this is bbc news. i'm gavin esler. the headlines at midday... gps are warned by downing street to keep their surgeries open longer to meet patient demand — or risk losing funding. the one thing in general practice needsis the one thing in general practice needs is more resources, more funding, more nurses. what we cannot cope with is having any further pressure at the idea of cutting funding would be a disaster. more than 5000 homes were evacuated after a storm surge passes in the east of england last night. a group of mps says theresa may must spell out whether she wants the uk to remain in the single market by the middle of next month, before talks can begin. also in the next hour — a girl stolen from hospital when she was just eight hours old is found — 18 years after she disappeared. police in the us made the discovery following a tip—off. a woman's been charged with kidnapping. in halfan

in half an hour, all the latest goings—on in click. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. downing street has warned gps in england that they must keep their surgeries open for longer to meet the demand from patients or risk losing funding. number ten is concerned that many patients may be going to hard—pressed accident and emergency departments because they can't get appointments with their gp. the government wants to see surgeries open 12 hours a day, seven days a week unless they can prove the demand isn't there. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. for days, the government has faced a blizzard of criticism about its management of the nhs in england. targets missed, major alerts declared. seniorfigures in the health service sounding

doom—laden about the future. now the prime minister is turning her attention to family doctors and what they can do to help. a downing street source said, "most gps do a fantasticjob. however, it's increasingly clear that a large number of surgeries are not providing the access that patients need and that patients need and they are suffering as a result because they are then forced to go to a&e to seek care". the doctors‘ union, the british medical association, said the remarks amounted to scapegoating during what it called "a very serious crisis." we provide a 24—7, 365 days a year service and it is almost an insult to hard—working gps propping up the nhs ona to hard—working gps propping up the nhs on a daily basis. the association added that a third of gp surgeries in england

had unfilled vacancies because the existing workload put doctors off wanting to go into general practice. earlier i spoke to nigel edwards, chief executive of a health think tank, the nuffield trust. i asked why some surgeries did close in the afternoon. one reason is they do audit, administration, training for their doctors. they are not going off and playing golf which is a rather unfair and massively out of date if it was ever true. they are doing very important work. we really need gps keeping up to date.” doing very important work. we really need gps keeping up to date. i was thinking theresa may taking on the doctors, the gps we see all the time, politically this is quite risky, one would have thought.” time, politically this is quite risky, one would have thought. i am not a political specialist but taking on the medical profession often doesn't end well. one might be more sympathetic if it solved the problem it set out to deal with. the issue in accident and emergency is

people waiting for admissions to beds and that is more about social ca re beds and that is more about social care and acute medicine in hospitals and the ability of community services to deal with it. general practice has been under huge pressure in the last five years, they do not have the doctors. the issues of spreading the current number of appointments over a longer period in the week does not actually solve the problem. it may solve other problems but it is a strange one to go to battle on. if the problem, if part of the problem, there are a lot of problems, but it pa rt there are a lot of problems, but it part of the problem is a lack of gps, then threatening a loss of funding is possibly not going to be a big incentive to say that is the careerfor me. a big incentive to say that is the career for me. i a big incentive to say that is the careerfor me. i guess a big incentive to say that is the career for me. i guess it is a choice about how you engage with people and help them and make them change. you can beat them with a stick or try and persuade them and ask them, these are smart people, these are the problems we have got, how can you help solve them? but how can you help? 0ne

how can you help solve them? but how can you help? one of the obvious points and we have talked about this any time in the last 20 years, it is not peculiar to the government of theresa may, it is a chronic health service problem. the availability of gp at bonhams on sunday has been tested and there does not seem to be a huge demand. —— appointments on sunday. the availability of urgent gp slots on the day, this is an issue of capacity rather than timing. iwould regard issue of capacity rather than timing. i would regard extra opening hours as something which would be nice to have but it does not really solve the fundamental problems facing general practice which is demand has been rising, the number of staff is not keeping pace and patient need is getting more complex, we losing continuity of care. people with chronic problems seeing the same gp and in the daschle access we have lost a very important part of general practice in some places which is continuity, you see the same person you saw before who understand your history,

