this is bbc news, the headlines at seven o'clock. the chancellor is accused of threatening a trade war with europe, if the uk is shut out of the single market after brexit. it's been revealed large numbers of cancer operations are being postponed, because of the current pressures on the nhs. you've got cancer inside you, and you just want to get rid of it, and it's just devastating to get that type of news. a leading figure in the civil—rights movement is to boycott donald trump's inauguration ceremony on friday. also in the next hour, more than 70 nations meet for a major international conference aimed at kick—starting peace talks between israel and the palestinians. delegates at the summit in paris restate their commitment to a two—state solution and warn against unilateral actions. ibrahimovic! and a late equaliser secures a point for manchester united in their big clash with liverpool.

good evening and welcome to bbc news. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has accused the government of threatening a trade war with europe if it doesn't get the deal it wants over brexit. he was responding to comments by the chancellor, phillip hammond, who's told a german newspaper that the uk wouldn't lie down, if access to the single market was closed off. mr hammond hinted at steep cuts in business taxes, to regain competitiveness. this week, theresa may is expected to reveal details of her brexit strategy. here's our political correspondent vicki young. slowly, a picture is emerging of theresa may's brexit plans. if she gets her way, exit negotiations will be

triggered injust over two months. today, one of her most senior ministers made it clear that britain is prepared to play hard ball. philip hammond was asked by a german newspaper about the merits of the uk lowering tax rates to entice businesses here. he said he favoured the current system with european style taxation and regulation, but he had a warning that britain might be forced to become something different. " if we have no access to european markets, if we are closed off," he said, "we could be forced to change our economic model to regain competitiveness. " "the british people are not going to lie down and say, too bad, we've been wounded." the prime minister has been very open that her priority in brexit negotiations will be to control immigration and make sure that the uk can do global trade deals. leading eu figures have been equally clear. they say, to do that, the uk will have to leave the single market. and now the chancellor is laying out

what the consequences of that might be, notjust for britain, but for the eu as well. the labour leader accused mr hammond of pursuing an extremely risky strategy. he appears to be making a sort of threat to the european community — if you don't give us exactly what we want, we are going to become this sort of strange entity on the shores of europe where there will be very low levels of corporate taxation designed to undermine the effectiveness or otherwise of industry across europe. it seems to me a recipe for some kind of trade war with europe. but others believe eu leaders will recognise the benefits of an open trading relationship with the uk. we're leaving the single market, we do not intend to be in it, nor in the customs union. we want to make trading arrangements, but we want to be co—operating and have free trade arrangement with the eu and have full access to services. that is exactly where we should be. that is not damaging, it benefits both sides. on tuesday, theresa may will ask the country to unite and get behind brexit.

but many mps are concerned that her approach will damage the economy. and we'll find out how this story is covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:15 and 11:30pm in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are rowena mason from the guardian and jim waterson from buzzfeed. doctors say cancer operations are being cancelled because of the growing pressures on the nhs. the royal college of surgeons says they used to be protected because of their urgent nature, but for the past couple of weeks that hasn't been the case in some uk hospitals struggling to cope with demand. here's our health editor, hugh pym. he got the news by e—mail and at one day's notice. andrew's operation for prostate cancer had been cancelled owing to a lack of beds at his local hospital. he is a victim of the winter pressures gripping the nhs,

with even cancer procedures postponed because of the big increase in demand for hospital care. the person suffering with the cancer can cope with it better than the loved ones around them. my partner, she was really just devastated. we didn't know what to do. it affects everybody, cancer in the family. it's not just me. routine operations are cancelled every winter if there is pressure on beds. but cancer treatment always continues, with very few exceptions. but since the new year, surgeons say that has changed, with a lot more cancer operations having to be put off. the current level of cancellations, if it's not unprecedented, it's certainly pretty close to being as bad as it's ever been. we are hearing from a number of trusts up and down the country, perhaps dozens of trusts, that it's not one or two cases being cancelled but several cases each day. hospitals are trying to avoid postponing cancer operations for longer than a few weeks. but there have been warnings that delays, however long, can be bad news for patients.

