this is bbc news. the headlines at 7:00pm: as high tides begin to hit the east coast of england, thousands of people are told to evacuate, with a possible storm surge approaching. i'll be reporting live from great yarmouth were people are collecting sandbags to defend their homes to night. they hope for the best buy prepare for the worst. —— the best but prepare for the worst. 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 the former husband of princess margaret has died at the age of 86. lord snowdon married the queen's sister in 1960 — but he'll also be remembered for his photography. and what a study of killer wales has revealed —— whales has revealed about why some species — like humans — stop having babies half—way through life. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. iam i am reporting live from great yarmouth. people here and up and down the east coast of england prepare for a storm surge tonight, a combination of high tide around 9pm in great yarmouth and high winds that could bring flooding. coastal defences are in place and people here in great yarmouth i collecting sandbags to defend their homes from possible flooding. 5000 people, 5000 homes here in great yarmouth are being evacuated. another 2500 in essex. the environment agency is

said that they have 17 surveyors flood warnings in place in england and wales. that means that there is and wales. that means that there is a risk to life. —— i7 severe flood warnings. there is also another 91 flood warnings that need immediate action. people are preparing for the worst. they say that they have had warnings like this a couple of years ago and it did not consenting. this report on the latest developments is from my colleague. from early this morning people in great yarmouth braved the cold and snow to prepare for worse, potentially life—threatening, conditions ahead. there are some centres on there you can go to. emergency services knocked on thousands of doors urging people to leave their homes, stay with friends and family or head to one of the local rest centres. a little bit worried but this happened a couple of years ago and we got evacuated and it was ok, thankfully, because they built the defences up.

fingers crossed, the environment agency have done a good job and build the defences well enough to protect us, but who knows? tonight will tell. we live over the road and we do get flooded quite a bit. as long as we've got the sandbags for now, we've moved everything upstairs so it's a waiting game. in essex, police activated a full evacuation plan at jaywick, west mersey and mistley. and emergency services were poised to assist anyone in need. here, this morning's high water was lower than expected but the environment agency is warning people not to be complacent. the issue with a storm surge is it really is about the high wind coinciding with what would be high tides anyway. and if you get that, you get really high levels, but it can be changeable through the day. we are forecasting as closely as we can and watching it through but it is really important that people stay alert because some of these high tides will happen very late through tonight. police in essex have been urging people to comply with their instructions, to come to centres like this,

in the relative safety of daylight. some needed less persuasion than others. there was no question. the moment i knew i had to go, i left. left my phone behind, everything else, more or less. as long as i was safe, that was all that mattered. 200 troops are now helping with the evacuation operation in great yarmouth, where thousands of homes and businesses are facing a severe risk of flooding. that risk will peak here, along with high water, at about 9:30pm. people here are doing the best they can to protect their properties. then, like thousands of others up and down the east coast, all they can do is wait. sophie long, bbc news, great yarmouth. the weather now in great yarmouth is pretty miserable. the rain is coming in and we expect high tide at about

9:15pm. we should get some indication of what that as to what these storm surge is. let's talk to these storm surge is. let's talk to the commander of great yarmouth fire and rescue. he will be involved if it does come to it, if the storm and flood waters to comment. what preparations have you made? we have well tested plans. we've been through a similar scenario in the past. we've brought resources in as well as the resources we've developed over the years in norfolk. refurb resources in from across the country to the borders. what would the plan being, how would you help people if it comes to it? if we are ina people if it comes to it? if we are in a situation where flights and people who haven't evacuated are stuck in their homes, particularly vulnerable people, we have bought ci’ews vulnerable people, we have bought crews and fire vengeance. also highly trained crews who will go in

and rescue them. —— we have boats ci’ews. and rescue them. —— we have boats crews. not everybody is gone and it is clear that you might have to help the people still in their homes. we hope that people advised to leave will leave and that doesn't always happen. but we would step in. the main thing that we don't want is for the full to go and have a look and that will put them at risk and that'll cause is to be distracted from the work we are doing. we have pooled resources in your midst. from hereford and wood. how difficult is it? from your previous experience when you've had to rescue people in floods, how hard is it to get to people in need 7 floods, how hard is it to get to people in need? it is a challenge and the weather, wind and sleet