what brought you here today and are likely to be more effective caring for you. and ten minutes it often not enough for older people. that is definitely no longer fit for purpose. general practice recognised that and general practice has been massively reforming in the last four yea rs. we have massively reforming in the last four years. we have seen bigger practices who do offer available slots eight till late. my local practice offers a walk in service on sunday morning. so people are addressing these problems. i think one would want to see a solution going with the grain of where general practice is going rather than what frankly looks like a bit ofa rather than what frankly looks like a bit of a panic response which will not in fact solve the accident and emergency problem. nigel edwards. the high tide failed to breach flood defences in the east of england. simon clementson reports. after all the words of warning,

just the sight and sound of a huge display of strength by nature. within five or ten minutes it was coming over the walls and it was just flooding straight in. it just started running all the way down the street. it was awful. about 30 homes were inundated here in hornsea. businesses too. into the evening, people in the path of the storm surge were still trying to protect their properties. many had been advised to leave, but some in great yarmouth were keen to stay put. we saw this all happen in 2013. but you have to take precautions at the end of the day. all we are doing is putting sandbags near the doorways. others found comfort however they could as special rest centres opened up. but when high tide arrived in each town, conditions appeared to ease. the environment agency had sent in pumps and more than five miles of temporary barriers. 0fficials insist the emergency response was not over the top. the worst appears to be over. the defences have held.

the rest centres will be laid off now. to be honest with you, if that had breached, we would have been in a lot worse situation in and these centres would have been needed. it's wise to say that we followed everything by the book as far as the environment agency and emergency services were concerned. for those of you who want to go home, get out of here! some are now beginning to return home. but with storm warnings still in place, people are being urged not to take chances. alex dunlop sensed this update from great yarmouth on the norfolk coast. it was a bit tricky last night but not nearly as bad as we had feared. stand here five minutes and the weather changes. this snow has dropped in the last half an hour. this is the river running through great yarmouth. this is where the pinch point was. it is ok at the

moment. this tide is coming in, we expect high water at half past ten. we should be all right. it came to about two feet below the flood defences last night. but then receded. there were no major breaches of defence in yarmouth. but it was a different picture in hornsea in east yorks. who understand emergency services said at least 30 properties were flooded in the east yorkshire seaside town last night. three people had to be saved from a car which became trapped in five foot of water on the seafront as the storm surge overcame the sea defences. back in yarmouth what i found interesting last night at half past nine with a high water isa at half past nine with a high water is a lot of properties, if we take a look not far from the river, many lights were switched on. people were clearly deciding to stay home. 5000 properties were at risk of severe lads will stop only about 70% heeded

the police and military advised to go to the evacuation rest centres. 60% decided to make their own luck, either moving in with relatives or hunkering down in their own homes. three years ago they saw this before. to some extent they knew what was coming. we can talk to toby from the environment agency. the worst did not happen. explain why we did not get that combination of wind, tide, why did that not happen? for a significant storm to have a major impact you need a combination of high tide, a surge and wind on top of that to come together. we predicted all of that, we forecast all about. but actually it came out of sync. the impact was much less significant than we might have feared, mercifully. it is so hard to call. it is very difficult. it is

not an exact science. actually what we saw we re not an exact science. actually what we saw were levels which were not far below the top of the defences. if the wind remained in the same direction and strength we might well have seen significant toppling of defences and flooding. huge resources we re defences and flooding. huge resources were drawn in and huge planning. people might say, did you overrea ct? planning. people might say, did you overreact? what we have seen in the la st overreact? what we have seen in the last few years is a significant strengthening of defences on the east coast. about half a million properties have been protected from flooding in the last 24 hours. we brought in additional resources to support that and made decisions with the emergency services partners, police, local authorities, fire and rescue, and in some places and some circumstances evacuation was the right course of action.|j circumstances evacuation was the right course of action. i remember being here three years ago when