we know that speedy treatment helps people's recovery and the survival rates. so we are really, really concerned this is happening, not only for the individual from a mental—health and well—being perspective, but more importantly, the impact it could have on survival rates. a department of health spokesperson said, "nhs england has assured us that trusts are prioritising urgent operations and treatments." longer delays discharging medically fit patients back to the community, often because of problems with social care, have really added to the pressures on hospitals this winter. that means fewer beds for emergency admissions, never mind patients who are expected to in for surgery. the latest revelations about cancer treatment postponements are further evidence of the strain across the service. the state of the nhs is dominating political debate, with winter far from over. hugh pym, bbc news. a major international conference

on peace in the middle east has claimed that viable states for both israel and the palestinians, the two—state solution, remains the best way forward. and its called for both sides to refrain from unilateral steps that might prevent that happening. delegates from 70 nations attended the meeting in paris. the palestinians welcomed the conference, but israel said it was biased against it. i'm joined from paris by our correspondent hugh schofield. good evening, lots of words, but the question always in the background of these things, will it actually change anything? i doubt it is going to change very much, frankly. to be fairto to change very much, frankly. to be fair to the french, they never set this up as a fully fledged peace talks. israel and the palestinians we re talks. israel and the palestinians were never actually invited to it, the idea was that they would come separately, together at the end of the conference, have a kind of

briefing with president hollande, who would tell them what had happened. in the end, even that didn't happen, the israelis were not playing ball at all. but the aim was more limited, the aim was to get the world together, the international community together to commit itself to the idea of a one, and to say to the two parties, look, you are the only one who can solve this problem, but we are here to help. —— the idea ofa but we are here to help. —— the idea of a two—state solution. we have to recognise this was a very limited aim, and the prospect of it being translated to anything that would affect life on the ground is fairly small. any sign at all of anybody saying anything knew about it, anybody have any initiative in the back of their mind about and that they were able to bring to this thing? no, i think they were able to bring to this thing? no, ithink we they were able to bring to this thing? no, i think we can safely say, it was just a bully, thing? no, i think we can safely say, it wasjust a bully, really, from the french organisers and everybody else to bang heads together. —— plea. ithink what

everybody else to bang heads together. —— plea. i think what made this more than just the usual talking shop, i think, was what was happening in america. i mean, the timing of this is very interesting, set up to take place just before the new administration would come in washington. of course, at the time nobody knew it would be a trump administration, the idea wasjust to tell any new administration, this is an issue which needs to be addressed. the fact that it is the trump administration gives it a whole new resonance, because as in so whole new resonance, because as in so many matters of foreign policy they are highly unpredictable and may start taking measures that are pro israel in a really new kind of way that would frighten a lot of the delegates, not least the french here in paris. interestingly, while we have been speaking, the british foreign office have been speaking about this, and they sound a bit sceptical about the whole thing, saying that the conference risks hardening positions, we have

particular reservations about an international conference, so on and so international conference, so on and so forth, it seems to be hobbled from the start, frankly. well, it was, and as i said, one doesn't want to be too harsh on the french, they said dummett set limited goals, they said dummett set limited goals, they said they were doing this just because they had to, doesn't mean that they shouldn't have to stop talking about the urgency. the british position is interesting, because they tried to dig a halfway position between this french international position as articulated here and what might be emerging as a new kind of hardline pro—israel position in america. i mean, there was, i think, pro—israel position in america. i mean, there was, ithink, perceived a risk that what might happen at the end of a conference like this is a hardening of two camps, the international community versus america and israel, and an america which is perhaps moving into new territory with, for example, moving

the emissary to jerusalem, controversial stats like that. the british position is, let's not prejudge anything, we don't know what the administration is going to do, let's not hardened positions before they need to be hardened. and with the clear aim of keeping an arm open, a channel of munich asian open to the trump administrations so we do not have this bilateral manichaean division of the world into two camps. —— channel of communication. the man who will be donald trump's vice president, mike pence, says he hopes an influential and revered civil—rights leader will change his mind about boycotting the inauguration ceremony on friday. the veteran democratic party congressman john lewis said he didn't believe mr trump was a legitimate president. from washington, here's laura bicker. the stage is set, and rehearsals are under way for the moment when donald trump will take the oath of office.

