after christmas, a fu— (u‘ltu‘u‘ "nun", broke after christmas, a little flat. —— fat. it is part of the reason it is so popular. escapism. escapism, people like to be at home. i love it. 8 this is bbc news. the headlines at 7pm. after the president—elect accused america's intelligence agencies of leaking unproven allegations about him — mr trump's nominee for cia chief strikes a very different note. they did jobs in a professional way and theiraim was they did jobs in a professional way and their aim was also to give truth and their aim was also to give truth and depth to policymakers. arctic weather causes disruption across many parts of the uk with snow and strong winds affecting travel and forcing schools to close. lam iamat lam atan i am at an education centre in essex as the town prepares for heavy flooding. the footballing world pays tribute to the former england football manager, graham taylor, who's died at the age of 72. i held him in the very highest

regard. because of what he gave to me. he gave me my england debut. he set me on the road and i will never forget that. and in the next hour, wave hello to a new green energy project for the uk. the world's first tidal lagoon creating energy from the sea is likely to go ahead in swansea bay. and we speak to the writer of lala land, the man who's brought the art of the musical back to hollywood. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

two senior figures taking on key roles in donald trump's new administration have given strong endorsements of the us intelligence community — just hours after the president—elect suggested security officials may have leaked unproven allegations about him. mike pompeo, the man nominated to become the next head of the cia and general mattis, donald trump's choice for us defence secretary have been setting out their view to senators at their confirmation hearings. both men also took a more hawkish view on russia than the next commander—in—chief, expressing concern about the threat it posed in europe. nick bryant reports from washington. a week before inauguration day, usually an air of expectancy on capitol hill. but the mood is much more feverish and electric. as allegations swirl that russia has compromising information about the president—elect that could make him susceptible to blackmail. today trump's choice as cia director agreeing that the kremlin tried

to interfere with the election. it's clear about russian involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on american democracy. i'm very clear about what that intelligence report says. and i have every expectation that as we continue to develop the facts, i will relay those to the president and the team around him and you all, so we can have a robust discussion about this threat from cyber. as to the latest allegations in the dossier: i will pursue the facts wherever they take us. and the incoming defence secretary, james mattis, took aim at vladimir putin, taking a much tougher line than his new boss. i'm all for engagement, but we have to recognise reality in what russia is up to. there is a decreasing number of areas where we can engage. and an increasing number of areas

where we will have to confront russia. yesterday the president—elect rejected the unverified allegations that russia has dirt on him. in strong and colourful language. you are fake news. go ahead. after speaking last night to america's director of national intelligence, james clapper, he was just as vehement on twitter. but intelligence chiefs have made no judgments on the claim. team trump is defiant, insisting the allegations are not true. what struck me most in mr clapper‘s public statement that i'm

sure your viewers can access, is mr clapper reemphasising that the intelligence community gave no credibility to the fake news documents. washington is a city used to intrigue and scandal, but not on the eve of an inauguration. a former mi6 officer has gone into hiding after being named as the source of the latest allegations against president elect donald trump. christopher steele produced a dossier last year which included the allegations that mr trump had been caught in compromising financial and personal activities. the cia says it makes no judgment about the credibility of the unproven report. gordon corera reports. the murky world of intelligence—gathering in moscow. a secret dossier of allegations about trump and russia. all written by a former member of mi6. this is christopher steele, now at the centre of controversy.

his house was unoccupied today. he's supposed to have told neighbours to look after his cats and he is said to be lying low, fearing for his safety. so what do we know about christopher steele? he's 52. in the nineties he worked undercover for mi6 in moscow. after leaving, he founded a private intelligence company called orbis. last year he was commissioned by trump's opponents to look into the tycoon's russian connections. he ended up with 35 pages of allegations about his professional and personal life.

