this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 2pm. the former england football team manager graham taylor has died. he was 72. american intelligence agencies did not leak claims that russia has compromising material on donald trump according to the head of us national intelligence. the man behind the report claiming russia has compromising material on the us president—elect is understood to be a former mi6 officer from surrey. heavy snow has started falling gci’oss heavy snow has started falling across britain. it is expected to hit the south—east by late afternoon. it has already been snowing in parts of scotland. there have been widespread wintry showers, making travelling difficult in some areas with some minor accidents —— some minor accidents. hundreds of gritters are out and most roads are clear. and in the next hour we'll be

looking at the prospect of the world's first tidal lagoon to capture green energy from the sea. creating a tidal lagoon in swansea bay — the government backs the idea to boost the uk‘s clean energy supplies. a 72—year—old female rally driver is coming out of retirement to drive the original car in which she competed in the world rally cup almost 50 years ago. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the former england manager, graham taylor, has died at the age of 72. a statement from his family said, "with the greatest sadness,

we have to announce that graham passed away at his home early this morning of a suspected heart attack. the family are devastated by this sudden and totally unexpected loss." taylor managed england from 1990 until 1993. he was a club manager at lincoln, watford, aston villa and wolves, and in recent years a pundit on the bbc and bt sport. let's head to our sports correspondent, andy swiss, whojoins me from the sports centre in sa lfo rd. me from the sports centre in salford. andy, totally unexpected as that statement suggests. what sort of tribute are you hearing? well, jane, the word that keeps cropping up jane, the word that keeps cropping up time and time again is a gentleman. he was a total gentleman. he was warm, generous and kind. this was a man that suffered huge and personal criticism during a lot of

the time he was england manager. as you mentioned, graham taylorfirst rose to prominence as manager of watford between 19... he took watford between 19... he took watford from the bottom division to the first division injust watford from the bottom division to the first division in just five yea rs, the first division in just five years, an extraordinary achievement. he also took them to the fa cup final. he then managed aston villa before taking over from final. he then managed aston villa before taking overfrom bobby final. he then managed aston villa before taking over from bobby robson as manager of england. he suffered a difficult few years as england manager. he took england to the european championships in 1992 but they were knocked out by sweden in they were knocked out by sweden in the group stages. you might remember that he controversially substituted gary lineker in his last ever england match. there was the famous headline afterwards, swedes two, turnips one. he stayed on but left

in 1992 after he failed to take england to the world cup. they conceded a goal by the minnows san marino after just conceded a goal by the minnows san marino afterjust eight seconds and he suffered personal —— terrible personal criticism by the press, not helped by a fly on the wall documentary which showed him berating a linesman. after a break, he returned to club management, went back to watford and enjoyed back—to—back promotions, taking them up back—to—back promotions, taking them up to the premier league. then, after a spell at aston villa, he became a pundit with bbc radio and he was a wonderful broadcaster. warm, witty, very popular with his collea g u es warm, witty, very popular with his colleagues and with the listener as well. such wisdom and experience. a very generous and kind man. huge amounts of sadness in the bbc sports

room and across the whole world of football. you talked a lot about the criticism he suffered particularly as england manager and people remember that turnip headline, rightly or wrongly, so incredibly well. it was talked about so much at the time. how did he deal with all of that. did he fill some of the criticism was fair or did he feel pilloried? well, some people were questioning graham taylor from the moment he became england manager. they would say that he wasn't a famous ex—footballer and that he never won a trophy at aston villa or watford. things went fairly well to start off with. he had a good run at the start of his time as england manager but at the european championships, things started to go wrong. i mentioned that famous substitution of gary lineker in a match that england had to win and it didn't work out. then we have the first of the famous turnip headlines that would come back to dog him over the next few years. then in 1993 when england failed to make it to

the world cup, the knives were out for him. he took it all with a huge amount of dignity and i think the fa ct amount of dignity and i think the fact he has such popularity really amongst the world of football, he is so amongst the world of football, he is so respected, he was an incredibly generous man and so so respected, he was an incredibly generous man and so popular amongst his colleagues here at the bbc and really across the whole of the game. the word that keeps cropping up really is gentleman. graham taylor was a gentleman. a very warm, kind person who was very generous with his time and he will be missed by eve ryo ne his time and he will be missed by everyone in the game. thank you very much. some big names in football have been playing tribute to the former england manager. the former england player stan collymore has tweeted: extremely saddened to hear the news that graham taylor has passed away. genuinely kind and funny man, condolences to his family and friends. the former aston villa midfielder ian taylor said: sad sad tony daley, a former england international who also played under

