this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. donald trump promises a trade deal between britain and the united states will be a priority when he takes office on friday. obama said you'll go to the back of the line, meaning if it does happen, and then he had to retract. that was a bad statement. what is the front of the queue? i think you're doing great. fresh assembly elections for northern ireland look likely as sinn fein refuses to nominate a new deputy first minister. i'm at stormont. we'll keep you up—to—date with all the developments here this afternoon. we are a couple of hours ago way from the deadline that will mean the effective colla pse that will mean the effective collapse of the power—sharing executive. an inquest hears a gunman who shot and killed 38 tourists at a beach resort in tunisia in 2015 could have been stopped sooner. a house explosion in manchester has injured five people, two seriously. also in the next hour, the abducted teen reunited with her parents after 18 years. her biologicalfather

speaks for the first time about their reunion. and sir andy murray is safely through to the second round of the australian open, after a straight sets win. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. just days before taking over the white house, president—elect donald trump has promised a quick trade deal with britain. the former cabinet minister and brexit campaigner, michael gove, who interviewed mr trump for the times newspaper, said the president—elect was enthusiastic about britain leaving the eu and that the offer of a us trade deal would strengthen theresa may's hand in the brexit negotiations with brussels. speaking to reporters, on his way into a meeting of foreign ministers in brussels, borisjohnson described mr trump's comments as very positive. our political correspondent

ben wright reports. by friday, he'll be president, the most powerful politician in the world. and getting a visit in first, formerjustice secretary and brexit campaigner, michael gove, presenting the president—elect with a chance to boast about his brexit foresight. i thought the uk was so smart in getting out. you were there and you guys put it on the front page, "trump said that brexit will happen". yes. right? and it happened. everyone thought i was crazy. obama said they'll go to the back of the line, meaning, if it does happen... and then he had to retract it. that was a bad statement. and now we are at the front of the the queue? i think you're doing great. so perhaps not the front of the trade deal queue and the uk can only start to negotiate once we've left the eu, but michael gove was clearly pleased with his visit to trump tower and the president's enthusiasm for britain and brexit.

it is clearly the case that he has an agenda, a business agenda, which has some potential for britain to benefit from. this all matters to a british government of the brink of leaving the eu. for now, though, it was business as usual for the foreign secretary in brussels this morning. i think it's very good news the united states of america wants to do a good free trade deal with us and wants to do it very fast. as the uk plans to go it alone, theresa may will make a major speech tomorrow setting out the deal she wants from brexit. but we already have some big clues. the prime minister has strongly hinted that britain will leave the single market, with its free movement of goods, finance and people. that's because she wants uk control over eu migration and freedom from eu law. we know theresa may wants to trigger exit negotiations by the end of march, and she thinks negotiations can be done within two years. so britain would be out of the eu by early 2019. but there is so much we don't know as well.

what sort of access to the european union single market will britain get and what conditions will the eu demand? will britain be completely free to strike trade deals with other countries? and how long will they take? i think it is a good thing. who will reject the idea of a new trade deal between the uk and us? although i don't think it will remotely match the scale of our trade relationships with the rest of the european union. where i think we need to be careful, both in the united kingdom and the rest of europe, is that you now have two major world figures who basically wish europe ill, they want to see the union will fall apart. one is vladimir putin and the other is donald trump. but britain needs cheerleaders for brexit, friends to cut deals and rhetorically, at least, the government has one in trump. earlier our europe correspondent told me about the mood in brussels and the european commission's reaction to the president—elect‘s latest comments.

i think if there's any talk of a fast and fair deal across the atlantic, you don't hear that in brussels. they reiterated today, the european commission through a spokeswoman, that any talk form or otherwise, categorically is off the table for the next two years until the end of march 2019. assuming theresa may triggers article 50 by the end of march this year, that formal process of untying britain from the eu, 80,000 pages of specifics from the passport checking system, from fishing rights, the cells of fruit and oranges, all of that will take time. to which the commission are saying, you cannot have any other trade talks until the divorce process is over. the big issue with what they can do about that. it's not clear at this stage. the commission spokeswoman says it is that the lead, given the talks

and the conversation we are hearing from the likes of nigel farage, saying he expects a deal to be done in three months. he said, that is off the table. angela merkel has said that european unity is the best defence from donald trump's comments. 0ur correspondent jenny hill is in berlin. he did say that she had made a catastrophic decisions. absolutely. that has raised eyebrows at the very least, caused dismay in burlington, but certainly not a surprise. no one was expecting a reprieve of the warm and trusting relationship mrs merkel forged with barack obama, who of course vocally supported her refugee policy. mrs merkel today, typically restrained, said that while mr trump has his youth and he's laid them out again, and that her opinions on the subject are already well known. there is concern here, not least

because mr trump appears to have threatened to levy a 35% tax on german car manufacturer selling vehicles into the us. a lot of questions. i'vejust come vehicles into the us. a lot of questions. i've just come from speaking to one of mrs merkel‘s senior mps whose face behind the scenes in berlin there is a lot of concern and uncertainty. they still don't know what they are dealing with here. beyond the domestic concerns, or those issues of where will germany lie when it comes to working between the us and russia? but what is going to happen to the eu? mrtrump's but what is going to happen to the eu? mr trump's apparent disdain for the eu and nato, which he has described as obsolete, what are really causing the most concern. we know the french foreign minister today has said that european unity is the only real defence against mr trump. we had an echo of that from angela merkel earlier who said what the eu needs to do is work together. yes, sure, she said germany will try