these flood defences, i think it was about four inches from going over the top. is there a danger of looking back in 2007 when the plug—in was not too bad and we got away with it in 2013, last night we got away with it and is the risk of complacency? we can bring in temporary flood defences to support these. emergency partners work together to make the best decisions together to make the best decisions to support communities. but this is not a precise science. the margin is very fine. in a word the danger has now passed. it has now passed, the tide is receding and the weather is looking a little bit more benign. alex dunlop. the government should publish its brexit plan by mid february at the latest, according to a cross party group of mps. the exiting the eu committee also says parliament should be given a vote on the final deal. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. next week, theresa may will give a major speech on britain's future

outside the eu which could give us more detail on what kind of brexit she'll be seeking. before that though, she's under pressure from a key group of mps from all parties in the commons including prominent leave campaigners such as michael gove. the brexit committee of mps says the government should set out by mid—february whether it aims to remain in the single market or the customs union. it should press for a transitional arrangement with the eu if it can't secure a full deal within the two year time frame and banks in the city should have continued unfettered access to european markets. crucially, the committee said that the government should offer mps a vote on whatever is agreed at the end of the negotiation. we are made up of people who campaigned for leave and remain. the commitee have come together because we know whatever side we took in that debate, we need the best deal for britain. the government said, "we will set out our plans by the end of march and parliament will be appropriately engaged throughout the

process of exit, abiding by all constitutional and legal on obligations". but this report by cross—party mps is likely to be seized upon by those hoping for a softer and certainly more transparent exit from the eu. david campbell bannerman is a conservative member of parliament and he also speaks for the leave means league campaign. i asked him for his thoughts. you do not normally go into negotiations publishing what you want from them. i think that is a bad negotiating tactic. 0n the other point, the main worry we have is the transitional arrangements. we don't need transitional arrangements. i work on the european parliament trade committee and all these trade deals. they are not like britain. in the sense they had to negotiate away thousands of tariffs and quotas. we don't. we don't have any tariffs and quotas. we are convergent in terms

of regulation. we start in a different place and we should spend the two years negotiating on the financial services, making sure the city is ok. we don't need a transitional arrangement. we had an interesting guardian front page today suggesting michelle barney the cheap europe macro negotiator should focus on london. —— chief european negotiator. he said today he does not want a special deal to access the city. when asked on equivalence isaid the city. when asked on equivalence i said europe macro would need special vigilance on financial stability risk. —— the european union would need. no special deal is this point. we took ourselves down too much. we should go into these negotiations positively. we have the biggest financial centre in the world. german and french companies, companies around the european union wa nts to companies around the european union wants to borrow money and use the services in the city. i think this

isa services in the city. i think this is a reflection. he was involved not in financial service regulation, he was quite anti—city in many ways, but it is quite an important reflection of the european union being concerned. they are the potential big losers because we are such big customers of theirs. we have a massive deficit of 56 billion a year. and they will have to get a great deal if it will not hurt them with larger tariffs than we would pgy- with larger tariffs than we would pay. david campbell bannerman. the headlines... downing street is warning gps in england to open for longer to meet patient demand or risk losing funding. the tidal storm surge passes without significant flooding. but damage is reported in some parts including scarborough. theresa may must spell out if she wa nts theresa may must spell out if she wants the uk to stay in the single market by the middle of next month according to the commons brexit committee. jeremy corbyn has used a speech in central london

to defend his leadership of the labour party after claims by a centre—left think tank it was too weak to win an election. the fabian society has warned labour would lose out on returning to power unless it could secure a coalition. but mr corbyn says his party offers "a complete break from a rigged system". he's also been outlining labour plans to bring care homes into public ownership. i don't keep talking about the national health service because it is in the labour party comfort zone. i talk about the nhs because it is in a danger zone at the present time. much of this is about the systematic neglect of our elderly people. more than 1 million of whom are not getting the social care they need. we will not let the elderly down. people who have worked and contributed all of their lives in taxes and made a big contribution to our society. a total of 380 care home businesses have been declared insolvent since 2010.

