this is bbc news. i'm ben brown live in great yarmouth. the headlines at four. there are flood warnings along the east coast of england — as a tidal surge and strong winds force people from their homes. absolutely lessons have been learned but it is really important for everybody in the country who is at risk of flooding to recognise we can only protect up to a certain level. meanwhile, snow and ice have affected much of the uk, causing travel chaos and school closures in some areas. i'mjane hill, the other headlines this afternoon. lord snowdon, the photographer and former husband of princess margaret, has died at the age 86. his family says he died peacefully at his home. under increasing pressure — nearly half of hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of the year. tristram hunt resigns as a labour mp

— triggering a by—election in stoke on trent central. the prime minister, theresa may, has held talks with her new zealand counterpart in downing street. trade and security were top of the agenda. and britain's women's number one johanna konta wins the sydney international — the final tournament before the australian open. hello, very good afternoon to you. we are in great yarmouth this afternoon, one of the areas on the east coast of england, where there

are fears of flooding tonight. it is high tide this evening at 9:15pm. the environment agency are warning that there could be a storm surge, a combination of the high tide as well as gale force winds and high waves as gale force winds and high waves as well. the scene behind me is people in great yarmouth coming to this collection point to collect sandbags. the council are providing the sound and the bags. people have to bring their own spades and take them to their properties. around 5000 homes in the area of being evacuated this afternoon and that jaywick in essex, 2500 homes are being evacuated. the environment agency say they have 17 severe flood warnings in place at the moment. that means there is a risk to life. as well as that, there are another 89 flood warnings where flooding is expected and immediate action is

required. it is really pretty much warnings all along east coast of england at the moment. my colleague danny savage reports now from skegness in lincolnshire. along the east coast of england, the floodgates on sea defences have been slammed shut. the hours of darkness were used for preparation. seaside business owners cleared out all they could, in anticipation of trouble. full moon, high tides, strong winds, the wind in the right direction coming down the north sea, rather than blowing off the land or onto the land. so, there will be a significant rise in the water, but whether it will be enough to top the defences depends on mother nature, i suppose. soldiers were drafted in to lincolnshire to help with the operation. about 100 of them were briefed at the local police station. they were then sent door—to—door, warning residents that a storm surge was possible. sorry to disturb you. we are here to warn

you about the storm and the flood. is it reassuring or alarming to have the army knock on the door? it's reassuring that they are looking after us, but also a bit alarming, you're thinking, is the house going to be flooded or something? but i think we are fairly safe, anyway. high tide in lincolnshire was early this morning. it passed without event, despite concerns. but there are worries about other parts of the east coast later today. the issue with the storm surge is, it is about the high winds, coinciding with what would be high tides anyway. if you get that, you get really, really high levels. that can be changeable through the day. we are forecasting it as closely as we can. but it's really important that people stay alert, because some of these high tides will happen very late through tonight. by lunchtime, east anglia was where the most severe warnings were in force. in great yarmouth, sandbags were being filled, ahead of tonight's high tide. further south in essex, a reception centre has been opened

after a decision was made to evacuate people from their homes injaywick, mistley and west mersea. have a look at individual situation, take some steps around planning and preparation. that could be bringing additional clothes, or looking at your medication. and really listen to what we are saying, which is try and use the facilities down here in the education centre injaywick, or make plans to stay with friends and relatives. people are being urged not to be complacent about the situation through tonight and into tomorrow. here in great yarmouth people are hoping for the best and hoping their properties will be safe but they are preparing for the worstjust in case. they are filling the sandbags to ta ke case. they are filling the sandbags to take to their homes. let's see if we can talk to some of the residents here. excuse me, sir, can we have a

quick word. tell us where do you live and how worried are you? quick word. tell us where do you live and how worried are you ?|i quick word. tell us where do you live and how worried are you? i live just around the corner. i am not duly worried. i have lived here 24th yea rs duly worried. i have lived here 24th years and seen this a few times but better safe than sorry. the environment agency are evacuating some homes, several thousand homes actually, are you thinking about leaving your home? no. why not? don't know, just the third estate there. i don't feel worried to leave. and you want to protect your property and be there at the worst happens? yes, i do. how many sandbags do you think you will need? i have three door so i am looking at 18. i have some would as well as for a bit of safety. we will see. that has been flooding in the past year in great yarmouth. the worst was backin in great yarmouth. the worst was back in 1953 when people died. you are not worried it can be anything

on that scale? i think the sea defences they have been doing are a lot better than in 1953 to hopefully that will take the brunt of it. fingers crossed, we will see. just looking at the conditions, does it give you and glue about how bad it might be? it does not seem windy at the moment —— does it give you a clue? it does not seem too bad at the moment but the wind can change. fingers crossed to you. i will let you get on with the sandbagging. i can go to our correspondent danny savage who is in lincolnshire. it is right up and down the east of england which is affected by the flood warnings. danny, what is the picture where you are? ben, the seas are picture where you are? ben, the seas a re pretty picture where you are? ben, the seas are pretty rough. i havejust been speaking to someone who thinks the high tide will getjust behind us but he has some confident it will not be coming over the sea defences here. two high tides are the ones