makes it challenging. but they are very well equipped and trained. they are reduced to dealing with these issues. we have school confidence in oui’ issues. we have school confidence in our recruits. —— they are used to dealing with these issues. it is the lower lying areas as they once knew we re lower lying areas as they once knew were true the river areas and dc. we have some very good mapping from the environment agency which we have linked into the various flood planning that we looked at. let's hope your services are not needed tonight. thank you very much. we can talk now to the floods minister. well, joining me now from snape is the floods minister, therese coffey. can you tell us how you see the situation? clearly the 17 severe

flood warnings are an indication that people need to take this surge seriously. it has been the added impact of the wind which has prompted as to increase the flood risk. i want to encourage people to respond to the calls to stay with friends orfamily respond to the calls to stay with friends or family or the road. respond to the calls to stay with friends orfamily or the road. —— or the centre. a report is that people are safe and that lives are saved. —— our priority is that people are safe. people that have been approached about evacuating their homes have said that they don't think they will bother because they have seen it before. what would you say to them? my message is that i wa nt to say to them? my message is that i want to thank the people that have been preparing for these flights, the environment agency, related

services, the volunteers that are at rescue centres ready to welcome people that might want to leave their homes and the council officials up and down this part of essex, suffolk and traffic, because unlike three years ago, when there was a surge locally, the difference is that there is the wind will be very strong, in contrast, people need to take account of the warnings that are being made and ultimately the property is to keep people safe. are you confident that you are spending, as a government, enough money on flood defences to stop the kind of search that we will possibly see tonight? —— the kind of surge. 0ver see tonight? —— the kind of surge. over a six—year period, the government is spending £2.5 million. that is more than previous parliaments. nevertheless, we have

been working with people to improve the property resilience. they will be many properties here that were flooded in 2013 and have received a £5,000 grant. i have seen that locally here and we saw the local pubs starting to evacuate. nevertheless, i think people need to recognise that we have been spending but now is the time to take action to make sure there are safe tonight. 0k, thank you very much indeed. this is the same in great yarmouth were people are preparing with sandbags and so on. about 5000 homes, the emergency services and the army have been trying to get evacuated. we've been trying to get evacuated. we've been hearing from the police that on about 60 to 70% of the people in those homes have decided and said

they'd made other plans, in other words they have decided to stay with friends or relatives or they are staying put in there. homes those that are being asked by the vikings are homes and living upstairs. maybe they take their pets and carpets u psta i rs they take their pets and carpets upstairs along with furniture. it lot of people have said that two yea rs lot of people have said that two years ago it wasn't as bad as it was predicted. as a result, they have decided to stay. high tide here is 9:15pm. then we will get some indication as to whether the storm surge is hitting. let mejust tell you that for information were regularly you can go to your local radio station or our website. back to the studio. thank you very much. fingers crossed

for those their track. we will go back there later tonight. there's been further confirmation of the difficulties within the nhs, as it's emerged nearly half of all hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of the year. that means they had no more beds available, all routine surgery was cancelled and doctors were called in from leave. four out of ten trusts were forced to raise the alarm, as hospitals and accident & emergency departments struggled to cope. nhs england says eight of the trusts overall issued the highest level of alert, meaning patients' safety could be put at risk. hugh pym reports. how do you feel now? it's still sore but better. another day, another a&e patient. a fractured wrist is dealt with. apologies for the delay. patients are waiting and nhs staff doing the best they can under pressure. the story at northwick park hospital in london is the same as across the service.

things are quiet today but they know bad weather could bring a surge in patients this weekend. —— quieter today. this consultant told me it was the busiest she had known in 16 years. there have been moments in the last two weeks like the whole country has had where it has been frightening for members of staff, for doctors, nurses, ambulance crews bringing patients in, and there have been moments where it has been very sticky. but we have managed as best as we can and everybody has worked incredibly hard. today's figures show that last week 43% of hospitals declared a major alert which means help is required to handle patient numbers or safety is at risk. 16% faced this serious pressure every day last week. we have acknowledged that the nhs is under pressure. we always see increased pressure overwinter periods. that is why in preparing for winter £400 million was put in to ensure winter preparing must.