that is because the amount councils pay towards fees for residencies have fallen and costs have increased. we are warning the government that if you do not put money into social care now the system is at serious risk of breaking down. the fifth annual report of the care quality commission found one in five nursing homes did not have enough staff to make sure people received good and safe care. frankly that is outrageous. one in five. a labour government would give social care the funding it needs and give a firm commitment to take failed private care homes into public ownership to keep the social care protection our people need. jeremy corbyn. the us president—elect, donald trump is suggesting he will consider lifting sanctions imposed on moscow by president 0bama in retaliation for russian cyber—attacks. in an interview with

the wall streetjournal, mr trump said he would retain sanctions "at least for a period of time" — but could scrap them if russia was helpful to the us. sarah corker reports. with days to go before donald trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the united states, washington is still reeling from an extraordinary week of swirling allegations. and now with an eye on future global relations mr trump has said he is willing to work with russia and china providing they co—operate. he told the wall streetjournal, "if russia is really helping us, why would anyone have sanctions?" when asked about the one china policy under which the us no longer acknowledges taiwan he said, "everything is under negotiation." meanwhile, allegations that russia attempted to influence the presidential election will be investigated by a us senate committee. they'll examine alleged close ties between moscow and members

of mr trump's campaign teams and russia's cyber activity and intelligence practises. and lawmakers have been briefed about the unverified dossier with its explosive claims. the american people are owed the truth and there is a great deal of evidence to say that is an issue of high interest to the american people. the strength, the integrity of our own democracy. the president—elect has angrily denounced the allegation against him and his team as fake news. back in washington, the focus turns to friday the 20th of january and the inauguration. rehearsals have already started as the nation gets ready to usher in a new political order, with the rest of the world watching what happens next. a baby taken from a hospital in florida in 1998 has been

found alive and well more than 18 years later. kamiyah mobley was tracked down in south carolina after a tip she had been living under a different name. police say that until a few months ago she had no inclination the woman who raised her was not her biological mother. a 51—year—old woman has been charged with kidnapping, accused of taking the baby on the pretext that she had a fever. jane—frances kelly reports. kamiyah mobley was only eight hours old when she was taken by a woman posing as a healthcare visitor injacksonville, florida. now 18 years later, police have charged this woman, gloria williams with her kidnap. seen her at her court appearance. 0riginal images circulated at the time of miss mobley‘s disappearance in 1998 have also been released. the police say miss mobley was living under another name in good health and in the care of gloria williams. the authorities say a tip—off last year provided the breakthrough and dna results have

confirmed her real identity. in south carolina, we found an 18—year—old young woman with the same date of birth, but a different name. so further investigation revealed that fraudulent documents had been used to establish that young woman's identity. in the interviews with people, it supported the possibility that this young woman may be kamiyah mobley. miss mobley‘s biological mother tried to locate her daughter after her disappearance. her biological grandmother said they never gave up hope. i felt like she was alive. because they never came to what nobody did or nothing. ifelt because they never came to what nobody did or nothing. i felt she was alive and whoever had her was taking care of her. she is taking it as well as you could imagine. but we have victim advocates up there. she has a lot to process. she has a lot to think about. i can't begin to comprehend it. officers say they acted on thousands of tip—offs before the breakthrough came. giving some hope to other parents

of abducted children. in 1979 a teenage photographer took his camera along to a gig by thejam. he captured the band at the height of their fame, but lacked the confidence to do anything with the pictures. now, nearly four decades later, they're on the cover of a live album by the jam. john danks reports. the jam on top of the pops in november 1979. when mike searle went to see them play live in aylesbury that same month, he took along his russian—made zenit camera. it was an amazing gig. they were an amazing band to see live. paul weller used to leap around with his guitar. so what i really wanted to do was catch him jumping with his guitar, because that was his signature move. so i managed to get that. lacking confidence, mike didn't do anything with them.

the pictures didn't see the light of day again until a few years ago. wanting to set up as a freelance photographer, mike dug them out, put them online and then he got a call. someone from universal music called me up and said, "we'd like your photos. we'd like to use them on a live album we're releasing from the same year, are you interested?" and i was like, "yes, i am". a deal was done and six months later the finished album was posted to him. i got the package and open it up and it was shiny, heavy, a beautiful piece of art. i would've done it for love to be honest. so teenage dreams that finally came true 38 years later. i really want to thank 17—year—old mike for earning me a little bit of money. the message to other people that age, if you have got a talent, follow your passion and really follow it through and good things can happen.