taylor at aston villa, said: devastated to hear the news graham taylor has passed away. greatest influence on my career. my condolences to rita and family. and alan shearer has just tweeted to say: and alan shearer has just tweeted to let's speak now to one atkinson, the former aston villa boss, of course, andi former aston villa boss, of course, and i think it was at aston villa that you got to know him?|j and i think it was at aston villa that you got to know him? i knew him many, that you got to know him? i knew him any that you got to know him? i knew him many, many years before that. our careers took a similar path. i first met him on a coaching course when i was manager of kettering town and he had just about finished playing. he retired quite early from lincoln. the irony was, he recommended a player to me, he said he would be a

very good player, john ward, and then he got of lincoln job and kept him. he kept the lad there and he did very well. over the years, i went to cambridge and we actually played in a game when they battered us played in a game when they battered us when i was manager of cambridge and he was manager of lincoln. somehow we held out and got a no score draw, which i think in the end cost them promotion. ironically enough, i got offered the watford job and he got offered the west brom job. a month later, i took the westbound job and he took the watford job. —— i took the west brom job. he actually was the first person to contact me when he was taking the england job to see whether i would take the aston villa

job when i was at geoff hoon wednesday at the time. it was a little bit too soon. i took over a year later. every image we show of him, it that smile, isn't it? yes, he was a very personable chap. i'll tell you what he was, he was very honest. i can't imagine him ever saying anything to anybody that he didn't mean. and as i say, i knew him very, very well and the early yea rs. him very, very well and the early years. there is some irony that those who at the time wrote about him in times of a turnip are now praising him. did that episode as england manager hurt him? praising him. did that episode as england manager hurt him7m praising him. did that episode as england manager hurt him? it will have done. i thought at the time that it was a very, very unfair but somebody did it. they thought they we re somebody did it. they thought they were being clever. i think it might

have been something to do with the fa ct have been something to do with the fact that the tournament we got beaten in was in sweden and there are sweet turnip connotations. somebody thought it would make a great headline and it would have hurt him, it would have hurt anyone, because it was an aspersion on him. one thing, and you havejust mentioned alan shearer sending in a tribute, where he was very unlucky as england manager, probably the two outstanding players in england at that time were alan shearer and gascoigne, who both hardly played for him because of injuries. you know, his england career might have been so different if he'd have had those two players regularly. run, it's really good of you to give us your time today and this sad day for the world of football. that was ron atkinson and in the last few

moments, eltonjohn, atkinson and in the last few moments, elton john, who atkinson and in the last few moments, eltonjohn, who of course was alongside graham taylor at watford, he has gone and instagram and saidi watford, he has gone and instagram and said i am deeply saddened and shocked to hear about graham's passing. he was like a brother to me. we shared an unbreakable journey —— an unbreakable bond since we first met and went on an incredible journey together. he took my beloved watford to a leading club. this is a sad day for watford, the club and the town. we will cherish graham and drown our sorrows in the many brilliant memories he gave us. i love you, graham. i will miss you very much. with thoughts to rita and other members of the family. so, tributes being paid to graham taylor whose death has been announced in the last hour. investigators have

announced that 23 people and organisations could face prosecution in relation to the hillsborough disaster. an investigation last year found that the fans were unlawfully killed. let's head to warrington. please explain what more is emerging just in the last few minutes? well, as you have just explained, we will remember the inquest which finished last year but at the same time that the inquests were being conducted into the depths of the 96 and that hillbrow, two investigations have been running here at the building in warrington. more than 400 investigators have been running two separate criminal enquiries into hillsborough. operation resolve first of all, the investigation which has looked at the preparation and planning for that day in 1989

and planning for that day in 1989 and the disaster itself, what happened as it unfolded and the emergency response to it. the investigators running that response have today said they have identified 15 people who they considered to be criminal suspects. a second investigation has been run by the independent police complaints commission from this building in warrington and they have been looking at the aftermath and since this visit and the alleged aftermath —— and specifically the alleged aftermath and they have today said they have alleged —— they have identified eight suspects. we don't know the names of the people and organisations that have been identified. wejust no organisations that have been identified. we just no files have been passed to the crown prosecution service and it is the cps who will make decisions over whether or not to make prosecutions. we know as guidance that the cps is not expected to do that for up to six months, so there is longer to go before we hear who may be facing

trial one day. at the inquest, the verdicts were of on lawful killing and thejury verdicts were of on lawful killing and the jury that the inquests found the chief inspector was responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence but it isn't known whether he was one of the names in the files that have gone to the crown prosecution service. they haven't specified that here. it's the bigger picture we are being told here. the number of individuals and organisations who could one day face legal accident —— action in criminal court. for those bereaved in hillsborough, there is a degree of anger from some of them. they believe, they told me, that do have identified eight suspects for the cover—up is a very low number. they believe it is much more widespread and that number should have been higher. at the same time, otherfamilies have been higher. at the same time, other families have said to have been higher. at the same time, otherfamilies have said to me have been higher. at the same time, other families have said to me that they believe the sorts of charges that are being considered here in eluding gross negligence, ——