orbis are based here. there is no sign of chris steele. he is a man with contacts in moscow. but so far there has been no confirmation that the extraordinary allegations he dug up there are definitely true. thanks to his past as a spy, steele is unlikely to have been able to travel to moscow himself so instead will have relied on others to gather information. moscow's a difficult place to work in. the russians have a habit of secrecy and deception. the other complicating factor is money. if you're going to give someone money to tell you something, there is a strong possibility that they will tell you what you want to hear. alexander litvinenko, a former russian agent who fled to london, investigated powerful figures in moscow and was killed by radioactive poison, it's alleged on the orders of the kremlin i believe it is dangerous, particularly after the death of my husband, because when you just

approach specific information, particularly when this information very close to powerful people, you might be in this line and you just easily might be killed. the russian dossier was not written for public consumption. but american spies have briefed its outlines to the man it's all about. its author never expected to be in the spotlight. but in the atmosphere of american politics today, secrets are no longer as safe as they were. blizzards are sweeping across the uk this evening, driven by a blast of arctic weather. scotland was hit first — with some schools shut and transport services disrupted. northern ireland also saw heavy snowfalls. further south dozens of flights out of heathrow have been cancelled and several villages on the east coast have been evacuated after the environment agency issued severe flood warnings. our correspondent duncan kennedy reports. scotland, where the gorgeous meets

the treacherous. and the place where the treacherous. and the place where the snow laid its deepest and wildest. eight inches of drifts in some places, creating scenery beyond postcard perfect but sending temperatures way below zero. it was enough to do this to the m71; near glasgow. drivers spent hours crawling to their destinations. in northern ireland, the traffic moved but on roads snowed and iced under bitter conditions. gritters struggles to keep routes covered. it was the same in cumbria, where councils had to make multiple trips after the brit was blown or washed away. because we're trying to get salt on the network, every time we are doing that, the rain is coming and washing it off, so the salt level is then reduced and we have to top it up. that is why people will

see this constant movement around the roots, building up that salt level. head south, and sleet and snow are courting ablaze across the midlands. but here, not so lucky. when it comes to driving, under these conditions we do not do it. it's really nice. so pretty. it is the first time she has seen the si'iow. the first time she has seen the snow. the snow came late in the day to heathrow but the authorities had already decided to take no chances and cancelled 80 fights. —— cancelled 80 flights. alan and elizabeth mitchell are among thousands of people want britain's east coast preparing for flooding. high seas threaten to pour in. east coast preparing for flooding. high seas threaten to pour inlj east coast preparing for flooding. high seas threaten to pour in. i am upset and frightened. after the last flight, | upset and frightened. after the last flight, i had upset and frightened. after the last flight, i had a couple of strokes. i do not want that again. i'm sorry, i am going to cry. 100 soldiers are in

lincolnshire tonight warning people about the possibility of flooding there as well. they will be on alert for 2h hours. all part of this midwinter of multiple weather experiences that is applying to the british isles. duncan kennedy, bbc news. 0ur correspondent katherine nash is the village of jaywick in essex. homes are to be evacuated because of a possible storm surge. i think we have lost her. that is very disappointing. she had waited so patiently to speak with us. let's see if we have got back again. have we got you back? yes, we have. tell what they are expecting in jaywick. lam about what they are expecting in jaywick. i am about a mile away from the seafront here injaywick i am about a mile away from the seafront here in jaywick and i am about a mile away from the seafront here injaywick and there have been preparation is going on all day, really, ready to receive

residents who have been told to leave their homes because of the potential risk of flooding. police have been knocking on doors since four o'clock this afternoon, warning people about the risks of the tidal surge and telling them that they really need to be ready to leave their homes first thing tomorrow morning. this decision has not been taken morning. this decision has not been ta ken lightly. there morning. this decision has not been taken lightly. there has been guidance from the met office as well as the environment agency and they have been saying that at one o'clock tomorrow afternoon they are expecting a high tide, combined with a storm surge and winds of up to 40—50mph. the result of that could be severe flooding. nigel brown joins me now. he is from the district council, and is in charge of the operations here. how prepared are we? i think we are as prepared as we possibly can be. the centre has been open since four o'clock this afternoon, ready to receive people but in reality, we know that most people will probably look to turn up first thing in the morning.