more now about the warning from downing street the gps need to meet demand in gp surgeries by patients 01’ demand in gp surgeries by patients or risk losing funding. grim phillips is a pharmacist from hertfordshire. what do you see as your role in relieving pressure partly on gps and accident and emergency? —— grammar phillips. —— graham phillips. we know that a percentage of what happens in surgery can percentage of what happens in surgery can happen in a community pharmacy which would release collea g u es pharmacy which would release colleagues to do the serious and if you like. likewise seven or 8% of incidents taken to accident and emergency could equally well be handled in community pharmacies. we need people to use pharmacies to

their maximum advantage and release their maximum advantage and release the more serious and health care to deal with more serious problems. people may be know that they go for a flu jab to their pharmacist, for example, cholesterol testing, but is it not the catch that if you can self diagnose we can come to you but if it is something where you do not know what has gone wrong and something has gone wrong, that is when we definitely need a doctor. yes, sure. it is a filtration process. gps cannot deal with everything and they will refer you wa nt to everything and they will refer you want to hospital specialists if they think it is beyond the expertise, or ability because of the diagnostics. we are in no different position. we are good at knowing our limitations. if somebody needs more urgent care we will refer them quickly to do that. but at the moment we know gps and accident and emergency departments are loaded up with people with relatively minor complaints which could be dealt with

in pharmacies. if you go to scotland there is a national commission for ailment services. if that is commissioned in england we can free up commissioned in england we can free up about 57 million gp appointments per year and save the nhs about £1.2 billion. but unfortunately because of prejudice at the top of the nhs none of that is being done. what sort of things would a pharmacist be happy to treat and what should we think of for a pharmacist first? small and minor ailments with children. coughs, colds, sore throat, thrush, and interestingly about 75% of consultations with emergency contraception go through community pharmacy. coughs and colds are obviously beeping at the moment, and flu, and flu jabs, those services are national services. they we re services are national services. they were introduced very late last year. but this year we have delivered almost1 million flu

but this year we have delivered almost 1 million flu jabs. but this year we have delivered almost1 million flu jabs. it shows that when you do commission services nationally and make patients aware of it pharmacists immediately get hold of an opportunity to do more for health care and deliver. very interesting. thank you very much for talking to us. now the weather. last of the really cold days today. for the second half of the weekend we will have milder air coming from the atlantic. for today we have plenty of showers coming on the radar picture. not as cold as it has been the last few days. this is falling as rain. this is working across the midlands and into london and the south—east. a bit of snow possible on the chilterns. should not cause problems. that is a bit more easter. some showers across norfolk and scotland. 0therwise rain showers across the western side of the country. 0vernight tonight, turning icy as temperatures tumble and this weather front goes into the cold air bringing cold across high parts of

scotla nd bringing cold across high parts of scotland and eastern england as well. eventually the mild air will work its way into the snow and transition back into rain. sunday morning a risk of snow in eastern england, especially over the chilterns and the downs but mild air will work in through the afternoon. then things will be cloudy and murky with mist and hill fog, but through the afternoon, look at the tablature is into double figures, highs of 10 degrees developing through the afternoon. that is your weather. —— temperatures. this is bbc news with gavin esler. the headlines... downing street warns gps in england that they must keep their surgeries open at times which suit patients, orface having theirfunding cut. towns and villages along england's east coast have escaped significant flooding after a change in wind direction prevented a storm surge. more than 5,000 homes were evacuated. the commons brexit committee says theresa may must spell out whether she wants the uk to remain in the single market by the middle of next month,

before brexit talks can begin. a girl stolen from a hospital in florida when she was just eight hours old is found 18 years after she disappeared. a woman's been charged with kidnapping. now on bbc news, it's time for click. this week, mice, madness, and... ..mario? it's—a me, mario! woohoo!