the officials have been worried about over this period. there was a high tide this morning which was not quite as high as feared, but on this evening is thought to be higher than that. and so, an indicator, if you like, as the tide comes down the north sea is what is happening further north. it is scarborough at the moment. and our before half tide, the water is already up, affecting the road and washing close to businesses on the seafront. that is an hourand to businesses on the seafront. that is an hour and a half before high tide. here in skegness the high tide is at quarter to seven this evening. that may be an indication of what is happening in east anglia where you are obese severe flood warnings are in place. it is higher than anticipated, hence the severe flood warnings and the evacuation orders in parts of east anglia at the moment. tonight's tide will be the

one to watch over the coming hours and that is high tide in scarborough in aboutan and that is high tide in scarborough in about an hour's time, and high tide in clacton tonight is just after midnight. it is a long period of time this evening when we will be watching the east coast to see how it goes. it is unpredictable. even the experts, the environment agency, they say there are so mini variables, so many different factors to be taken into account. how worried are you where you are? they don't seem as worried as they were last night. i think the phrase the army and police were using last night was warning and informing people about what could happen over the coming 2a hours. they were knocking on doors telling people to be aware that this surge could be causing them problems. this morning's high tide went by and did not cause any problems. people are feeling more relaxed about it. also

talking to officials they think they will come up to the defences but not over them. that may not be the case around other parts of the east coast at the moment. there were some police officers a few moments ago. lots of people coming down to the coast to have a look. the police have been deployed along those areas which are popular with the public, just to warn people off, because the conditions are much worse than usual. that is advised people right up usual. that is advised people right up and down the coast line to be very careful. it is obviously natural that people will go and have a look at what is going on they say, don't get too close, it is very dangerous and the water is a lot higher than usual. danny, thank you very much indeed, danny savage reporting from skegness. let's go elsewhere in lincolnshire and get the report from south ferriby and my colleague kate sweeting is there. we have extra staff from the council,

the police, the fire and rescue and environment agency to help. in lincolnshire, the army has been drafted in to help evacuate people. more than 3000 residents were told to leave their homes or go upstairs and temporary rest centres were set up and temporary rest centres were set upfor and temporary rest centres were set up for them. for people here, this is particularly worrying because in 2013 there was a tidal surge here. it came over the bags and flooded many of the homes in this village. 1400 many of the homes in this village. 11100 properties were flooded in this area. it is the worst tidal surge since 1953 where hundreds of people died. when it happened in 2013, people here were told and believed it was a once in a 60 year event, and yet here we are, three years on on high alert once again. that is kate sweeting reporting. as well as the flood warnings we have got right up the flood warnings we have got right up and down the east coast of england, there has been pretty bad

weather across the united kingdom, a combination of snow and ice and high winds causing travel chaos and some school closures as well. helena lee has this report on that. heavy snow in some parts of the scottish borders meant driving conditions were difficult. up to seven inches of snow fell in parts of scotland overnight. in newcastle, on the a19, traffic came to a standstill, with thick snow on the road. for others, it was even worse. impossible conditions led to cars being abandoned. in the village of battle in east sussex, icy roads meant emergency services were dealing with cars which had come off the road. in canterbury, icy pavements made the school run this morning a challenge. across parts of the country, dozens of schools were shut because of the bad weather. for those who didn't have to travel, the snow brought much excitement to younger people, and left many parts of the country

enjoying some beautiful scenes. helena lee, bbc news. well, here in great yarmouth as darkness falls, you can see people taking the opportunity to fill up sandbags. there are some 5000 homes being evacuated by the police and the military who are going around trying to evacuate homes that a lot of people reluctant to leave their properties. they would rather stay and protect them. people are moving upstairs, moving carpets and furniture and pets upstairs, but not wanting to leave their properties and waiting to see what happens after high tide just after nine o'clock this evening. that is the latest from here, jane, back to you in the studio. thank you. ben brown there. we will keep you fully up—to—date with any

changes affecting so mini people. and of course we will have the full weather forecast coming up just before half—past as usual. as we have been reporting, there have been flood warnings along the east coast of england as a tidal surge has forced people out of their homes. lord snowdon and the former husband of princess margaret has died peacefully at his home at the age of 86. new figures show almost half the hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of this year. johanna konta has won the sydney international while dan evans made it to his first tour final. he beat andrey kuznetsov in five sets in sydney. morgan schneiderlin will be available to make his everton debut

on sunday after ronald koeman confirmed he is in the squad. and graeme storm hit a bogey free second round to lead the south africa open goal. he is too ahead of the field and three ahead of rory mcilroy who had a four under 68 in johannesburg. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. thank you. let's talk more about lord snowdon, the world—renowned photographer and the world—renowned photographer and the former husband of princess margaret. he died at home today at the age of 86. lord snowdon married princess margaret in 1960. those pictures from the 6th of may 19 60. those was the first —— theirs was the first royal wedding to be