including gross negligence, manslaughter, that is moving in the right direction with charges that may one day follow. the hillsborough journey still has a long way to run even 27 years since the disaster. thank you very much. the us director of national intelligence has rejected suggestions made by donald trump that official agencies may have leaked unconfirmed claims that russia had compromising material on him. in a statement, james clapper said he had called the president—elect to say the leak had not come from the intelligence services. this morning, the kremlin said it hoped president putin and donald trump "will get along" — and that there will be more mutual respect between their two countries. christian fraser reports. eight days from now, donald trump goes into battle as the next commander—in—chief. never before has an incoming president been warring on so many fronts. not you, not you. your organisation is terrible. let's go. go ahead.

quiet. he is in conflict with the press, the ethics committee, pharmaceutical and defence industries, some of his own senators, and of course the intelligence agencies. the dossier they investigated was an open secret. journalists had been working on it for months. it is a tale of sordid sexual escapades, russian espionage multi—million dollar cash payments funded to the trump campaign. the question for washington insiders is whether it is fact, part fact orfiction. and was the leaking political? i think it is deeply misguided for anybody at any level to question the integrity and motives of the patriots who serve in our intelligence community. it doesn't mean they are always right, but questioning the motives is another thing altogether. the man who first compiled the intelligence is 52—year—old

christopher steele, a former british buyer who works here. he is now in hiding with his wife and children, in fear of his life. mr steele had worked on the russian desk at mi6 for 20 years. in the 90s he spent time at the british embassy in moscow. more recently he had been hired to gather information on mr trump, first by republicans and later democrats. the allegations he uncovered were handed to the fbi. with nothing to report, the media steered clear until a two—page summary was handed to president obama this week and mr trump himself. as early as last summer, there were reports circulating that the russians had a tip. whether or not the sources were telling the truth, we wait to see. these allegations are being treated as credible by the us intelligence community. compromat, is how the

russians describe it. this year, the former prime minister, now a leading opposition figure, was allegedly taped having sex with his assistant behind his wife's back. he blamed the fsb. even if there is no film, mr trump's presidency might already be compromised and not only by his dealings with russia. yesterday he ceded control of his business empire to his two adult sons, but in the eyes of the ethics committee in congress, there is not enough distance to absolve him of any conflict of interest. in short, there are more questions than answers and no amount of tweeting from the president—elect, this is the latest, is going to remove the clouds that are circling next week's inauguration. gary o'donoghue is our correspondent in washington. it's difficult to know what to ask

you frankly because we are still reeling from what we saw this time yesterday. in terms of his relationship with the intelligence services, this is just relationship with the intelligence services, this isjust remarkable given that he isn't even president yet? yes, i mean it is verging on a total breakdown in the relationship, isn't it? he has effectively accused them of trying to destabilise him before he becomes president, of making up stuff, of peddling things that they don't know to be true and effectively putting them out there into the public domain. that is what he is essentially saying. i think that will reverberate through that relationship even more than the other things he has already said about them until now. i suppose the light at the end of the tunnel, if you like, if there is one, is that he does get to install a new head of

the cia, and he has senate hearings today for the gentleman he has chosen. there will be a new rector of the national intelligence agency as well. that post is changing as well. we will see what happens to the head of the fbi, of course, who has a slightly different arrangement in relation to his terms and the way in which he is appointed. that may allow donald trump to wipe the slate clea n a allow donald trump to wipe the slate clean a bit but of course we have tens of thousands of people in those associations, the national security agency, the cia, who will continue to work on and will feel that their president doesn't trust them. and if you don't have trust between the presidency and the eyes and ears of the national security infrastructure, then we have a problem. gary, we will be talking about this again quite soon but for now, thank you very much. for now, we are going to talk a

little more about the death of graham taylor. his death was announced within the last hour. he was 72. let's talk about his life and legacy with harry redknapp, the former spurs manager among many other things who joined me on the phone from dubai. your thoughts about this news this afternoon. yes, very sad, obviously. i have known graham a long time and for me, he was a fantastic guy. a great football man. i think people tend to forget what a great manager he was. look at his record at watford and thejob he did there in producing such a great team that came through the division, producing players like john barnes and lisa blissett. too many people look back on his england career and as with many england managers, it was a time when england where getting a lot more ridicule and grief than they deserved for sure. overall, graham was an

outstanding coach and a top, top manager. and a great guy. a really fantastic, fantastic man. he lived for his football and his family. fantastic, fantastic man. he lived for his football and his familylj think every single person we have spoken to this afternoon has referred to him as very much a gentleman. is that something you would echo? absolutely. he and i spent a lot of time with luther blissett. he came to play with me when i was at bournemouth and he would talk about his time at watford and playing with grey and how he natured them young players. how he brought them through from youth into big stars. he was a father figure for all those young players at the time. he took them two cup finals, winning, fighting for the top of the premier league at his time there with eltonjohn was a great exciting time in football for not only watford but football in general. we are looking at pictures now of exactly those times and eltonjohn