in northern ireland, nearly four in ten patients waited more than four hours in a&e over the christmas period. in wales, one in five patients were waiting longer than four hours. scotland was performing better than that and england in the holiday week but at this glasgow hospital pregnant women were turned away yesterday and sent other maternity units because of a high level of general admissions. management said safety was maintained at all times. this is the sort of thing you will find in most hospitals each day, ambulance crews queueing in a corridor with patience, waiting to hand them over. they are safe, but there is no room in the accident & emergency unit for them to be treated or assessed. the hospital's praised the hard work of staff under pressure but they know a prolonged cold snap or a flu outbreak could make life even tougher on the front line. hugh pym, bbc news. earlier the prime minister was asked

to comment on ongoing concerns 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. 0ver health editor is with us. let's talk about the major other. what does it mean in practice? basically,

is means that the hospital is running at full capacity. it needs help from outside. there is " " t '77' arias fliu 11:15 assslsgsa ' efféfi " 7 the ' domino effect through the hospital. i've been listening to doctors and surgeons on the radio. they have i've been listening to doctors and

surgeons on the radio. they i it'e to miss - toleazfe " toleazxebut??? t' to lease but they is . i 7 fr 7. social care get up up alllthe harder and e. we've has infora in for a can't come in for a routine surgery can't go ahead with it because it is not a bed for them to recover overnight. you get highly qualified teams of surgeons ready to do an operation that castro is because they don't have enough beds. they are struggling to find beds for the patients rather than getting on with

the surgery. it's not specifically about a lack of nurses or doctors, it is about beds and free bed. yes, the figures make clear that some hospitals are at 100%. i spoke to rot with park hospital today and they said that every day they are juggfing they said that every day they are juggling and i am at full capacity. —— and are at full capacity. it is difficult for them to manage their bit. the headlines on bbc news: there are flood warnings along the east coast of england as a tidal surge and strong winds force people from their homes. nhs figures show nearly half of hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of the year. the labour mp for stoke—on—trent central tristram hunt is resigning from parliament — his departure triggers a by—election.

he says that his deficiencies with jeremy corbyn are in the past. as we've been hearing, a critic ofjeremy corbyn says he's quitting as an mp to take up a newjob as a museum director. tristram hunt — who represents stoke—on—trent central — is the second labour mp to stand down in recent weeks and will trigger a by—election which might prove challenging for his party. stay with labour, convinced they will lose, or walk away and leave politics behind? tristram hunt chose to walk. his leader doesn't like it but for this famous tv historian, when i caught up with him in stoke, thisjob offer was too good to turn down. being director of the victoria and albert museum, the greatest museum of art and design, was my dream job and not

something i could turn down. you have been clear that labour is heading for trouble withjeremy corbyn as leader. you haven't changed your mind, have you? i have had differences withjeremy in the past but i am off to be an impartial director of a great museum, so it is not the time to rehearse those differences. i spoke tojeremy this morning and he was gracious, interested in thejob... also, i imagine, rather disappointed? well, he was a bit thrown. nobody wants this on friday the 13th. he was pulling his punches but his verdict onjeremy corbyn is on the record. we face a historic wipe—out of the labour party. today, jeremy corbyn is glossing over troubles ahead. no, i don't want anyone to resign, i don't want to lose any mps but he has taken this position as director of the v&a. good luck to him and we will have a by—election. but here in stoke, where most voted for brexit and where ukip came second by 5500 votes, ask anyone, this will be a hard test for labour and its leader.

ukip, labour, it will always be in the balance whether labour get in or not. they will have a tough time holding on here? more tougher time, i think. politics is muddled. traditional labour voters do not know how to vote, because the brexit thing... you want labour to win. you are a labour man? historically, yes, but today there is no clear choice. ukip seems up for the fight. tristram hunt feels he has a brighter future away from jeremy corbyn and the labour party. we are confident there are a large number of voters in stoke central who will feel the same way. for labour, this is a difficult time for a by—election. it is in a tough place and it is not the only one. some labour mps have told me they are either preparing to quit politics before the next election or resigned to defeat when it comes. can labour hold its ground

or are traditional supporters turning their backs on walking away? george eaton is the political editor for the new statesman magazine. hejoins us from our westminster studio. big loss for labour. it is. tristram hunt is full regarded by his collea g u es hunt is full regarded by his colleagues as one of the best mps. he came into politics as an ambitious young man. one of the reasons that he is leaving westminster is because labour are resigned to maybe decades of opposition. it's not surprising that he has been offered this job and opposition. it's not surprising that he has been offered thisjob and it isa he has been offered thisjob and it is a no—brainer for he has been offered thisjob and it is a no—brainerfor him. he has been offered thisjob and it is a no-brainer for him. on twitter tonight, those on the left of the party say good riddance, he's a toff, a playwright. labour accounts