they will want to stay in their own homes tonight, which is fine, but tomorrow could be a different story with hundreds of people. so what will happen tomorrow morning? angle we we re will happen tomorrow morning? angle we were saying be ready at seven o'clock. the police will be going round and talking to people and it is for them to decide if and when they come. —— i know you were saying be ready. but they will be safe here, they will be dry and warm and with other people in the same situation, away from the dangers of the tidal surge. these are very much precautionary measures taken here tonight and we will not know the full extent until tomorrow. thank you very much, catherine. catherine nash, on the essex coast. british airways cabin crew are to stage a fresh strike in a dispute over pay. members of the unite union will walk out for 3 days from january 19 following two days of industrial action this week. onald trump says the director of national intelligence has called him to condemn

a leaked report claiming the president—elect was vulnerable to blackmail by russia. snow and strong winds are causing disruption across many parts of the uk, and some areas of eastern england are being evacuated following severe flood warnings. tributes have been paid to the former england manager, graham taylor, who's died at the age of 72 from a suspected heart attack. investigators say 23 people and organisations could face prosecution for the hillsborough disaster in which 96 fans died. the crown prosecution service will decide whether or not to press charges. an inquest last year found the victims were unlawfully killed in 1989 and that the match commander was responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence. our correspondent judith moritz reports. # walk on, walk on!

they called itjustice day a moment of history. the ruling that 96 liverpool fans were unlawfully killed at hillsborough. it was the verdict their families wanted so badly. amongst them charlotte hennessey, who was just six when herfather died. nine months on, charlotte and the otherfamilies nine months on, charlotte and the other families have now learned that 23 people and organisations could face prosecution. there are people that i believe that have committed criminal offences and i think that they should be brought to justice for that. because if 96 south yorkshire police officers had died that day and liverpool fans were responsible, they would probably still be paying the price. operation resolve investigated the disaster and identified 15 criminal suspects. offences being considered include gross negligence manslaughter. we don't know who the suspects are. or if they include david duckenfield, the match commander. at the inquest, the jury found the fans were unlawfully killed. and that he was responsible for

gross negligence. the ipcc investigated allegations of a cover up and has identified eight criminal suspects. offences being considered include misconduct in a public office. and perverting the course of justice. the former chief constable, sir norman bettison, has revealed that he has been treated as a suspect. at the inquest, he said he was not part of a black propaganda unit set up to blame liverpool fans. long since the noise of celebration has died down here, there is still a clamour forjustice in this city. but those who campaigned for so long will have to remain patient. it will be months before they find out who, if anyone, will face prosecution. the legal process sometimes does not work as quickly as we would like. i wholly understand families' and others' frustration at the time

that might be take on the get something to court. particularly given that these are events of 28 years ago. it must be extremely frustrating. some campaigners say the number of suspects of the alleged cover up is too low and the crown prosecution service says it will be up to six months before it decides on charges. with me is tony evans, a football journalist for the london evening standard and a survivor of the disaster at hillsborough all those years ago. thank you very much for coming in. how will the families of the hillsborough victims be reacting to this news tonight? there is a certain amount of frustration that it has taken so long. and also annoying is that there is so few people looking forward to the prosecution. i think as the year goes on, we will see them feeling better about it because there is a strong political will to see justice done. what is important now in the way that the cbs —— cps handles this? what is important is the way

that the take it forward, and that they put the right people in, if it goes to a trial in the dock. they have been extremely thorough. this has been a rigorous investigation. and it is still ongoing. there are still 170 cases being investigated but these are the main ones. and i think that basically they have their ducks in a row and they are ready to go. he reassured are the hillsborough families by the fact that it has been so thorough, even though it has taken such a long time? given the twists and turns in how long it has taken to get to this point, i think there is a natural scepticism from anyone who has campaigned for justice. but scepticism from anyone who has campaigned forjustice. but i do think for the first time since the disaster happened in 1989, there is a strong political will to see people held responsible for their actions that day, and what happened afterwards, the cover—up. allegations of a cover—up, because that has not been proven. there are