after a week of swirling controversies, this will be the day that matters. but already notable figures have said they will not be there. it's going to be very difficult. i don't see that the president—elect isa i don't see that the president—elect is a legitimate president. john lewis is a respected and much loved civil—rights icon. his words matter. but donald trump attacked him on twitter and created a bitter row. the vice president—elect defended his boss. i have great respect forjohn lewis, and for his contribution. i was deeply disappointed. to see someone of his stature questioning the legitimacy of donald trump's election as president and say he's not attending the inauguration. i hope he reconsiders both positions. security is being tightened as parts of the capital get ready to go on lockdown.

around a million people are expected here on friday. but john lewis isn't the only one not coming. at least 20 democrats have said they will not be there. and donald trump doesn'tjust have racial or political divisions to heal. the president—elect accused his top spies of leaking an unverified dossier of claims that the trump campaign team had close links with russia. he even compared their action to nazi germany, setting up a confrontational relationship with the very agencies that keep america safe. what i do find outrageous is equating the intelligence community with nazi germany. i do take great umbrage at that. there is no basis for mr trump to point fingers at the intelligence community for leaking information that was already available publicly. a stern rebuke. but the president—elect says this inauguration week and this particular piece of historic political theatre will be about listening to the voice of the people — not the washington elite. laura bicker, bbc news, washington. let's speak to laura bicker

in washington. laura, mr lewis insisting he will not go, i assume you cannot be persuaded to change his mind at this point. it will be interesting to see if he does, john lewis is one of these democrat congressmen that is loved even by republicans, and that is why, when he said his words and donald trump reacted in the way that he has done, it has caused such outrage. but he is not the only one criticising the president—elect. you heard from the outgoing cia head, john brennan, who had some tough words about donald trump's habit of tweeting, and in that interview, and the rest of that interview with fox news, he told the conservative news channel that spontaneity is not

something that protects national security interests. he went on to say that when he speaks, he has to understand the implications and impact on the united states could be profound. it is more than about mr trump, it is about the united states of america. these are harsh words indeed from an outgoing cia director, so when i said there was division to heal, it is notjust about racial divide, political but by— about racial divide, political but by — there are real divisions with the people who keep america safe, the people who keep america safe, the eyes and ears of america. presidential inauguration, the words that are spoken, they ring down the yea rs, that are spoken, they ring down the years, don't they? everyone will be extremely interested in what mr trump has to say. there is no doubt this is an historic moment, and watching the preparations going on in the capital is pretty special. you can only get into certain parts of the mall, parts are on lockdown as reversals are under way. there are motorcades racing through the

city as people are shovelled from tv studio to tv studio. no doubt washington is an exciting place to be, but all eyes and ears will be on when mrtrump be, but all eyes and ears will be on when mr trump takes the microphone after the oath of office. how does he go about perhaps putting to bed these several weeks of controversies that have swirled around him? and there are quite a number to go at. or does hejust talking there are quite a number to go at. or does he just talking about healing the divisions that perhaps the elections have caused? a number of issues for him to deal with, and i think, certainly, of issues for him to deal with, and ithink, certainly, they of issues for him to deal with, and i think, certainly, they are expecting around a million people, and having heard from some of his supporters, they are excited about this, excited that this is someone who is not part of the washington elite, not a normal politician, and they want to hear what he has to say about making their lives better. and one wonders if there will be a tweet from the president—elect on the morning of his inauguration, we have

to wait and see, i guess! the headlines on bbc news: the chancellor is accused by labour of risking a trade war with europe, if the uk doesn't get the brexit deal it wants. doctors say dozens of hospitals are being forced to cancel cancer operations at short notice because of a shortage of beds. representatives of more than 70 nations meeting in paris reaffirm the need for a two—state solution between the israelis and palestinians. let's return to our top story — the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said ministers risk starting a trade war with europe if the government doesn't get the brexit deal it wants with the eu. he was speaking after the chancellor, philip hammond, said britain wouldn't lie down if it no longer had access to the single market. with me is our chief political correspondent, vicki young. good evening to you, right, well,