afford to lose such talent, can they? it's always a bad sign for a party when mps decide that their future lies elsewhere. it reflects labour's poll ratings. it suggests that the party has been divided. you've seen the abuse levelled at tristram hunt today. 0thers you've seen the abuse levelled at tristram hunt today. others are thinking of following him. jeremy corbyn was re—elected last year in defiance of more than 80% of his mps. people like tristram hunt, from the new labour wing of the party, see that there is no place for them. it reflects the great divide. is it just started his disagreements with jeremy corbyn and the direction that labour are going question is it to do with the problem is that he is

happy in his constituency? yes, his seat is due to be abolished following the boundary changes. she may not have won the contest. tristram hunt is not particularly popular with labour activists. there isa popular with labour activists. there is a risk that his seat would have been lost at the general election. it will be a tough by—election for labour. i don't think that ukip will win. they have not won a labour held seat before. i don't think they have the momentum to do it at the moment. the risk for labour is that some of the leave photos go to ukip, others go to the lib dems, others go to theresa may and all of these factors around the labour vote. they end up losing the seat. it'll be a for jeremy corbyn. thank you very much. some of the other

stories making bbc news. a teenager has appeared in crown court in leeds accused of murdering seven—year—old katie rough in york. the 15—year—old, who can't be named for legal reasons, was remanded into secure youth accommodation. a woman who alleges she was indecently assaulted by tv presenter rolf harris when she was 12 years old has told his trial how he had put his hand up her skirt after she asked for an autograph. mr harris denies seven charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. sky has withdrawn a comedy programme about michaeljackson after criticism from the late singer's family. his daughter paris has said the episode of urban myths, which used the white actor joseph fiennes to play jackson, was insulting. lord snowdon, the former husband of princess margaret and celebrity photographer, has died. he was 86 years old. the first commoner to marry a king's daughterfor a50 years, the news came today.

he was the society photographer who took pictures of the royal family and who married one of its leading members. it was in 1960, the start of a decade of considerable social change, that the then anthony armstrong—jones married the queen's younger sister, princess margaret. he was an untitled commoner, she was the princess who, a few years earlier, had had to renounce her love for a royal official because she was divorced. with unbounded enthusiasm, acclaim for princess margaret and her husband when they appeared on the balcony. the couple brought glamour to the british royalfamily. they travelled widely. this was them on a visit to san francisco. a—list celebrities before the term had really been invented, presenting an image of britain more in keeping with the informality of the time. although he became the earl of snowdon, he continued

to work as a photographer. the he was also a talented designer. one of his proudest achievements was designing the aviary at london zoo. the queen wanted above all else her sister's happiness and her sister seemed to have found happiness with this very different young man who was extremely artistic, very talented, and i think people really respected him for that. by the late 1960s, the couple had two children, but their marriage was in serious difficulty — both were having affairs. in 1976 lord snowdon announced that he and princess margaret were to separate. naturally, desperately sad in every way. as a child he had contracted polio. throughout his life he campaigned on behalf of disabled people and in latter years, despite his own increasing frailty, he retained his passion for photography. i like these ones because they are simple.

he could look back on a life notable for his marriage into the royal family but which had also produced many professional achievements. memorable images, among them this one of the queen which ended up on britain's postage stamps, or this relaxed 80th birthday portrait, taken at his home. as for the photographer himself, he shared the view of many an amateur snapper. it's all luck! i'm always relieved that they come out! very talented man who has died at the age of 86. time for a look at the weather. here's john hammond. we'll keep a close eye on conditions on the east coast. the worst of the windsor will slowly moderate. it is still a breezy night. ice is a widespread hazard. temperatures

perhaps as low as minus ten. winter we show was coming down on the breeze. the winds will continue to moderate. something more like rainer as it turns that little bit milder. —— something more like rain. sunday will be different completely. france from the west will produced cloud and some burst of rain. perhaps no more than 45 degrees but much milder for the best. hello. this is bbc news with christian fraser. the headlines just after 19:30. there are flood warnings along the east coast of england as a tidal surge and strong winds force people from their homes. 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. lord snowdon, the photographer and former husband of princess margaret, has died at the age of 86. the environment agency has been warning that high tides around the east coast of england south of the humber could be dangerous to night and put lives at risk, 17 flood warnings in place in lincolnshire, norfolk, suffolk and essex. very high winds up and down the country. this report from great yarmouth. and

we are walking around giving people advice on evacuation. warning people to leave their homes because of a severe flood risk which means a real danger to life. many have been advised to leave, many are not keen to go. i've never gone but it came right to the edge of the curb down here, the last time, in 2013, but nothing came of it, so i'm just going to stay and pray lucky. this morning's high tide came and went without problems, tonight's high tide is what everyone is concerned about. if there are 50—60 mph winds tonight the high spring tide is likely to breach here first and that is because there is no seedy friends so the water will easily flood these funds. these are preparing for the worst— —— sea defence.