all sorts of denials that any black cop units were set up, as we have been reporting. this is notjust about football. it is notjust about liverpool. it is much wider. it is about public safety. any time a person goes to a public event, they need to know that the person charged with protecting them will indeed protect them. and if it goes wrong, that they will accept the responsibility and try to ensure that it does not happen again. instead of conspiring, allegedly, to cover up instead of conspiring, allegedly, to cover up their roles in it and throw the blame onto the victims. i think it is really important that any time someone you love goes to a public event, you are reassured that they are in the best possible hands and until we get to the bottom of this and getjustice until we get to the bottom of this and get justice for this, until we get to the bottom of this and getjustice for this, we will not know that has happened. and anyone who is part of what happens next will have to be ensured of a fair trial. nobody would want to see

justice delayed and then justice not being properly meted out. one of the things that has taken so long in this investigation, they have to make sure they are getting the fear is trial, and i think the hillsborough families at the end of the trials will have a satisfactory outcome. but yes, finally, after all these years. it will be coming up to 30 years since it happened.|j these years. it will be coming up to 30 years since it happened. i think we will see justice. tony, 30 years since it happened. i think we will seejustice. tony, thank you. the former england football manager graham taylor has died from a suspected heart attack. he was 72. taylor rose to prominence by taking watford from the old fourth to first division and the fa cup final. his club chairman then, sir eltonjohn, said today that he'd lost a ‘brother‘ with whom he shared an unbreakable bond. natalie pirks looks back at his career. the sound of hitting a football thrills me. football was in graham taylor's soul. from managing lincoln city...

i think i've got qualities as regards coaching. ..to the highs and lows of the england job, he remained passionate about his first love. in 1977, hejoined elton john's watford. fans their call him god. three promotions in five years tell you why. he turned them into the family club during the age of hooliganism. there was also an fa cup final to cherish. he had that smile that would make you feel comfortable and you could talk to him. you always felt that, whatever he said to you, it was true. aston villa first came calling in 1987. he led the club to promotion a year later and that turned the heads of the fa in 1990. do i not like that. those five simple words would come to define his england career. in three years as coach, he was depicted as a tabloid turnip

and criticised for failing to make the world cup. one of the reasons i admired him and liked him so much was, you never got any bull from him, he was just straight right down the middle and told it as it was. some people didn't like that but i loved it, i certainly admire that. he was surprised and honoured to receive an obe for services to football, but his friends were not. tonight, his friend, sir eltonjohn, described him as like a brother to me. wembley paid tribute as the sport mourns the loss of one of the game's true gems. the world's first tidal lagoon to capture green energy from the sea, has come a step closer to being built in swansea bay. the proposal has been backed by a government—commissioned review and there are hopes of developing a network of larger lagoons around the uk coast. according to independent analysts, a network of tidal lagoons

could generate more than 10% of the uk's electricity by 2030. that's enough energy to power 9 million homes. that would result in a 36% cut in the uk's co2 emissions by 2035, making it possible to meet the government's current carbon targets. from swansea, sian lloyd reports. the plan is to generate power from the ebb and flow of the tide. and today, supporters of a lagoon in swansea bay believe a bright future for this type of renewable energy is on the horizon. we want the lagoon to become more than just a power station. a sea wall more than six miles long will loop across the bay. energy harnessed by 16 hydroelectric turbines. today's report says tidal lagoons can deliver a clean supply of energy, allowing the uk the chance to become the global leader in this type of technology. it's great when a government review

spends six months crawling over every aspect of the potential of tidal and then says, we agree, there'sjobs to be had, cheap power to be had, there is a global industry to be had in the uk. but his plans for three further lagoons in wales and two more in england would be delayed until the impact of the smaller swansea scheme is assessed. on cost, the report suggests that lagoons could compare favourably with nuclear in the long term. a view shared by this independent energy expert. we don't have an enormous amount of options in terms of decarbonisation. this project adds about 25p per annum to consumer bills. yeah, it is an experiment. but if it works, we may have unlocked substantial potential. but other questions remain, including the impact on marine life. these charter boat owners who take anglers out in swansea marina, are worried fish stocks

could be significantly depleted. the scheme will impact on whiting and cod, and if the food chain is not there, then the cod will go looking for food elsewhere and they will not come into swansea. that will not come into swansea. that will be the end of that, no more fish. the prospect ofjobs and the boost for the local economy makes the tidal lagoon attractive to many people who live here. but it will be up to uk governments to decide whether this is a scheme they can invest in. it will now consider the report's recommendations, while the body responsible for protecting the environment in wales has yet to grant the marine license needed before any work can begin. sian lloyd, bbc news, swansea. lala land will open in the uk tomorrow. the romantic musical comedy has already won 7 golden globe awards and 11 bafta nominations.