has already issued a statement praising him enormously for everything he achieved at watford m, everything he achieved at watford in, really, bringing them up from the bottom in a relatively short space of time. is it fair to say that? absolutely. he picked watford up... watford was an incredible story, what he did at watford. i'm sorry about the noise in the background. i'm mean do by watching my horse run tonight, so the commentary is a little bit deafening. well, we can hear you absolutely fine, harry redknapp. before i let you get back to the race, just a final thought from you about how you will remember him and what he did for the game? as you say, a gentleman, a fantastic football brain, a great, great manager, in my opinion. when i was a manager, in my opinion. when i was a manager at the very top, he managed

his country and everyone who came into co nta ct his country and everyone who came into contact with him over the yea rs, into contact with him over the years, i have never heard anyone with a bad word to say about the man. he was a gentleman and a great football person. harry redknapp, thank you very much forjoining us here on the bbc. harry redknapp talking to us on the phone there. a blast of arctic weather is expected to cause disruption across much of the uk over the next couple of days, with a warning from the met office of strong winds, ice and snow. today, the wintry weather is already bearing down on scotland, with the m74 in central scotland closed for a time because of ice. meanwhile, gale force winds cut power to 40,000 homes in the north east, cumbria and yorkshire. at heathrow airport, dozens of flights have already been cancelled as a precautionary measure. and in northern ireland, heavy snow is falling in county londonderry, causing major traffic problems. so, let's show you the situation and

how it's going to play out over the next 15 hours or so. with apologies to thomas schaffner knacker, you can see the snow coming in from the west, particularly hitting the north of scotla nd west, particularly hitting the north of scotland and north—east of england. also... the white is the snow! and winds as well coming across from the west. it has reached -8 across from the west. it has reached —8 in parts of scotland with snow overnight. no more apologies to thomas. i think hisjob is safe. let's go to lorna. she is in stirlingshire for us. a picture tells a story. it does, doesn't it? it is beautiful when the sun is out and the snow is not falling. this is and the snow is not falling. this is a sharp blast of snow in a november, december, january which relative to normal scottish winters has been relatively mild. yes, there were high winds yesterday leading to

major disruption around the forth road bridge, that now cleared, and today this snow falling which have settled in some areas. but aside from that, the weather this winter has been relatively mild. but it does look beautiful. of course, the priority has been to minimise the travel disruption. as you were saying, there have been some problems on the 74 south of glasgow. around rush hour this morning, it had to be closed for some time to let the gritters on. the lorries there finding the icy conditions very difficult. there have been minor accidents across scotland. a couple of jackknifed lorries, minor accidents across scotland. a couple ofjackknifed lorries, some ca rs couple ofjackknifed lorries, some cars skidding off the road, but fortu nately cars skidding off the road, but fortunately those accidents have been relatively minor. the rate you see behind me is the spine of scotland, the a&e nine, travelling up scotland, the a&e nine, travelling up through the highlands, across scotland. there have been about 250

gritters out overnight and indeed through the day. we have seen gritters and snowploughs passing along this road. unfortunately this road —— and fortunately this road which is busy has stayed relatively clear. the ski slopes will be hoping this these days —— these notes space settled their, as they have had a difficult season, but this is predicted to be a brief snap. what is this about a snowman? you might be able to see but don't raise your expectations too much. he is a very small snowman. but whilst you are out in the snow, it would be remiss not to make an attempt. he is especially for you. you care deeply. he isa especially for you. you care deeply. he is a disgrace. but thank you very

much. lorna, you have got time to work on it. i think that is the point. let's see how big he is by five bm. well, we will get a weather forecast now with a proper, tree weather forecaster now. simon, i think you did a sterling job. it was brilliant. i invite you up job. it was brilliant. i invite you up here, actually. i think that snowman they're really said it all. it's not a huge amount of snow. it's just that almost any amount of snow causes problems in our part of the world. we are not used to it. it doesn't happen all that often. we area doesn't happen all that often. we are a little more used to it in northern areas and certainly in scotland. brain will probably start turning to snow in the next hour or so across turning to snow in the next hour or so across parts of the midland and then during the rush hour across east anglia and the south—east as well. many northern areas will continue to get it through the night. the main risk will be the ice

through the course tonight and into tomorrow morning as well. this may look clear for tomorrow morning as well. this may look clearfor a time tomorrow morning as well. this may look clear for a time but look at that. we have more wintry weather coming in from the north. pockets of rain, and ice for the next few hours and into tomorrow. the white indeed is the snow for tomorrow and then some sunshine around for the afternoon. it is cold, it is arctic, but we have had it a lot worse. hello, good afternoon, this is bbc news. let's bring the art minsters. the time is exactly half past two. in the past are it has been announced that the former inland manager, graham taylor, has died at 72. he enjoyed success at watford. otherjohn said he was like a brother to me. the us director of national intelligence has denied suggestions that donald trump that government agencies were responsible for leaking claims that russia had amassed damaging material about him.