funds. these are preparing for the worst- -- sea defence. some sandbags, hoping to keep it away. insua happened a couple of times before and hasn't got to our has but i'd rather be prepared. can't get away for ever, it is bound to happen when you are. we've been evacuated once before, and four in the morning. liz and roman have spent the morning moving their possessions and hamish their cat upstairs away from any possible flood waters. touch wood, fingers crossed, hopefully we will get away with it, but as an old boy scout you have to be prepared. it's notjust flooding, the slow as focused has arrived leaving great yarmouth battling with some of the worst weather combinations. tonight the police are concerned that people are not moving from their homes as they have become complacent. if the event goes the way it could with the warnings we have had that would turn into a rescue operation. so i would urge people to heed the warnings and

evacuate. tonight 200 military personnel are on stand—by to help with the evacuation. it's a waiting game, which many hope is not won by the strong winds and tides. debbie tebby, great yarmouth. 0ur correspondent lindsay smith was in the hull area today and told us how the hull area today and told us how the area was affected. people here in this village in north lincolnshire feel they've had a lucky escape this evening because the high tide time has passed, it was 7pm. the water didn't breach these temporary defences erected by these temporary defences erected by the environment agency. this is the main road through the village. the defences have been erected for as far as the eye can see in both directions, that's becausejust beyond those defences is the humber. in 2013, the last major tidal surge in the area, these homes all flooded. this is why there's been

such a huge presence from the environment agency in the last few days and so many precautions taken, the cautions which so many villagers are gratefulfor, the cautions which so many villagers are grateful for, and thankful that they were not needed in the end. lindsay smith reporting from the hull. today french authorities have launched an investigation into the car—maker, renault, over allegations they tried to cheat emissions tests with some of their diesel vehicles. the company's share price dipped 4% cent in morning trading as a result. it's just the latest controversy involving major car manufacturers and diesel vehicles this week. on wednesday, german car maker volkswagen agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines after admitting it installed emissions cheating software in 11 million diesel vehicles. and on thursday the us environmental protection agency accused fiat—chrysler of violating pollution restrictions in some of its diesel vehicles. seventeen thousand of the vehicles were sold in europe. the firm denies doing anything illegal. let's talk a bit more about that.

the labour mp louise ellman is chair of the transport select committee, and joins us from our merseyside newsroom. we were caught unawares by the news from renault this afternoon. it seems that all the car manufacturers are at it, should we think that? seems that all the car manufacturers are at it, should we think that7m has been known for a long time that there is a great disparity between performance of the vehicle in the lab and the real—life performance on the road and i am sorry that the british government isn't being much more active in trying to do something about it. it's the united states authorities and the german authorities and now the french authorities and now the french authorities who seem to be acting and doing very little and i think that that should change. why have our emissions test is not picked up this problem with fiat — chrysler? that is something for them to answer. when is it was ongoing it

was clear that there hadn't been sufficient testing done in the uk and there are questions raised about the way the testing was done, it seems that the department for transport itself had not conducted its own independent test. i think something should have been learned from that in relation to volkswagen, the company itself promised it would fix the affected vehicles by the end of 2016 and that didn't happen. we asked the government to look at taking legal action against the company and it said it was not their responsibility, that was not the case, it is the responsibility of national governments so we need to see a lot more action to look at the manufacturers now identified and others who might be doing the same thing. are you then saying that we are effectively taking the rubber—stamp of the environmental agency in america and not testing the vehicles as we should be, here? we taking them at face value?|j think we taking them at face value?” think that we are dragging our feet

in the uk. we saw it happen with volkswagen. is one that other manufacturers may be involved, similar problems, not necessarily breaking the law is but still giving wrong information, recognising the difference between lab results and what happens on the road, it is time that there was much more action from the department for transport. the confusing thing, they may be burying their heads in the sand but the confusing thing is that both renault and fiat chrysler feel they have done nothing wrong. are they misinterpreting the law or what? i don't understand why they would not come clean. there could be a grey area about whether the law has been broken and that is to do with legal definitions of what a court defeat devices, changes made to engines of ca rs devices, changes made to engines of cars which could affect test results. but whatever the legality,