televised and around 20 million people watched that ceremony on television. he was born anthony armstrong jones. he was a society photographer when they met. they kept their relationship secret for a while, and then to some surprise they announced their engagement. it was ace price because people did not know about the relationship. he then very much continued his career throughout their marriage, and became an extremely successful photographer and film—maker. he made some documentaries, but he became particularly well—known for his portraiture, often of members of the royalfamily portraiture, often of members of the royal family but also for people who we re very royal family but also for people who were very famous in the london of the 60s and 70s. this image of the couple waiving from the balcony of buckingham palace on that day in 1960. they went on to have two children, viscount linley and their

son following to some degree in his father's artistic footsteps becoming a furniture designer and their daughter went on to become a painter. he died peacefully at home today, says his family, at the age of 86. and our royal correspondent nicholas witchell has been telling me that buckingham palace has issued a brief statement saying that the queen has been informed. saddened by the news. she at sandringham with other close members of the royal family. little contact between those members of the family and lord snowdon. he had been ill for some time but it is a reminder of the rather chequered, i suppose, time but it is a reminder of the rather chequered, isuppose, love story of the queen's younger sister, the late princess margaret. she and lord snowdon married in 1960, of course after she announced the man who many people feel she should have

married, and with whom she was undoubtedly deeply in love, group captain peter townsend. the marriage was not a happy one, a stormy one after the first few happy years endedin after the first few happy years ended in divorce. it was an thinkable for the queen's sister at the beginning of her reign to divorce but it is something which did happen and that presaged sadly other divorces within the royal family. lord snowdon who will be remembered for that, and also as the first central member of the royal family, as he became, the queen's brother—in—law, to pursue a second career. he was a distinguished portrait photographer. he had been a photographer when he met princess margaret and he continued that careerfor margaret and he continued that career for the sunday times, for vogue magazine and also as a designer. a man of considerable artistic and design capabilities.

and that continued late into his life? and that was testament to the skill he had in wielding a camera and he photographed many beautiful women and also did documentary photography in new york and elsewhere. he was not afraid to tackle hard subjects and to do some fairly gritty documentary work with his camera. he will be remembered for that as well. thank you for now, nicholas witchell, our royal correspondent remembering lord snowdon who died peacefully at home at the age of 86. and joining me on the phone now is anne de courcy who wrote a biography of lord snowdon. thank you for joining us and i think as part of your work you met him on many

occasions? i did. i used to go around every week because he very kindly gave me full access to files soi kindly gave me full access to files so i would go around and talk to him with my tape recorder each time, each time cleaning a little more about his fantastic life. what was he like first of all as a person, on all those occasions when you used to go round every week, what was that like? well, he was amusing, he was a lwa ys like? well, he was amusing, he was always amusing. when i saw him, he was always pretty cheerful. the thing i suppose that struck me over the course of the year, one of the things that struck me the most was his enormous courage. i never once heard him complain about his post polio syndrome, his dreadful lameness which got worse and worse and worse. not one single word of complaint. because he suffered from

polio very early in life and it certainly caused a lot of problems as wise as he became much older? absolutely right. his life when he caught polio was absolutely despaired. it was tenacity and determination really which allowed to walk again. very few people would have been able to water ski across the channel or do the isle of man circuit. he really did an awful lot. and when you say he gave you access to his files, i'm assuming that is information that is both professional and personal? yes, i think very personal stuff was locked away but he had a whole room full of files and many of them were bound in marvellous red leather. the wolves and shelves of these files —— walls.

he had done battle with the council over a tree. there were files on all kinds of things and an awful lot on his work for disabled people. in all your meetings with him, was he discreet about the years he had spent with princess margaret because they have two children together, how much did he talk about that period of his life? he was very discreet. he was very discreet about all the women he had encountered in his life. all of them got handsome praise, deservedly, i'm sure. he was very discreet. he was obviously still extremely fond of the princess after the divorce. they were very amicable. and that continued. he had an enormous affection for the rest

of the royal family. anne an enormous affection for the rest of the royalfamily. anne de courcy, very good to talk to you, thank you for joining very good to talk to you, thank you forjoining us. anne de courcy wrote a biography of lord snowdon. he has died peacefully at his home, say his family, and the age of 86. labour's tristram hunt is to stand down as mp for stoke—on—trent central. the former shadow education secretary will become the director of the v&a museum. his resignation means the second by—election of the year, following jamie reed's recent resignation as labour mp for copeland. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has been talking this afternoon about tristram hunt's resignation. he said it was not a reflection on his leadership. not at all. tristram hunt called me this morning and said he was very honoured to be offered

the position of director of director of the victoria and albert museum. we talked about the work. he is sad about resigning from parliament. he has just written me a long letter describing his work on education policy and the improvements which have been achieved in at stoke—on—trent during the time he has been mp. he is sad to be leaving parliament. he is taking on the v&a job andi parliament. he is taking on the v&a job and i wish him well. the last thing i wrote in the letter was i look forward to visiting the v&a, to meet you as director and have a look around. are you secretly pleased at his departure because it means one less mp who has been critical of you? no, less mp who has been critical of you? no, i do not want to lose mps. he has taken this position of director of the vna and good luck to him. are you confident about winning