the bbc understands a former member of mi6, christopher stela, the bbc understands a former member of mi6, christopherstela, is the bbc understands a former member of mi6, christopher stela, is now in hiding after compiling the document. he feared for his safety after his name became public. snow and strong winds are expected to cause disruption across much of the uk in the next few days as the met office warns the country will receive a real taste of winter. investigators have announced that 23 people and organisations could face prosecution over the 1989 hillsborough disaster when 96 football fans were unlawfully killed. we will turn to our colleagues at the bbc sport centre for the latest news. good afternoon. we start with the news that graham taylor, former england manager, has died at the age of 72. he managed watford and aston villa in a managerial career which

also saw him take charge of the national team in the early 90s. and swiss joins national team in the early 90s. and swissjoins me national team in the early 90s. and swiss joins me now. national team in the early 90s. and swissjoins me now. the huge tribute being paid to a man who was held in very high regard within the football community. the tributes have been pouring in for community. the tributes have been pouring inforgraham community. the tributes have been pouring in for graham taylor. the word that keeps cropping up is a gentleman. graham taylor really was a gentleman. he was a kind, warm, generous man. a man who received terrible personal abuse when he was in charge of england. he rose to prominence as manager of watford between 1977 and 1987. he was hired by sir eltonjohn, the owner of watford. watford were in the fourth division, he took them to the top division, he took them to the top division injust five division, he took them to the top division in just five seasons. an extraordinary achievement. he guided them to the fa cup final. he became manager of aston villa and in 1990 he became the england manager, taken over from

he became the england manager, taken overfrom sir bobby robson. he had a difficult few years in charge of england. he started well, got to the european championships in 1992 but they were knocked out in the group stages by sweden. he famously substituted gary lineker in his last england match. that was the famous tabloid headline, to turn ups — one. he resigned after failing to get to the world cup in 1993. he really did suffer some terrible criticism. it wasn't helped by a fly on the wall documentary which came shortly after resigned. he returned to club management. more success back at watford. back—to—back promotions, got them into the premier league. a short stint at aston villa and became a pundit for bbc radio. he was a terrific broadcaster, warm and witty, respected throughout fight fans, players and his fellow managers. he was a hugely popular

figure and he will be sorely missed by everyone in the game. of those tributes, one of those was from sir eltonjohn, the tributes, one of those was from sir elton john, the former owner of watford who had hired graham taylor. the chairman of watford went graham taylor took over and he said in a statement, he is deeply saddened and shocked to hear about graham passing. he was like a brother, we shared an unbreakable bond since we met. he went on an incredible journey and it will stick with me for ever. he took watford from the depths of the lower league in uncharted territory and into europe. this is assad and dark day for watford, the club and the town. we will drown our sorrows in the many brilliant memories he gave achieved at watford was extraordinary. for the moment, many thanks indeed. let's get reaction now. i am joined by steve froggatt he played under graham taylor at aston villa and wolves. he gave you your first real

chance in football. he did, but it went before then when he was lincoln manager. i am originally from lincoln and father would watch his team's when we were kids. when he went to aston villa i happened to end up going there. he signed me as a 14—year—old boy. fortunately he became england manager after that time and it was during that spell when i could have played for both ireland and england and everyone badgered me to play for ireland. it only took one phone call from him to make me play for england. that was it, decisions made. i played in the under 21 is on his say—so. he signed before wolves after that. i go back with graham and awful long way. he was a father figure to me. i trusted

him and in football that is the word that gets lost in translation. he was such a kind, warm—hearted man. when he wanted to tell you off, he was the original hairdryer treatment man. he could show up with the best of them. he had such a kind way of doing that and you could never liked him because he was honest and players, all they want to the careers, is honesty and when we retired we both worked for radio five together. we would share memories and stories. for me and my family, my wife and children, it is a devastating loss because without himi a devastating loss because without him i would never have done for achieved what i did in my own career. huge amounts of tributes coming through for graham taylor. we saw some pictures of him on the training field. what was he like to work with? he was always very serious. he always managed to make sure his assistant manager was a bit