there's a much broader issue is about being straightforward with the motorist, and if a company does know that tests in the lab are very different to what happens on the road in real life that is something thatis road in real life that is something that is about deceiving the motorist and they should take action and if not the uk authorities should do it on their behalf. thank you for joining us. that was louise almond,. turkey and greece have clashed over the future of cyprus today, despite the un insisting there had been progress in talks in geneva over reunifying the island. the turkish president said his country must continue to underwrite the security of the island. but the greek foreign minister said turkish troops could not remain. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has given his assessment of the talks so far. the president has poured cold bucket of water over the talks that have happened in geneva this week. it's a lwa ys happened in geneva this week. it's always been the case that these talks have been constrained by two

factors, one, what is acceptable to the peoples on both sides of the argument, the communities in cyprus, and also what does the president think, some thought he had more flexibility than before because he is less in hock to the army than some previous turkish presidents, but from the words he's at it this morning, president and again is playing hardball. morning, president and again is playing hard ball. what morning, president and again is playing hardball. what is not clear yet is whether he's pulling the plug. he said it was out of the question for turkish troops to be removed from cyprus, he said they would be there for ever. that is what the diplomats will be going through now. is he negotiating or is he pulling the plug? it's too early to say at the moment. james langdale reporting from geneva. let's return to the news

of the death of lord snowdon, the former husband of princess margaret. he has died aged 86, many tributes paid to him today. the royal historian, hugo vickers knew lord snowdon and hejoins us live by webcam from wiltshire. very good to see you. tell me about the time when princess margaret and lord snowdon met, what was it like and why were they so well—suited?” don't know if they work well suited particularly. certainly friends thought so at the time. as you know, in 1995 princess margaret had renounced peter townsend. but had run its course and a friend of hers, lady elizabeth cavendish thought that this society photographer would be an amusing companion. nobody thought you was going to marry him but she did. and it became exciting, the whole sub of 1960s swinging london, the beatles, the rolling stones, and they were friends with

people like elisabeth tabor and peter sellers and they represented a new era of royalty at least for a little while —— they were friends with people like elizabeth taylor. we have been watching the series the crown on netflix, and when you watch that story it must have been hard to princess margaret to transfer her affections to someone else. did that undermine the relationship?” affections to someone else. did that undermine the relationship? i think the relationship with peter townsend had run its course and she did not marry lord snowdon until 1960. he was tremendous fun, bursting with ideas, very creative, mischievous, quite tricky sometimes although extremely talented, and so was she. when it was at its best, and it was very good for time, it worked marvellously well and it must have been very exciting for everyone. let's turn to his talents. he was

hugely talented, and it would be most unfair to say that his position as lord snowdon gave him access to world leaders, it was his photography that he was appreciated for. absolutely. he was a very good photographer in the fashion sense, he could create lovely portraits, the portrait of the princess of wales before she got married, lovely portraits of the queen and princess margaret, and of course that was the other side of his photography, where he highlighted social causes and the disabled, people suffering from mental health problems and loneliness in a fight could put it like this, more of a sunday times magazine way. those photographs are very important indeed. he also made documentaries and worked with the design council, he designed the aviary at regents park. he was the man behind the investiture of prince charles at caernarvon castle. it goes on and on. thank you very much,

hugo vickers. that was hugo vickers, the royal historian. the number of men in low—paid part—time work has increased "dramatically" over the last 20 years. new research by the institute for fiscal studies has found that one in five low—paid men between the ages of 25 and 55 now works part—time. that means wage inequality for men has risen over two decades, but for women — it's the opposite. 0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. it used to be mainly the fate of women to work part—time for low wages. now, increasingly, it's men like declan. he's found a london job delivering takeaways on his bike, using his spare time to study, but it's hard. if work doesn't go well one night, you have to rearrange your plans so you work another night, and you don't particularly feel like you are of any value. you do just feel like a piece of meat, really.

the food business, shops, security, all now looking for flexibility like declan is providing, and not necessarily full—time. for decades now, we've seen the pay of women workers held down by casualisation, by short hours working, by part—time working. and we are beginning to see those trends happen right across the labour market now, impacting particularly on low paid men. but insecure employment, low— paid employment, is not good for workers, and it's not good for the uk economy at large. the study looked at lower paid men, the bottom 20%, and found that before, two decades ago, one in 20 were working part—time, whereas now it's more like one in five. that group is working five fewer hours per week. the big question is whether they want to, or whether they've got no choice. this means people aren't being forced to work long hours just to earn the money.