labour on the attack over this, what else did mr hammond have to say, what was the burden of his remarks? this was because we are trying to piece together the jigsaw of what the government will be asking for in the government will be asking for in the negotiations, and theresa may will be making a speech about it on tuesday. immigration is the priority for theresa may, she says that britain is going to lead —— leave the european union and the priority is to control the borders and we would have to leave the single market for that. philip hammond said he wanted to control immigration, so we would be looking for a special arrangement for the car industry, for example, the city of london, banking and the financial sector, and they have also talked about

global trade deals, a big part of all of this, which also suggests we would leave the customs union. so philip hammond is saying that if we can't have free trade and continue at that, if the eu decides we are going to put up trade barriers, he is saying britain might have to change its complete economic model. by change its complete economic model. by that, people are suggesting he means slashing corporation tax in order to encourage companies here, deregulating so that we do not follow the same model that we have in the eu. there are questions about how feasible that would be, is it something that britain could do or not? but it is likely to be seen as a threat by eu leaders. the word that comes to mind is playing hardball. absolutely, and on both sides at this point, still a few weeks away from the triggering of article 50, the start of the negotiations, and both sides are going to be talking tough in all of this. we have had reaction from a ally of angela merkel, if using philip hammond of grandstanding, saying that britain should seek

compromise and find common interests with eu partners. i think the government would reject any idea that they are threatening the eu, they are trying to get them to think about the economic realities, that if you put up trade barriers, it will be bad for the eu as well as the uk, and they would say that, in the uk, and they would say that, in the eurozone particularly, growth has not been as strong as in britain — what is the point in cutting off their nose to spite their face? but there is a political angle to this, eu leaders do not want britain to have a better deal outside the eu than in, they don't want to encourage others to lead, and angela merkel has made it clear that britain will not cherry—pick the bits that it likes. you mentioned german region, and jeremy corbyn has been saying that he is very alarmed by this as well. yes, he says we will end up having trade wars in all of this, labour and will end up having trade wars in all of this, labourand labour will end up having trade wars in all of this, labour and labour mps have said they won't block the triggering of article 50, even though they may well, depending on the supreme court

judgments, have to have a vote. but people are concerned about the type of brexit, there are some who say that they want to stay in the single market, they think that is the most important thing for the british economy, and they are dismayed that the prime minister is putting immigration, they say, before prosperity. she, of course, will deny that is what she's doing, she is saying it is clear from the weather people voted that it was immigration that they want to control. vicki young, thank you very much. there's a warning that air passengers arriving in britain will face severe disruption after brexit unless there's an increase in border force staff. the airport operators association says passport checks for eu nationals are likely to become more stringent, leading to longer queues and processing times. here's our home affairs correspondent danny shaw. there are record numbers of travellers at britain's airports. in 2015, there were 251 million passenger journeys. it's thought last year's figure was even higher. but there is concern that growth in air traffic hasn't been matched by an increase

in resources for border force, which is responsible for immigration and customs checks. the airport operators' association says that has led to longer queues at passport desks, and it's concerned delays will worsen. at present, eu travellers use separate channels or automatic e—passport gates. they tend to be quicker than for passengers from outside of europe. but after brexit, if people are all screened in the same way, the association says overall waiting times will increase. in evidence to a parliamentary enquiry, the association said introducing tighter controls on eu passport holders would be, "highly disruptive for passengers, airlines and airports." it says airports would have to spend millions of pounds on extra facilities for immigration checks, so it is asking the government to keep the current system in place for eu passengers travelling to uk airports. the home office says it would be wrong to set out details

of how future immigration controls might work in advance of negotiations with the eu. but the department says border force has the capacity to meet passenger demand and maintain security. danny shaw, bbc news. multi—billion pound plans to renovate the palace of westminster, including both houses of parliament, are to be subject to an inquiry by a committee of mps. the commons treasury committee will examine the cost and consider whether both mps and lords will have to move out while the work is being done. here's our political correspondent tom barton. the buildings of parliament are not in a good way. stonework is crumbling, roofs are leaking, and something needs to be done to bring the palace of westminster back to life. parliament is part of a world heritage site, recognised as a building of outstanding value to humanity. but fixing it won't be cheap. estimates range from