ofa wind—up sure his assistant manager was a bit of a wind—up merchant. typically it was steve harrison when i was there he was a realjoker, an excellent coach as well, but i think history will look at graham, what he did at lincoln and watford and aston villa, he was a remarkable manager and he got tagged unfairly as a long ball merchant. what he wanted, he wanted excitement, crosses in the box. he played with old —fashioned excitement, crosses in the box. he played with old—fashioned winners we re played with old—fashioned winners were they would get to the byline, get crosses into the box. he wanted excitement, he wanted guns. on a day—to—day basis, he was great. he was a hard task master. he worked you hard. preseason training, i cannot remember working harder under any manager. he got his pound of flesh out of his boys in pre—season. you always did it for him because he played psychological games with

players. we would have done our fifth day of nonstop running and we would be kitted out, ready for training and just as we would embark on yet another ten mile run we would jog on yet another ten mile run we would jog down 50 metres to the ice cream parlour and art they would consist of ice cream and coffee. that is what he did. he played mind games way ahead of some of the managers today and that was a fun thing. he a lwa ys today and that was a fun thing. he always kept its second guessing. many thanks indeed. a fascinating insight from steve froggatt. we will have plenty more from this story is the tributes continue to be played to graham taylor who has died today. for now, that is all from the bbc sports centre. we are going to talk to pat murphy now. he was not defined by his time as england manager. not at all, he

took watford from the old first division. also, what he did at lincoln, completely transformed the club. he did magnificently at aston villa. they were second in the table, completely transformed the club. when he went to watford for the second time after the disappointment at england, he made a brilliant achievement of getting them to the premier league on a shoestring. for those of us who worked with him in the media we never forgot he was the son of a football reporter in scunthorpe and graham always understood our trade and the vilification he received from some sections of the tabloid press didn't go well when he was england manager. that was striking because graham never bore a grudge publicly. he told politely, courteously and with humour when he met is denigrated. he neverforgot but he never showed that it hurt him. i thought that was a measure of

the man. he had great integrity and he never let you down. he would a lwa ys he never let you down. he would always keep you in the loop. he was always keep you in the loop. he was a journalist's dream. we respected him because of his conscience. we didn't see him as a one trick pony, that wasn't his modus operandi. he was very that wasn't his modus operandi. he was very good at his job and, at the same time, he was good at helping us be better hours. he was synonymous with football but it didn't end there. you spoke to someone who knew him from the world of cricket. graeme loved his cricket. he would sit with me in the abc radio commentary box and many locations. he was a member of warwickshire. he was often there. loved athletics as well. graham gooch, and england cricketing legend, he phoned me up to say he was devastated. he said he

couldn't believe it, what a great bloke. there will be a lot of people in other sports who will say the same thing about graham taylor today. in a sense, i know a lot of people said he wasn't a good england manager, market that, because of his demeanour, his integrity, he transcended football. it is that smile. every picture we have of him he smiles, it makes you smile to your garden. always grateful for what he achieved, where he came from. he was tremendous with members of the public. you would say to him, he was grabbed and he would say i haven't got a clue. didn't matter. he welcomed people as if he had known them for years. he had great people skills. i can see what it froggatt means about how he got players to play for him. he had this great ability. he had an iron fist ina great ability. he had an iron fist in a velvet glove, but he could put

the velvet glove on and was just that. with the public, he was much loved. he always had time for people and he always had the big grin and a whimsical way. tremendous fun at lunch. a fee of us were well stricken in years, he was moving out of ourarea, he stricken in years, he was moving out of our area, he was going tojoin his family, his grandchildren and wife in hertfordshire and the lunch soon wife in hertfordshire and the lunch soon trickled into the early hours of the evening and no one knew what time it was. we were looked after in terms of driving. it was worried that he was nostalgic and graham held court in the middle of the table. i can see him now, on the occasion. for us, thejournalist to work with them, it is a special day. iam work with them, it is a special day. i am grateful for your time. work with them, it is a special day. i am gratefulfor your time. pat murphy. i want to speak now from

southampton, the southampton boss. you were graham taylor's assistant when he was england manager. we don't want to define on because it wasn't a period he looked back at with unalloyed joy. i would like to rectify that in some ways because i was delighted when i got the opportunity to work with graham. i was managing the under 21 and the b tea m was managing the under 21 and the b team which we had. players who were too old for the under 21 and on the edge of the first team and i still think it would be a good thing now. we had about eight games in three yea rs, we had about eight games in three years, but graham, sadly he might be remembered for not qualify with england, but it should be remembered that he cut his teeth, unlike a lot of managers these days, at lower level. he was a player at lincoln, she managed there, then he went to watford. he brought watford 34

divisions in about five years. how did he do it? man management and a good chairman who, you have all heard of, i remember having many good chats with graham and he did like the little glass of wine now and again. and that would relax a little bit and he would tell me stories about elton and what it was like to have a found this charm like that. he didn't hold back with open. he would tell if he didn't agree about something. i was at wembley in 84 when they got to the cup final. i bumped into elton john 84 when they got to the cup final. i bumped into eltonjohn after the game in one of the corridors and he had tea rs game in one of the corridors and he had tears come down his cheeks. it wasn't sadness, it was a mixture of pride of his little club being at wembley and that game was watched

