorrow, it will be a tricky forecast. particularly in the south. we have this boundary between the mild and cold air and we are likely to see some snow developing. we have this front drifting in, bringing that milder air and bringing that milder air and bringing afair bringing that milder air and bringing a fair bit of rain. as the rain mixes with the colder air, it will turn to snow over the brecon beacons. and we will see snow down to lower levels down to the south eastern corner. some of that could be disruptive. further north we are in the cold air with a rash of showers coming in on noticeable winds and it is a cold wind in the north. two or three degrees in glasgow and newcastle it will feel two or three degrees below freezing.

that weather will pull away with some strong winds. but still a good rash of snow showers in scotland and northern ireland and wales and the south —west and it will be cold and frosty. thursday night into friday morning could be slippy with frost and icea morning could be slippy with frost and ice a hazard. to the end of the week, we are going to see some strong winds down the north sea coast and some large waves. and there could be some overtopping around the eastern coasts and it is around the eastern coasts and it is a cold day. particularly inland, we will feel below freezing. but there should be some sunshine. looking to saturday, some wintry showers in the eastern and western coasts, but inland sunshine, but still cold and windy. so a lot going on. warnings have been issued by the met office, so keep up to date with those online. had is bbc news. i'mjane hill. the

headlines at 4pm: donald trump hits back at report thatis donald trump hits back at report that is moscow's intelligence agencies obtained compromising details about him. this is the scene live in new york where those claims are expected to dominate a news conference that donald trump is due to begin very shortly. here, health service providers say the nhs can no longer deliver everything that's being asked of it under the current financial arrangements. the death of seven—year—old katie rough, a 15—year—old girl has appeared in court in york charged with her murder. rolf harris goes on trial accused of indecently assaulting seven women and girls. i'm simon mccoy, president obama calls on the american people to defend democracy as he prepares to leave office.