the by—election? him. are you confident about winning the by-election? yes. we want to see a continuation of the industrial renaissance and technical renaissance and technical renaissance of stoke—on—trent and i am looking forward to the campaign. between deselection and boundary changes, are you going to lose more mps? changes, are you going to lose more mp5? i changes, are you going to lose more mps? i am not expecting any more to resign and obviously, we will face any by—elections which come along. in most parliaments there are by—elections so if they come, they come. we are determined to change the economic direction of this country, to challenge the inequality this government is promoting, the tax breaks they give to corporations and the super—rich, while at the same time destroying the good government services across the country. some people think you are losing control of your party. do you ta ke losing control of your party. do you take responsibility that?” losing control of your party. do you take responsibility that? i haven't lost control of the party, the party is not out of control. we are a growing party, we have a vibrant

policy—making situation and we will be out in town centres and city centres all over the country campaigning on issues of our national health service and also social care and the shortages of health provision across the country. we are utterly determined to protect the vital principle of our national health service. jeremy corbyn giving his first reaction on camera to the resignation of tristram hunt. carole walker has more on all of this from westminster. labour mps on all wings of the party have been saying tristram hunt's decision to stand down to become director of the v&a isa down to become director of the v&a is a big loss to the party. it also means that labour will have to defend a seat in stoke central, a seat where ukip came second in the last election and the party's chairman paul oakton joins me last election and the party's chairman paul oaktonjoins me now. thank you for talking to me. a lot of people are seeing it as a big loss to the labour party beat you

presumably see it as a big opportunity? does great opportunity for ukip. it is a situation we know well and we have been working hard there for a long time so we know what the big issues are on the ground. asa what the big issues are on the ground. as a party we are galvanised and rejuvenated. it is something we are really looking forward to with relish. this has always been a labour seat. tristram hunt had a solid majority. do you think you can win? absolutely. tristram hunt feels he has a brighter future away from jeremy corbyn and the labour party. we are confident there are large numberof we are confident there are large number of voters we are confident there are large numberof voters in we are confident there are large number of voters in the stoke central constituency who will feel the same way. ukip have everything to play for. we are only 5000 votes behind. we have been working the ground very hard. we will move forward positively to it will really be exciting. this was a part of the

country which voted very strongly to leave the european union in the referendum. now we have had the brexit vote you cannot capitalise on that, can you ? brexit vote you cannot capitalise on that, can you? actually, we can, carole. 70% of people voted to leave and that is predominantly because of theissue and that is predominantly because of the issue of immigration. we know the issue of immigration. we know the conservative party and their re cord the conservative party and their record on immigration is as bad as the labour party's. this is an opportunity for the voters in stoke to send a very clear message to the big parties in the house of commons behind us that they are fed up of the eu and they need controls on immigration and the only party able to deliver that is ukip. so you will vote on immigration and the eu? we have ourcampaign vote on immigration and the eu? we have our campaign well underway. tristram hunt has given us this opportunity and we're not planning on wasting it. you have had divisions in the party laid bare. are you really going to find a candidate the party unite behind?

absolutely. the parties already united behind our leader. we had a difficult 2016 but the one thing the party has demonstrated very well is an campaign. this is a seat we know well, we know we are strong and we're planning to go there and win. thank you forjoining us. this will bea thank you forjoining us. this will be a test to see if ukip can still make inroads after the brexit vote. it will be a big test forjeremy corbyn's leadership have to see if he can hold onto a seat which has traditionally been a labour one. ca role traditionally been a labour one. carole walker at westminster. we will be talking about the situation within the labour party in the next half an hour. we will be discussing that with lance price who used to be head of communications and other party. but we will pause. we must find out what happening with the weather. john hammond has the latest details. it isa

it is a cold one. it will be a cold and frosty night tonight for many. further wintry showers across these northern and western areas. there will be some ice around the shore and there are some warnings in force from the met office. temperatures are below freezing in some scottish glens. plenty of sunshine for many of us tomorrow. it will not be as windy as for many of us will not be as windy as for many of us today. the showers further west, tending to turn back more to rain and sleet. something milder beginning to creep in from the west. seven or 8 degrees here. sunday will bea seven or 8 degrees here. sunday will be a different sort of day. front pushing in from the west will deliver some rain. a raw data come. it will be turning milder the further west you are. some spots could get as high as nine or 10

degrees. more details in half an hour's time. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: there are 17 severe flood warnings for england and wales, as snow and strong winds hit much of the uk. lord snowdon, the photographer and former husband of princess margaret, has died at the age 86. almost half of hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of the year, as the health service comes under increasing pressure. the labour mp for stoke—on—trent central, tristram hunt, is resigning from parliament. his departure triggers a by—election. prime minister theresa may has held talks with her new zealand counterpart in downing street, focusing on trade and security. we're going to talk more about