around the world and i think elton john today has said publicly that he will never ever forget graham in particular for putting watford on the football map. he did that. he said he was like a brother. you are mentioning the stories graham taylor told, is the one you could tell us now without getting into trouble? now and again, it was when open like a drink ortwo now and again, it was when open like a drink or two and graham would not hesitate in getting him one on one and talking to him as if he was talking to a player. alcan will remember times like that. that is how close they were. i cannot imagine many other managers who would there have hardwood with their chairman. they would be frightened for thejob. chairman. they would be frightened for the job. graham was chairman. they would be frightened for thejob. graham was a matter of principle. a very good family man as well. we are just showing a picture

of the two of you, both smiling. it says it all. he had a good sense of humourand didn't says it all. he had a good sense of humour and didn't always come over with some of the players. he was ahead of his time. i heard it mentioned today, this is taken for granted now. there were some many staffs who would go on to minibuses. in those days, not many have heard of it. he brought in a fella who was a psychiatrist. he told all the players, but, this gentleman, if he comes up players, but, this gentleman, if he comes up to you and you don't want to talk, just say no thank you, but if you do, listen and you never know. we were putting our boots on one morning and he said, like, one round the pitch am one on one was a psychiatrist. he said when they come back, people need a bloody

psychiatrist. that was the sort of humour that was around. we are going to leave it there. i appreciate your time. a good man, good manager, good family man. he will be missed. thank you forjoining us on assad day for football. you are watching bbc news. we are going to be turning our attention to defence in the united states. the director of us national intelligence has rejected suggestions that it was official agencies who leaked the claims that russia has compromising material about him. there is also lots of senate hearings going on on capitol hill this afternoon. these are various confirmation hearings for some of donald trump's nominees to

significant cabinet posts. i believe, yes indeed, we are looking atjames believe, yes indeed, we are looking at james matus, because believe, yes indeed, we are looking atjames matus, because he is nominated as secretary for defence. he is appearing in front of the us senate armed services committee. there are similar confirmation hearings over the course of the afternoon. much going on on capitol hilland we are afternoon. much going on on capitol hill and we are just one week away from the inauguration. that discuss it all with mallory factor who has joined us. as we have shown those pictures, you know quite a few of the nominees. i am curious about your thoughts, and i think we might have heard of the people he is putting around him? he is putting a fabulous group around

him. the democrats are doing everything they can to delegitimise not only his election, but a lot of the people that he has put up for confirmation. jeff sessions is one of the great men of the united states. they picked on a couple of things he said 30 or 40 years ago in a different time and place and what cory booker, the senator from new jersey in was really wrong. it is not the senate, it is not that i is this any more. i am talking about what he said during the confirmation hearings. it is wrong with the way hearings. it is wrong with the way he did it. it has lost a lot of its gentleman leanness. it didn't start with donald trump, it has been on a pa rt with donald trump, it has been on a part in that direction for a long time. a confirmation hearing, it is

not something we have in this country, to explain to people, it shouldn't necessarily be a rubber—stamping exercise, should it? no, but you are looking at someone who has been in the senate for a long time when we talk aboutjeff sessions. he was the senator from alabama for a long time. everyone knows him pretty well. he has a lot of friends in the senate and it isn't a rubber stamp, but most of these people will get through and be confirmed. i would these people will get through and be confirmed. iwould be these people will get through and be confirmed. i would be surprised if all but one that didn't get through. they will probably knock one out just to say they did it. i am not sure who that one will be, but they will get through. these are pictures from yesterday, but in terms of what is pressing with the intelligence agencies, the mood, irrespective of political affiliation, surely the language, the tone of all of this,

between the president—elect and the intelligence agencies, this is not what should be going on one week before and inauguration?m shouldn't happen at all but the intelligence community, 16 agencies that make up the intelligence community that have over $50 billion a year budget plus the intelligence budget for defence, these agencies have become more and more politicised. the people who run these agencies are appointments of these agencies are appointments of the president and the people running those agencies currently are people that are close to obama and r alabama appointees. obama is doing everything he can to keep his legacy intact and to delegitimise donald trump. their number one job surely is to keep the country safe and keep american citizens safe. is to keep the country safe and keep american citizens safelj is to keep the country safe and keep american citizens safe. i hope you are right, but it has gotten more and more political over the years.