but is it likely to woo british audiences? our arts editor will gompertz has spoken to the film's writer and director damien chazelle. # city of stars. # are you shining just for me? welcome to lala land, the hollywood musical starring emma stone and ryan gosling which looks like it's going to sing and dance itself to oscars glory. it's a genre of film—making that its writer and director thinks is unfairly derided as being a bit naff. the idea of musicals as being vibrant and vital, i don't think they are the outdated think they get labelled as sometimes. they're also notjust a purely fantastical thing that people sometimes labelled them as. i think musicals can say a great deal about real life and human emotions and humanity and where we are right now. and the need for dreams. # here's to the ones who dream. # foolish as they may seem.

but from a writer and a director's point of view, what can you do in a song that you can't do in a script? i think of a song in a musical as a reflection of a person's innermost feelings. it's feelings that can't be or in kind of action. it's feelings that need the outlet of a song. # the look and somebody's eyes. we had about a 3—4 month rehearsal period of prep where everyday ryan and emma were in dance lessons, singing lessons, piano lessons. i think it's also kind of fun, if you're going to work with movie stars, put them outside their comfort zone, see the vulnerability. maybe it means something.|j maybe it means something. i doubt it. damien chazelle is not yet 32

but is already being widely lauded and applauded for his talents. he is and applauded for his talents. he is a young film—maker living his own la la land dream. will gompertz, bbc news. john hammond is here, live and dangerous with the weather forecast. i think dangerous with the weather forecast. ithinki dangerous with the weather forecast. i think i am a friendly weatherman, but the weather is not very friendly out there. we've had snow across the london area over the last few hours andi london area over the last few hours and i have seen some wet weather pictures from the north downs. several centimetres of snow. how much snow you have got probably depends on how high you are. it will clear away. it will —— but that is only part of the story because as the skies clear, that amateurs will fall like a stone. it will all freeze later on in the night. a very icy night out there. further wintry showers across the north and west. a blizzard blowing across northern ireland of scotland. —— the northern

islands of scotland. there is a warning in force from the met office, warning of slippery services. —— slippery surfaces. i will be back with more in half an hour. hello, this is the bbc news with martine croxhall. the headlines at 7.30pm: donald trump's nominee for cia chief praises the work of the intelligence agencies, following the president—elect‘s accusation that they leaked unproven allegations about his private life and business affairs. a blast of freezing weather is sweeping across the uk. some areas of eastern england are being evacuated due to flood warnings. the met office says we will receive "a real taste of winter," in the coming

days. investigators have announced that 23 people and organisations could face prosecution over the 1989 hillsborough disaster — where 96 football fans were unlawfully killed. tributes are being paid to the former england manager graham taylor, who's died at the age of 72 from a suspected heart attack. i gave him the very —— helton in the very highest regard. he gave me my opportunity, give me my england debut, and i will never everforget that. let's return to our top story — the ongoing row over unverified claims about donald trump's ties to russia. the president—elect has suggested that the intelligence community may have leaked the unproven allegations, but two senior figures taking on key roles in his new administration have given strong endorsements of the security services. generaljames mattis is donald trump's nominee for secretary of defence — he's been speaking to a committee of senators this afternoon about the united states' relationship with russia. he took a tougher line on vladimir putin than the incoming president: he is trying to break the north atlantic alliance,

and that we take the steps, the integrated steps — diplomatic, economic, military — and the alliance steps, working with our allies to defend ourselves where we must. you are a distinguished student of history, and as we are all aware following world war ii, a world order was established which has held for basically the last 70 years. do you believe that that world order is now under more strain than it has ever been? i think it's under the biggest attack since world war ii, sir, and that's from russia, from terrorist groups, and with what china's doing in the south china sea. joining us now from our washington newsroom is our north america correspondent, anthony zurcher. otherwise, good we have —— what