labour in the next few minutes, and will get all the latest business news as well. let's get a round—up of the latest sport news. hello there. johanna konta has won the sydney international tennis tournament. the british number one beat agnieszka radwanska in straight sets, in what's ideal preparation for next week's australian open. world number ten konta broke her polish opponent in the third game, and hit 18 winners to five in the first set. she dominated the world number three with some stunning returns and powerful hitting, and convincingly won the second set — and her second wta title. it is just three days before the start of the australian open. i'm very pleased with the level that i was able to produce today. yes, especially in the final, i think it can always be a bit tricky. both of us i think had to produce a good level and play a great match. i think it was great for us, but also great for the fans and for the people watching. but again, i'm also happy with just the progression i was able to make throughout the week. and ifelt each match i played i just got that much, i guess, match—fitter. better overall. i knew going into the match that it couldn't be anything short

of a great level from me if i was going to have a chance, so i'm happy i was able to produce it. and dan evans is through to his first atp tour final. he beat russia's andrey kuznetsov 6—2, 3—6, 6—3 at the sydney international. evans will face gilles muller in tomorrow's final. ronald koeman says new signing morgan schniederlin will go straight into the squad for their match with manchester city on sunday. schniederlin played under ronald koeman at southampton before moving to manchester united in 2015. he joined everton for £20 million yesterday. i worked one season with him in southampton. he's really that midfield player what i like. he's a different quality, he can play, he is holding midfield player, he can

play more offensive as a midfield player. and he's clever in the game, he is aggressive. he brings qualities to everton, and that's why we signed morgan. schniederlin's move is the biggest in the premier leaguejanuary move is the biggest in the premier league january transfer window so far. arsene wenger is still not a fan of it. amid all the rumours and signings taking place at the moment, wenger says the window "goes against the spirit" of what a football club should be. i always was against it. you know, you would not have this kind of story, i believe it is completely... in a way, it's easy news, and easy interest for the premier league. but on the other hand, i believe it is completely against the spirit of what the football club should be. once you are on the train at the start of the season, you stay on the train until the end of the season. and you do not have a stop in the middle and where half of the team goes out and another half comes in and you continue your trip.

i personally don't think that it is right. the bbc will show three live games, including the east midlands derby between derby county and premier league champions leicester city, as pa rt league champions leicester city, as part of the coverage of the fourth round of the fa cup. that match kicks off on friday the 27th of january. all of the matches will be on bbc one. england's graeme storm has a two shot lead at the south africa open at the halfway stage in johannesburg. storm, who is from hartlepool, hit nine birdies on his way to a bogey free round of 63. world number two rory mcilroy is three shots off the pace after

complaining of a bad back today. his for under round of 68 ended up with back—to—back bogeys. —— his four and around. that's all sport for now. more coming up in half an hour. let's return now to the decision by labour's tristram hunt to stand down as mp for stoke—on—trent central, triggering a by—election. he is leaving to run the victoria and albert museum. and we can discuss the implications of this now with lance price, a political journalist and the former director of communications at the labour party. good afternoon. i mean, it is a fantastic job that good afternoon. i mean, it is a fantasticjob that he is going to. where is the balance between being offered a wonderfuljob versus the state of the labour party at the moment, as he sees it? from his point of view, it's a no—brainer. it isa point of view, it's a no—brainer. it is a fantasticjob to go and run one of the biggest cultural institutions

in the world. if he compares that with the life on the backbenches in a demoralised labour party, a party where perhaps under different circumstances he might have turned up circumstances he might have turned up as leader of the body, or certainly as a cabinet minister. but he looks at the prospects for the party now and thinks that the chances of him even playing a role ina labour chances of him even playing a role in a labour government is out. you can see why he took the decision that he did. lord mandelson has been talking of the last few minutes to our colleagues at the westminster hour on radio 11. he says he thinks he stood down because the prospect of labour winning a general election underjeremy corbyn is remote. he says, i'm sure there are many other mps who are equally unhappy. do you regard that as a fair comment? yes, it probably is. i know lots of mps feel the same way that tristram hunt does about prospects for the party, the same way that peter mandelson does, obviously. the chances of labour getting underpowered in jeremy corbyn's leadership are pretty remote. the chances of them being playing a significant role in

the labour party, having been frozen out by their choice or by the choice ofjeremy and his team, they feel disillusioned. they feel as if they are kicking their heels on the backbenches. i wouldn't be surprised if others and follow suit and find other opportunities elsewhere. it is a great loss, not only to the labour party, it is a terrible loss to the labour party, but it is a loss to politics generally, people of this stature, if he is good enough to run the v&a, as he clearly is, there should be a place for him at the highest fringes of politics in this country. you have used very diplomatic language like the word disillusioned. i'm jury is privately what people say to you. you have such strong connections with the parties or i am curious as to privately. the mood on the tone is clearly much more fever of that. privately. the mood on the tone is clearly much more fever of thatm you look at people like tristram hunt, on the moderate wing of the labour party. he was the borders of tony blair and gordon brown when they were lieber, —— when they were leader. they really have no sympathy