that is a real problem. i agree that is what the job should be, but they are appointed by somebody. their loyalty, sometimes, those in multiple directions. what is going on at the moment? will this damage donald trump in your opinion?|j donald trump in your opinion?” don't think so. what happened in his press co nfe re nce don't think so. what happened in his press conference is telling. as you know, he was accosted by a reporter from cnn and he basically put him down pretty strongly. the elite bubble, pardon me, which is similar to london, the elite bubble in washington and new york like that, but the people in the middle really do like that. they are tired of an elitist approach. the liberals in america, this is important to understand, liberals in america have

lost their way in many ways. as they have in this country. you have seen huge resources and political capital being put into a small group of people. the lg bt being put into a small group of people. the lgbt community, and the pro—people who need education, but political capital is being used for a small group that hollywood identifies with other police identify with. easy this delegitimise edition of donald trump in the same way he secretly legitimisation of brexit going on here. it is not being accepted by london, cambridge, oxford that area. there is so much in there that we could continue chatting for quite some time. we will have to leave it for some time. time for a roundup of the business news now vishala is at a shopping centre in essex for us on a day that lots of high street retailers have published christmas trading results.

iam here i am here in the lakeside shopping centre in essex. i have been here all day talking to shoppers and retailers about how christmas was. i have got to shoppers here with me. alicia and james. lots of people will be at home shopping online, ordering things in the comfort of their home, what have you come to a shopping centre? i am an awkward size in closing, i cannot find things that the online so i have to ta ke things that the online so i have to take it back and i like shopping centres better. do you like shopping centres better. do you like shopping centres as well? yes, i am an awkward size, different shops of different sizes. it is a lot easier to attract the clothes on. after that and my fiance drags me around. i know what that is like. with us is gordon mckinnon, the group

operations director of the in two group. this year ‘s figures out today for christmas show that a big retailers are doing well. online sales for some of them have increased over that period. what are you doing to attract customers to shopping centres and draw them in and put them away from things that putting online? it is interesting to see the figures coming out today. they have been reporting pretty good sales figures. that is not a surprise because for the christmas period we have seen good foot fault growth. from the beginning of the christmas trading season, but the way through the new year's eve we recorded a 1.1% growth in foot fault, the numbers of people visiting centres across the uk. we area visiting centres across the uk. we are a good barometer because we have are a good barometer because we have a king of the biggest shopping centres in the country. one thing we do is to try to make sure we do as much as we can to create a grid

customer experience, to drive people away from computer screens and get them into centres. you heard about an atmosphere in our centres. that is what it is about, providing something people cannot get online. although it is important to cater for customers who want to shop online as for those who want to shop inside shopping centres. you have done that by creating a website for lakeside. you don't have the metrocentre as well. we have some of the biggest shopping centres in the country. we have recognised the customary nowadays what to do more than just visit the shops. they want and experience. if they go to the shops that might mean making a david, doing the shops, having a bite to eat to break it up, maybe a glass of champagne at the end, but making a profit. then we lay on entertainment and activities to give them the all—round experience. we also recognise customers want to

shop online. we have set up our own virtual shopping centre. that means people can go online, go to other for shops, visit using their online presence. we have about 500 retailers from our shopping centres around the country on that one platform. that means people can shop online, they can shop at our tenants across the country. thank you for joining us. he's just he'sjust coming in he's just coming in from essex he'sjust coming in from essex fire service in relation to the terrible weather lots of people are experiencing. the village ofj work in essex is to be evacuated because of the risk of flooding. it is because of potential flooding caused by heavy rain. it doesn't appear, we are not getting suggestions it has studied as of yet. it appears to be a precautionary measure. the village

ofj work is to be evacuated. that is from essex fire service. let's get the full weather picture. i wish i had all the answers. we are dealing with so many elements. we have the potential for flooding, strong winds, the suit in scotland, wintry showers and we are starting to see some of that heavy rain we have had on the across the south turned to stone. in devon it is starting. that gives me some confidence some of the rain will turn to snow. that is not great news. but what happens in the rush hour, five or six o'clock, that is where the snow could turn heavy, circling around the hills, possibly in the towns as well but it would be mostly rain at street level. for many other areas we are talking about the risk of snow showers. of

course, yes, ithink about the risk of snow showers. of course, yes, i think we have got some technical problems right now. we are back again. don't worry about that. some sunshine developing for friday. and icy side to the day, but thenit friday. and icy side to the day, but then it will be fairly sunny. a rain mix of weather on the way in the next 24 hours or so. but is it. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. the former england football team manager graham taylor has died. he was 72. american intelligence agencies did not leak claims that russia has compromising material on donald trump —

according to the head of us national intelligence. the man behind the report claiming russia has compromising material on the us president—elect is understood to be a former mi6 officer from surrey. heavy snow has started falling across britain. it's expected to hit the south east by late afternoon. files on 23 people and organisations involved in the 1989 hillsborough disaster have been passed to the crown prosecution service. several major retailers — including marks and spencer, debenhams and john lewis — report better than expected figures in the run up to christmas. and in the next hour — the world's first tidal lagoon