otherwise could we have expected these key figures in the administration to have said? of course, because they do want to be confirmed. that is true, and they we re confirmed. that is true, and they were largely being interviewed by senators who are russia hawks. they do not share delmont tromp's views that russia could easily become an ally and that is why they would be cooperating, the view russia suspiciously —— they do not share a donald trump's views. and that is why mattis said he viewed them as the principal country to be watching, the principal aggressor, as far as world threats are concerned. then how much at odds is donald trump with these two key figures in his administration?” think we will have to see how it all ships out. donald trump was obviously being much more sympathetic. —— shapes out. in the press co nfe re nce sympathetic. —— shapes out. in the

press conference yesterday he said a close relationship with vladimir putin would be an asset, not a liability. that is definitely not a sentiment you heard from pompeo or mattis. pompeo also spoke about russia's overly aggressive act in hacking and said he stood by the intelligence community's assessment that russia was behind it. this could set off future disagreements between donald trump and his top tea m between donald trump and his top team of foreign policy advisers. rex tillotson, donald trump's choice to be secretary of state, he said, yes, we are right to have been concerned about russia's resurgence —— tillerson. but he also said we need to have a different relationship with them. what might that look like? yes, tillerson took a different tack yesterday than we have seen from these two security council nominees today. he was unwilling to label vladimir putin, a

warcriminal —— on unwilling to label vladimir putin, a war criminal —— on unwilling to label vladimir putina war criminal —— on unwilling to label vladimir putin a war criminal, for instance. spoke about the sanctions barack for instance. spoke about the sanctions ba rack obama for instance. spoke about the sanctions barack obama has imposed on russia following the meddling of russia in the us election. he will be confirmed the face of us foreign policy so it is definitely very important to take into consideration the fact that tillerson seems a lot closer to the kind of views donald trump has expressed about russia up until now. watmore is going to happen, then, to this dossier —— what more. this apparently unverified dossier, that has caused donald trump so much upset in the last 2a hours? donald trump so much upset in the last 24 hours? there has been a lot of consideration within congress towards doing further investigations into this. there could be hearings, not specifically about the dossier, but about russian hacking, and other

russian attempts to meddle in us politics, and perhaps donald trump's ties. back in october, november, there was a joint government task force investigating financial ties between russia and the tromp campaign. that is according to these news reports, again not solid evidence but that is what they are seeing —— the trump campaign. if that investigation is still ongoing and we do not know it as it could turn up something that could then become a controversy, a scandal, for donald trump, and could have further repercussions in congress. our north america correspondent, and the knee jerk, thank you very much. —— anthony zurcher. people living on the east coast are tonight being warned to expect flooding tomorrow as high tides coincide with strong winds. it's the same conditions that led to the tidal surge of 2013 where more than a thousand properties were damaged

by flood water. at the moment the environment agency says there's nothing to suggest this will be as bad but that people do need to be prepared. paul murphy reports from skegness. the deployment of soldiers along the lincolnshire coast has begun within the last hour. the appearance of the army is an indication ofjust how seriously the threat of a storm surge is being taken. working with the police, they're going to offer advice to thousands of residents along the coast, who've been given the option to be evacuated to an inland rest centre. they'll be talking to householders and helping them make decisions about what's the best course of action for them because, quite honestly, if you're in a single—storey dwelling, a caravan or a chalet, and you're very close to the sea defences, you might want to think about spending the evening or perhaps the next couple of evenings with friends. but this is a community that lives with the threat of flooding, and many are stoical. all i know is there is a possible tidal surge sometime this week. i think it is friday or something.

are you concerned by it at all? eh, slightly. we've got the sand bags ready, and we know exactly where they are. but apart from that — oh, and looking where things are, like your passport and things like that. on the humber bank in south ferriby the environment agency were putting up temporary defences, and local residents were moving furniture upstairs. i'm upset, and i'm frightened. and after the last flood i had a couple of strokes, and i don't want it again. it's stuff that we have a lot of memories about, and we saved it last time, a lot of it, and we'd like to see that again. and we'd like to save it again. a storm surge requires a complex combination of tide, wind and air pressure. it is believed a high tide of tomorrow evening currently poses the greatest threat.