with the direction that the corbyn is taking it in. they are more than disillusioned. they honestly looking at the labour party and wondering whether it will ever be able to get some back into a position where it can challenge for power and the ability to put labour policies and values into practice in government. and the reason that they are feeling that way i think is that they are not even sure whether the damage done to labour electorally will be so severe that it will be possible for anyone to pick up the pieces afterwards. that sounds apocalyptic, but people do feel that we. jeremy corbyn himself, you might have heard in the last human is, he says we are a large party with the growing membership —— in the last human lives. mathematically, that is true. through and undeniable. whether that tra nslates through and undeniable. whether that translates to subordinate the country is another matter. they have by elections coming up, they will be important by elections coming up, they will be im porta nt tests to by elections coming up, they will be important tests to see whether or not that is true. lance price, thank you forjoining us. a woman who alleges she was indecently assaulted by the tv presenter rolf harris when she was 12 years old has

told his trial how he put his hand up her skirt after she asked for an autograph. she told the jury the alleged assault was "horrible" and "wrong". mr harris denies seven charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. dan johnson is outside southwark crown court for us. what has the jury been hearing today? this is the end of the second week of the second trial. the jury heard from the second woman to make allegations of indecent assault against him. this dates back to the 19705, against him. this dates back to the 1970s, when she was 12 years old. she described to the court how she had gone to a local radio station in portsmouth after hearing rob harris on air. she wanted to get his autograph. she waited with her mother outside until he came out and then approached him. she said it was nice to see someone from the television, is a famous, in real

life. she asked rolf harris for his autograph. he signed first term of‘s book. then she described how he turned to her, the 12—year—old. he said, ithink turned to her, the 12—year—old. he said, i think it's your turn now, let me give you a little cuddle. she described how he put his arm around her and pushed his hand down her skirt, down her leg and touched her beneath her underwear. she said, i pulled away, it didn't feel right. it just vulnerable. it just felt wrong. she said it only lasted a matter of seconds. a mother, who was stood right next to her, didn't realise what was happening. she says rolf harris signed by autograph book on the left. she told her mother that evening what happened, but her mum didn't believe her, told her she was being silly. she only reported it to police in 2014 after the first trial involving rolf harris. it was put to her by the defence that she had my bike made the allegation of conversation in mind. she said, no, that wasn't the case. she was told

that wasn't the case. she was told that she was lying. she said, no, it's true. she was one of seven women to make complaints against rolf harris in this new trial. the evidence here six back to last another five weeks or so. the interesting feature is that rolf harris himself isn't here. he doesn't have to come here to court every day, you doesn't have to face the cameras or see the people". he is on the cameras or see the people". he isona the cameras or see the people". he is on a video link from the prison where he is being held. that is because he is 86 years old and said to be in poor health. he can see and hear everything that goes on in court, and he appears on a screen on the wall. he is recognisably rolf harris with his white hair and beard. he is denying all the charges that he faces. dan johnson at southwark crown court, thank you. meeting the target of resettling 20,000 vulnerable meeting the target of resettling 20 , 000 vulnerable syrian meeting the target of resettling 20,000 vulnerable syrian refugees in the uk by 2020 "remains a significant challenge", according to a group of mps. around 4,500 refugees have already been resettled, but the public accounts committee says it is not yet clear whether survivors of torture or violence are getting the specialist help they need. we can get more on

this now and speak to lily caprani, deputy executive director for unicef uk. good afternoon. good afternoon. from your experiences and from what your staff are telling you, does that assessment by the public accou nts that assessment by the public accounts committee seem accurate? there's no doubt that this is a really big commitment that this country has made to resettle some of the most vulnerable syrian refugees who are fleeing that terrible conflict, which is now nearly six yea rs conflict, which is now nearly six years old. and it's a big challenge, there's no doubt about it. but we do believe it's doable. and i'm very proud that this country has made that commitment, and i believe the government will fulfil its promise. there's no doubt that those very vulnerable refugees, we are talking about women, children and families who have been through incredible trauma, do need specialist support when they arrive, and we must make

sure we get that right. but do you feel we are? because the committee clearly has some anxieties. for example, sometimes with quite basic issues, saying that by definition a lot of these people don't come here speaking english. but to have only four hours a week of english teaching actually isn't sufficient? i agree there needs to be better planning and better join i agree there needs to be better planning and betterjoin up i think between our central government and local governments, who need to work together to make this scheme work. the commitment is the right one. and i think there is understanding that if you are going to create a scheme, as we have, for the most honourable, you will have to provide specialist help for those honourable people when they arrive. that is in their interests, it is the right thing to do. it is also right for the country. these people need to get their lives back on track and become pa rt their lives back on track and become part of hours as i do. we know that coming here and finding safety is only step one to their recovery. we know that there are thousands of other refugees from the syrian regime who are in other parts of europe right now, similarly facing quite a bleak future unless we help them. it's not enough that they have

simply arrived. you know, they are experiencing this horrific cold weather across europe right now, and in desperate conditions. so it's for this government, but all governments to work together to do this white thing to make these refugees safe —— to do the right thing. some of these refugees have been in this country for a while. the fact they are vulnerable, that means some of them have been through appalling experiences. i mean, appalling circumstances. they may need mental physical help. how is it that some of them have been brought to the uk, but according to the committee, they are not necessarily getting all of that? it is certainly true that refugees arriving here, that's not the end of the journey for them. they have already fled horrendous conditions. very often experienced terrible for more on the way. some of the stories we hear from those that we support are quite horrendous. rape, sexual exploitation and violence, really horrifying experiences. some have