what they are doing, is they are making a positive choice to find a job which suits their life. and they are prepared to trade off pay for getting the flexibility to spend time with their children or elderly parents, or to do the studying. i think that's a good news story, that in today's society, people can choose and find a job that fits with their lives. but the jobs we are talking about are for less than £8 an hour, for fewer than 30 hours a week. which, without tax credits or a partner to help, can leave you struggling to make ends meet. simon gompertz, bbc news. it is 14 minutes to eight. there are flood warnings along the east coast of england as a tidal surge and strong winds force people from their homes. nhs figures show nearly half of hospitals in england declared a major alert in the first week of the year. labour's former education spokesman, tristram hunt, who's standing down as an mp, has said his differences with his party leader, jeremy corbyn, are "in the past". an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day.

not a bad day on the ftse 100. not a bad day on the ftse100. the dowjones ‘s not a bad day on the ftse100. the dow jones ‘s down not a bad day on the ftse100. the dowjones ‘s down and the nasdaq is slightly up. more needs to be done to protect patients from incompetent locum doctors, according to a review by the general medical council. the regulator says a reluctance to share information means some poorly performing stand—in doctors go undetected. elaine dunkley has more. the nhs is increasingly relying on locum doctors to deal with staff shortages in hospitals. some are charging up to £150 an hour. questions have been raised over the cost. that is not the only concern. the general medical council says more needs to be done to ensure that all locum doctors are properly vetted. the report has looked at a number of problems. it found it was not always clear

which organisation was responsible for the appraisal of doctors on short—term contracts. hospitals were also criticised for failing to share information and feedback when a locum was not up to the required standard. the general medical council also warned that some agencies that supply staff are not carrying out checks and ensuring proper paperwork and support. there was also evidence that some patients were afraid to give negative feedback about their doctor in case it impacted on their care. in response, the department of health said that making sure doctors are up—to—date and that care was given. next week we will be looking towards the presidential inauguration. in the presidential inauguration. in the latest twist in this transition

period, donald trump has accused political opponents, period, including members of his own republican party, of putting together a dossier of what he called "totally made up" claims linking him to russia. in a series of tweets the president—elect described those behind the allegations as "sleazebags". from washington, nick bryant reports. there are storylines that could easily come from a cold war spy thriller and plot twists involving sex allegations and potential russian blackmail that even the tv series house of cards might baulk at. but this is reality, not a show, and the first episode of trump the presidency airs in just one week's time. for now, donald trump mainly delivers his lines on twitter. he's a 140—character actor. it now turns out that the phoney allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued. totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives. both democrats and republicans. fake news. russia says nothing exists. probably released by intelligence even knowing there is no

proof and never will be. my people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days. 0n capitol hill today, lawmakers received a behind closed doors briefing on the unverified dossier and russia's alleged interference in the presidential election. and many are left demanding more answers. the american people are owed the truth and there is a great deal of evidence to say this is an issue of high interest to the american people, the strength, the integrity of our own democracy. and there is yet more intrigue. a senior us official confirming today there were frequent contacts between donald trump's top national security adviser and russia's ambassador here in washington and that those contacts took place on the day that president 0bama expelled dozens of russian officials in retaliation for the alleged hacking. it again raises questions about the trump team's ties with the kremlin. all this as barack 0bama

performs his final acts, and one of them took his deputy completely by surprise. i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honour, the presidential medal of freedom. it sealed their eight—year bromance. i can say i was part of the journey of a remarkable man who did remarkable things for this country. but washington moves on, it has always been a city of political farewells. and this time next week this capital, this country, will be under very different management. nick bryant, bbc news, washington. president 0mar 0bama may be leaving but they are still busy with policies. for more than twenty years, cubans who've fled the communist island for the united states have been granted an automatic right to remain without a visa.

it's become known as ‘wet—foot—dry—foot‘ but now the white house has announced that policy is ending. the decision follows the resumpton of diplomatic ties between the two countries. that has been in the offing for about 18 months. from cuba, will grant reports. for decades, washington's policy towards cuba was based on two things, the carrot and the stick. the stick is the us economic embargo which can only be lifted by congress. the carrot, the tantalising wet foot, dry foot policy, a measure which allowed cubans who made it on to us soil the right to stay without a visa. tens of thousands of cubans made the journey every year, with many risking their lives in the florida straits. in inflatable rafts or unseaworthy vessels. since it was introduced, the measure has been blamed for the brain drain on the island. when president 0bama reinstated diplomatic ties with cuba