the world of football has been paying tribute to the former england manager, graham taylor, who's died at the age of 72. a statement from his family said: graham 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 for a number of broadcasters including the bbc. a host of former england footballers have been playing tribute to the former manager. the former england player stan collymore has tweeted: his fellow former international peter crouch said: tony daley, a former england winger who played under

taylor at aston villa, said: and bbc sport spoke to alan shearer about his memories of graham taylor. what i always found with graham was that he was stright, he was honest, passionate, about football, always wanting to talk about football — he would always sit and study videos, study other teams, worked unbelievably hard as a manager, and one of the reasons why i admired him and liked him so much was that you never got any bull from him. he was just straight down the middle and told it how it was. some people did not like that but i loved it and i certainly admired him.

is that what it takes to be a good manager? where does he rank as far as england managers go? he was like every england manager. he got criticised at some stage. i think he was very unluckily, particularly with qualifying for the 94 usa. he had injuries. iwas with qualifying for the 94 usa. he had injuries. i was 47, with qualifying for the 94 usa. he had injuries. iwas 47, eight months, with a crush and ligament injury, and others were. so in that i think it was unlucky that he got criticised —— for seven. one thing he said was if you didn't like criticism, don't read the newspapers. because he certainly didn't read them. that never affected him. how do you think he will be remembered? he will be remembered as a guy who was so passionate, who was so in love with the game of football, and who was straight, and who was honest, and who would tell you it as it was and he was not afraid to do that, whether you were young player or a

very experienced player, and i think thatis very experienced player, and i think that is the wiki will be remembered. and for you, yourself? —— the way he will be remembered. very saddened, shocked. it has come out of the blue. i held him in the very highest regard because of what he gave to me, he gave me my england debut. he set me on the road, as at work, and i will never ever forget. alan shearer paying tribute to graham taylor who has died at the age of 72. it is 18 minutes to eight. you're watching bbc news. there was plenty of festive cheer for some of britain's biggest retailers at christmas. m&s, tesco, john lewis and debenhams all announced positive financial figures today. so what's been going on? our business correspondent emma simpson has been having a look. we did spend, this christmas. a bit more than last year. food did particularly well. tesco's sales were up today and other supermarkets have also had a good season. but fashion is more of a mixed bag. next had a poor christmas.

the big surprises? marks & spencer. with the help of mrs claus, clothing sales grew for the first time in two years, up by more than 2%. a real present. it's brought down clothing prices. it has also focused on getting the price right the first time, so when you buy something, there's less risk of the price being reduced in a couple of weeks. on the whole, christmas turned out ok. but retailers are much more worried about what lies ahead. john lewis had a decent christmas. 40% of its sales were via the internet. with shopping habits changing fast, it says it needs to invest more online and prepare for the impact of a weaker pound. there are pressures on costs. there's pressures on prices. and those things are happening and you've got the consumer.

who knows what happens next year, but the predictions are we're going to see a slowdown in the growth of consumer income. for retail, 2016 ended on a positive note. the question is can spending be maintained? for the first time in a decade ministers from greece, turkey and britain are sitting down for talks on reuniting cyprus. the island has been divided for 40 years, between the turkish—controlled north and the republic of cyprus in the south. one of the main sticking points is the presence of 30,000 turkish troops, something greek cypriots say is unacceptable. our correspondentjonny dymond has been looking at at the roots of the conflict. cyprus was once a british colony, but by 1974 the greek and turkish sides were at war. turkey launched an invasion, after greek cypriots declared a union with greece. ever since independence, britain, greece and turkey have been guarantor powers with a role in the island's future. turkey conquered one

third of the island. its troops stayed put. and one of the world's longest frozen conflicts began. the capital is divided between turkish and greek cypriots. the so—called greenline runs through the city, controlled by the un, it is a daily reminder of the island's division. the turkish controlled north declared independence in 1983. only turkey recognises the territory as a country.