been tortured. as a consequence of which, they will need support to recover. they might be experiencing post—traumatic stress or some other mental health issues, which is com pletely mental health issues, which is completely unsurprising given what they have been through. yes, we do need to make sure that is there. it does need resources and it needs coordination between central and local government. but it's doable, it isa local government. but it's doable, it is a commitment that this government has made and can follow through on. we are calling on them as unicef to keep their promise, make sure they see this through and do the right thing for those very vulnerable refugees. la liga prydie from unicef uk, thank you. —— lily cup running. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: there are flood warnings in place along the east coast of england, as a tidal surge and strong winds force people from their homes. lord snowdon, the photographer and former husband of princess margaret, has died at the age 86. his family says he died peacefully at his home. nhs figures show nearly half of hospitals in england declared

a major alert in the first week of the year. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended their trading session... the ftse100 is on track to hit another record today — it's en route to extending its historic winning streak to a 14th straight day of gains. in the early hours of seven october, the pound fell by about 9% against the dollar — an abnormally large swing in two such widely traded currencies — before then largely recovering. this is known as a flash crash — an incident that the international banking body, the bank for international settle m e nts the bank for international settlements has investigated. today it released its findings saying that several factors triggered the sudden dip, including the time of day. animal rights pressure group peta

has bought shares in louis vuitton moet hennessey in order to pressure it to stop selling bags and other products made from exotic animal skins.the stake in the french luxury group will give peta the right to attend shareholder meetings and question the board in front of other shareholders. there were more first—time home buyers in 2016 than at any first—time home buyers in 2016 than atany time first—time home buyers in 2016 than at any time since the start of the financial crisis, according to research by the halifax. the lender estimated there were over 330,000 first—time buyers last year, the highest figure since 2007. however, the average first—time deposit has more than doubled since then to stand at more than £32,000. let's get detailed analysis of that from our markets guest today, jeremy cook the chief economist at world first. jeremy, let's start of talking about the flash crash. several factors a p pa re ntly the flash crash. several factors apparently triggered it, what were they? it was right in the middle of night here in the uk, it was between us closing and the asian market is starting to open up. nobody was

really trading, there was a lowly quiddity point to the day. we saw a large amount of selling come through the sterling markets through that time period. this was posed brexit, there were quite a lot of rumours about what was happening in government and with the negotiations. the fact that sterling dollar had not been at these levels since the mid—80s, there was very, very little market at those kind of levels. as it continued to drip and dripped lower, more lower, more and more people saw that this selling was increasing, jumped on the back of it, and pressured it through these levels. it flashed lower, it came back up. and whilst some people may have lost some money, it has engendered some ill feeling around the pound, moving into 2017. let's move on to pato, the animal rights group. they have bought shares in louis vuitton and murray hennessy. they said it's because they can challenge the board during

shareholder meetings. i mean, how much of it is going to be effective in practice like they say and how much of it is symbolic?” in practice like they say and how much of it is symbolic? i think it is largely symbolic. activist shareholders, they are probably in most companies on the ftse100. pat has a long history of of filming behind—the—scenes, as they have done in crocodile farms in vietnam or certainly sabotaging fashion shows in france and in the united states. they have a long history of activism, taken from the fashion shows into the boardroom. they haven't disclosed how much of alfie a major they bought, i don't think it is going to be a huge stake in it, they would have to declare it under the rules. and obviously they can now make noises at shareholder meetings. given the profit margins that the company is likely to make an some of these products, $65,000 for a handbag, the other shareholders are going to sit there and say, i think we should continue

to make them. their protestations u nfortu nately to make them. their protestations unfortunately may get drowned out by profits. diro mikulak, thank you for joining us. a quick look at markets before we go —— jeremy cooke. house—builders were pushing the index up, on track to hit another record game. that's it from me for this hour. i will be back on monday with more business news. they've had a long week, clearly! thank you. let's turn our attentions to the main story that is here today, the bad weather affecting many parts of the country. particularly flooding. big flood risk in many areas. i have been talking to the chair of the environment agency, emma howard boyd. she is in hull at the moment, and she said the environment agency is protecting 17,000 properties there by lowering the flood

barriers. i am here today in hull, where we are about to lower the barrier to protect the city. what we're seeing is a very dynamic situation. we're working very closely with the met office to make sure that we are working with very up—to—date information. but we have a high tide just before 7pm. up—to—date information. but we have a high tidejust before 7pm. and it's important that we take the precautionary measure to protect the city. roughly 17,000 properties. but throughout the day, we've seen, throughout the day, we've seen, throughout the day, we've seen, throughout the early tide, around 170,000 properties protected. and you're confident, are you, that they fully protected, that hull and other cities that have gone through terrible experiences in recent yea rs, terrible experiences in recent years, they won't have to live that again, that lessons have been learned? 0h, absolutely, lessons