£3.5 billion to £4 billion, and the work will take at least five years. during that time, mps could have to move out of the commons chamber — where to hasn't yet been decided. the treasury committee usually conducts inquiries into big economic issues, like the work of the bank of england or the government's tax policy. but its next inquiry will take a look much closer to home. the committee says previous reports have failed to provide enough evidence to assess the proposals and claims ministers haven't answered their questions about the cost of the work. the palace of westminster may be crucial to public life in britain, but those who are elected to serve there say fixing it must be good value for the taxpayer. plans for four new nature schools in england would still see pupils learning traditional subjects,

but also having the opportunity to spend more of their day outside. david gregory—kumar reports. brandon marsh nature reserve near coventry, home to some excited woodland creatures getting to grips with nature. brandon marsh is also headquarters for the wildlife trust, and it is the trust that his leading plans for nature schools across the uk. some of these children could be amongst the very first pupils. but what exactly is a nature school? children at our schools will still need to learn times tables and to read and write. but we are preparing an educational philosophy that will allow teachers to achieve that learning outside, using the natural setting of the school as much as in the classroom. so they will be outside more? they will. probably coming home a bit dirtier than they might otherwise. initially, four nature—based primary schools are planned one which has been identified

as possibly going into camp hill in nuneaton. they have already got their eyes on a site and a building. it is the camp hill school that may be the very first nature school in the uk and it's a location that might surprise some people. it's definitely an urban area, but it is the area that was identified by local authorities as with the greatest need for a new school. we'll make the most of any outdoor space there is. we will create new outdoor spaces for learning, a garden and a lot more wildlife areas, possibly even beehives, really exciting. parents visiting the reserve today were very excited. some have already looked into applying for the new school. she loves being outdoors, and we would like that for her, for education, really. the outside is an amazing place to learn, and i think you can have so many experiences that are not traditional education that still give you the same knowledge that you would have in a classroom, so i think it's brilliant. if all goes well, the uk's first nature school could open in december 2018. a sound of the seaside

or a blight on the beach? seagulls are synonymous with the coast, but they're also known for stealing food from passers—by. so at one british resort, they're debating whether or not to bring in birds of prey to reduce the seagull numbers. emma glasbey reports from scarborough. seagulls and scarborough just go together. but in recent years, the relationship has been turning slightly sour. the number of birds in this town has grown to a few thousand, and especially in the summer, it's claimed they are becoming more aggressive. i have seen them take food from people's hands. for children, it can be quite scary. people feed them, they feed them titbits, and they shouldn't encourage them to come to the area. i don't think it's a real issue. i think one or two people complain too much about it. the council has been discussing

what to do about the gulls. councillors could decide to hire a firm to work on reducing the number of birds over the next few years. we would use egg and nest removal. that is not removing all eggs from nests, that is removing a percentage. we work with natural england on that to say, this is how many we're going to take, and report back the numbers. we also fly birds of prey. we are not going out to kill anything, that's for sure. the idea is to move them to nesting in the cliffs or further away from town. visitors are already urged not to feed the seagulls. but some traders say the signs are not working and action is needed. it may be winter, but there are still seagulls around. injanuary, you would expect them to be all out to sea, but they are so used to being fed here, they are staying on land. if action is going to be taken, it will need to happen soon. the seagull mating season is about to begin. scarborough looks nice and sunny,

what about the prospects for the weather generally over the next few days? the latest edale is from john hammond. —— latest details. hopefully there will be some brightness over the next couple of days, but i'm not promising a lot of sunshine. you can see the extent of the cloud cover on the satellite picture, that has been producing rain through today. cribs and drives time this evening, then more persistent rain washing down through the heart of england and wales. —— cribs and —— dribs and drabs of rain. further east, it will be chilly, cold enough for a touch of frost across the far south—east. into the midlands, it is damp, up through northern england it is damp as well, somewhat more dry through

northern ireland and scotland mild as well, eight or 9 degrees. even here, not much in the way brightness. there will be some glimpses of blue sky through the day, particularly across parts of east anglia and the far south—east, hopefully across parts of and northern ireland it will cheer up, but we will continue with this thicker cloud through the central area. quitea thicker cloud through the central area. quite a contrast in temperatures, many places mild, a theme that continues through the week. a touch of frost in the midlands, claudio further north and west with dribs and drabs rain. —— cloudier. through the early part of the week, cloudy skies but generally mild across more north—western parts