and visited the country last year, we can safely say the castro government would have urged him to lift the policy. despite the temptation of free entry to the us, the decision to remove it was broadly welcomed by some in havana. translation: 0n the one hand, it is good, because we as cubans are more certain we cannot go through this route and there will not be as much loss of human life, nor as much blood spilling in the sea. for every boat that goes there, there are thousands and thousands of cubans who take crazy blind risks without knowing if they can survive or not. translation: it was hurting our young people especially. among the majority who attempted the journey there was a large loss of life on the way. the cuban authorities echoed the statement from the white house and applauded the move, especially the decision to lift the policy encouraging doctors and nurses to abandon the country. translation: what we see in this joint declaration

is an important step for cuba's national interest, but also for the national interest of the us. that said, i think this question of whether the donald trump administration will support the new accord must be answered by the new government of the united states. perhaps the key line in this change is revealed by the statement from the white house. "by taking this step we are treating cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries. " now that is something that the government of raul castro has been calling for for decades. but there were surely many cubans who wanted to use the wet foot, dry foot policy one day, and on hearing this news, had their hopes dashed for a future in the united states. will grant, bbc news, havana. a 40—year study of a population of killer whales off the us pacific coast has helped british researchers solve an evolutionary mystery why killer whales and humans are two of only three species that go through the menopause.

scientists discovered that the menopause gave new calves a better chance at survival — preventing what they called "reproductive conflict" between mothers and daughters. 0ur science reporter victoria gill reports. chasing an evolutionary mystery. these researchers have been documenting the lives of killer whales here for four decades. there we go. and their findings have revealed new insight into something that we humans share with a mammal so very different from us. 0rcas and humans are two of only three mammals on the planet that stop reproducing part—way through our lives. and this 40—year study of killer whale society has already shown that grandmothers play a crucial role, leading their pod and helping theirfamilies survive. but scientists have now used this unique dataset that's recorded births and deaths in every orca family here to prove that when grandmothers stop having babies of their own,

their daughters' offspring have a significantly higher chance of survival. the benefits of grandmothering are not enough to explain why human menopause has evolved. it's only when you consider the conflict and competition within the family group you can actually understand and explain why menopause has evolved. avoiding this so—called reproductive conflict between the generations seems to give babies the best possible chance. really interesting just how important that bond is. and that's something that could finally explain the evolutionary story of human menopause. like us, these highly—intelligent, now—endangered animals have close family bonds. and this long and careful observation of killer whale society could change our perspective on our own. victoria gill, bbc news. it's coming up to eight clocks, before the headlines, let's take a

look at the weather with john hammond. —— eight o'clock. it is cold outside so if you had snow this morning it will be there tomorrow, courtesy of that strong north—westerly wind as we had through this evening. the worst gales moderating slowly from north sea coasts although we still have that storm surge to consider, working its way down the north sea with a high tide. hence we have severe flood warnings in force across eastern coastal counties of england right the way through this evening. we will keep a close eye on that, if you have concerns about the situation check out the flood line number, 03459881188. weather—wise, some wintry showers across northern and western areas, further accumulations of snow on high ground, some of these showers will filter inland, i is a widespread

hazard, warnings from the met 0ffice, —— ice is a widespread hazard. temperatures close to freezing or below freezing quite widely and in some scottish blends with snow on the ground it will be colder. tomorrow brighter, with sunshine, many places will have a bright, crisp day with wind is not as strong, further wintry showers near the north sea coast, those further west will turn to rain or sleet, something milder in western areas, temperatures of seven or eight compared to three or for further east despite all the sunshine. sunday will be very different because of fronts pushing in from the west, introducing milder airand in from the west, introducing milder air and generating cloud and wet weather. there could be snow on the leading edge, as it comes up against the cold air, it could be grey and rolled across eastern counties with pulses of rain from the north. further west it will turn milder,

double figures in many western areas compared to 5 degrees at best in the east. early next week we never get rid of the cold air across the south—east, it will still be lurking there whereas further north and west it will be harder. a fair bit of cloud in the north and the west, although higher temperatures, further east the best of the sunshine but staying cold. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8:00: as high tides begin to hit the east coast of england, the environment agency puts out severe warnings in essex, norfolk and suffolk. i'll be reporting live from great yarmouth, where people are collecting sandbags to defend their homes, with high tide herejust over one hour away. the nhs is struggling to cope — there's been a major alert in almost half of all trusts in england in the first week of the year. labour's tristram hunt quits as an mp to become the director

of london's victoria and albert museum. in the next hour: the former husband of princess margaret has died at the age of 86. lord snowdon married the queen's sister in 1960 — but he'll also be remembered for his photography.