have been learned. but it's really important for everybody in the country who is at risk of flooding to recognise that we can only ever protect up to a certain level. so since the last floods that, or the last east coast tidal surge that took place in 2013, we've had a huge recovery exercise, making sure that lots of defences have been repaired. we've had an extensive programme of building new defences. we've also got lots of temporary flood barriers, some of which we've been putting out today in different parts of the country. so there's a whole range of measures. it's very important that individuals take account of the warnings that we're giving, particularly in those parts of the country where we asked people to evacuate to heed those warnings. and a quick sort of thought about our country's approach to this generally. i know you're relatively new in thejob, if i can say

generally. i know you're relatively new in the job, if i can say that? are you happy that we as a country are taking sensible attitudes now towards new house—building, and that properties are not being built in areas that are susceptible?” properties are not being built in areas that are susceptible? i think we, as the environment agency, do give out advice as to where properties should be built. that's something that ultimately the decision rests with the planning authorities. but there's also a whole range of measures that houses, property developers as individuals within their houses, can take to make sure that houses are built on a more resilient fashion. that was emma howard boyd talking to me from hull, chair of the environment agency. nearly half of hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of this year, as large numbers of patients

experienced trolley waits and delays in a&e. eight of the trusts declaring a major alert reported the highest level of alarm, meaning that patient safety could be at risk. earlier, the prime minister was asked what she thought about the comments made by chris hopson from nhs providers, who we'll speak to in a moment, that the nhs can no longer deliver everything that's being asked of it. i recognise, and we've acknowledged, that the nhs is under pressure. we always see increased pressures in the nhs overwinter periods. i mean, that's why in preparing for the winter period this time, £400 million was put in to ensure that winter preparedness. but of course what we've seen, we saw on the tuesday after christmas, the busiest day for our hospitals, and the hard work of medical professionals up and down the nhs in providing a vital service that people need. so the nhs is under pressure, but i'd like to say thank you, and recognise the huge amount of work that is being done by medical professionals.

theresa may speaking at that news conference at downing street this afternoon. there will be much more on that story at 5p, as well as full updates weather situation, and more about lord snowdon as well. right now we will pause for the weather forecast. that comes from john hammond. hello, john. hello, jane. if you have snow on the ground right now you will probably have snow on the ground when you wake up tomorrow morning, because it is going to be a cold and frosty night so nothing much going to melt from here on in. the cold feel continues, down from the north—west. it has delivered scenes like this. snow drifting around in the strong winds. it is the strong winds which have caused problems in the east coast. the combination of strong wind and a high spring tide as well. so, yes, we are keeping very watchful and the conditions down the east coast. only

a couple of hours as the high tide leaves its way down is eastern coastal areas. we have severe flood warnings in force, with the possibility of coastal flooding as we head through the evening, moving its way southwards. if you have any concerns about the ongoing situation, check out the flood line number. weather—wise, further wintry showers are expected across the more northern and western areas. further accumulations of snow in some areas, particularly near the coast. some showers creeping in land and parts of the midlands. there are warnings in force from the met office about ice. temperatures widely down to freezing or below. in some scottish glen you have got a lot of snow on the ground, i have no doubt that some spots could go as low as minus ten. tomorrow lots of sunshine, if you were lots of layers which would bea you were lots of layers which would be a nice day. wintry showers down the east coast. strong winds continuing to ease down. showers further west will turn back to rain across northern ireland, western parts of it wind and wales. as it

turns just a parts of it wind and wales. as it turnsjust a bit parts of it wind and wales. as it turns just a bit milder, parts of it wind and wales. as it turnsjust a bit milder, seven or 8 degrees here, compared to the rule for at best, despite the sunshine, further research. we're going to see a different day on sunday. france trying to push on from the west, introducing milder air, against the block of cold air to the east. it is going to produce quite a lot of rain. a miserable day across the eastern areas as the weather pushes upwards. it feels from roar as temperatures are slow to rise, four or5 temperatures are slow to rise, four or 5 degrees, temperatures are slow to rise, four or5degrees, —— temperatures are slow to rise, four or 5 degrees, —— it feels raw. the corals are never really pushes of the sea. it's going to be lingering with intense or call the cold air. it's going to linger in southern areas. a north, south split. cloud across western areas, but here there are higher temperatures. further south east will get the best of the sunshine, but it is colder, with a sharp frost. all of the latest on

the weather and flood warning situation can be found on the bbc weather website. i'll be back in half an hour. today at 5pm — preparing for the worst as severe flood warnings are in place across the coast of eastern england. thousands of people are told to evacuate areas of norfolk and essex as a storm surge is expected later. diamond ben brown and i will be reporting live from great yarmouth where people are busy collecting sandbags to defend their homes. —— i'm ben brown. we'll have the latest from some of areas most under threat. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm. lord snowdon, princess margaret's former husband, has died aged 86. nearly half of england's hospitals declare a major alert in the first week of the year because they are struggling to cope. labour's tristram hunt, quits as an mp to become the director of london's victoria and albert museum. #