to work with the new us administration wants donald trump is inaugurated, they will try to find agreement, but in the meantime she is focusing on the eu working together to solve common problems, like protecting the external borders, fighting international terrorism. have you seems to be, and these were her words, that europe's fate lies in our own hands. over this you have the shadow of brexit and all eyes on theresa may's speech. is there much interest in germany on what she has to say tomorrow? this is merkel's position isn't going to change until article 50 is triggered. we are hearing this again and again from the chancellor herself and her people behind the scenes. we know there is a special committee set up, a number of her ministers are forming a brexit committee and are due to meet for the first time officially on wednesday morning, presumably because they will be able to discuss

what mrs may is likely to talk about tomorrow. the official line is still this, germany and the eu are waiting for that article 50 to be triggered to find out what britain really wa nts, to find out what britain really wants, before it can come up with its line. bear in mind that germany's line is if you want access to the single market, you have to accept freedom of movement. there is accept freedom of movement. there is a great deal of interest about what mrs may might have to say on that subject tomorrow, if she is looking to pull out of the customs union as well as the single market. at the moment the messages repeated here, let's wait and see what britain actually wants. there is also a sense of frustration, but also a sense of frustration, but also a sense that the rest of the eu has to simply get on and work together, because there is a lot of concern about whether the eu might start to fragment under this kind of pressure, and of course that pressure, and of course that pressure is very much intensified because of donald trump's comments,

and the fact you are going to have europe right in the middle, potentially, depending on what happens between mr trump and mr putin, potentially between these two superpowers, both of whom many would argue, have interests in tearing it apart. thank you. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. everyone is looking ahead to the speech by theresa may tomorrow. we've had some hints and indications as to what kind of brexit she is looking for. many mps are demanding to hear a lot more. there are others who are concerned, they think she is going to suggest more strongly that britain is heading out of the single market. let's discuss this more, i'm joined by conservative mp. what are you wanting theresa may to say tomorrow and how much was she spell out about her negotiating position?

i think there is no point saying exactly what we are going to want before the actual negotiation has started. that's not going to start until we trigger article 50. i think she will do what she has done in the past and described the broad parameters of the deal but we want. clearly i think something on restricting freedom of movement is very important. i think also we want to have access to the single market. people say that having your cake and eating it, but it's up to our partners and the people negotiating with us, to push back and say, what the nature of the deal will be. it's a conversation. it's notjust a unilateral declaration of what we want. that's not how negotiations work. that's the shift we've seen at the weekend, it's partly the government saying to the eu, this is about your prosperity as well as ours. what did you make of what philip hammond said, suggesting if we don't get the deal we want, we could slash taxes, to encourage

corporations, but the eu? i've always argued in favour of lowering corporation tax, because that's how you get investment into this country. without investment, it's very difficult to get the job growth we want to see and the prosperity that we want to see. i've always beenin that we want to see. i've always been in favour of trying to reduce the corporate tax burden, to make investment attractive, so that people can make money and employ people can make money and employ people and pay people, so that people and pay people, so that people can have a decent standard of living. i don't know whether there is going to be a trade war or we are going to have massive tax concessions. if you look at ireland, they have corporation tax of 12%. corporation tax has gone down to about 19%. we are looking to cut it more. these sorts of policies i think are very good policies, regardless of what the eu does or doesn't do. what about donald trump saying he will do a quick and fair trade deal with britain, how

realistic is that? nigel farage saying it's going to be done in three months, that's not going to happen, is it? people get caught up with this trade deal. it is the case fiow with this trade deal. it is the case now that the united states of america is our biggest trading partner. for the countries in the world we do more trade with the us than any other country. that's when we are within the eu. once we leave.eu, ithink we are within the eu. once we leave.eu, i think the scope for furthering that relationship, getting more trade with the united states, i think the scope will increase. i've no doubt it is in donald trump's interest to have a free—trade deal because of the of rhetoric he is coming up with china and mexico. he wants to be able to show than he is open to trade and open to free trade with like—minded economies. i think he's keen to do a deal. that's very possible. are you worried about the impact on the british economy if we leave the single market? i'm not. i think leaving the single market should

have no terror for britain. we are looking at it single market that has had very stagnant levels of growth in the last six years. the rest of the world, 80% of gdp, is growing at 396. the world, 80% of gdp, is growing at 3%. and the eu which is only 20% of global gdp has essentially been flat—lining. i don't think leaving the single market, leaving the membership of the single market will throw that many fears and terrors for britain. everyone will be waiting to see how explicit theresa may is tomorrow. the government has promised it will be a significant speech. and you can watch full coverage of donald trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the united states here on bbc news. our coverage begins on friday afternoon at three o'clock in the afternoon, live from washington, with katy kay, with the new president sworn in at 5pm. the headlines on bbc news. donald trump has promised a trade

deal between britain and the united states will be a priority when he takes office on friday. northern ireland's power sharing government looks set to collapse today sparking fresh elections. an inquest has heard that a gunman who shot and killed 38 tourists on a beachin who shot and killed 38 tourists on a beach in tunisia in 2015 could have been stopped sooner. in sport, andy murray is through to the second round of the australian open. he beat ilya marchenko in straight sets. the finn replaces nico rosberg who retired after winning the world title. felipe massa returns to the va ca nt title. felipe massa returns to the vacant seat at williams. and fran halsall has announced her retirement from swimming. she won over 30 medals at worldcom european and commonwealth level and say she is ready for the next chapter in her life. northern ireland's devolved

government looks set to collapse in the next few hours after sinn fein failed to nominate a new deputy first minister to replace martin mcguinness. annita mcveigh is in stormont for us. i have to say, there's a slightly surreal quality to what's going on here today. on the screen over my shoulder is the health minister michele o'neil. its question time at the moment in the assembly chamber and she is answering various questions. before that it was the finance minister. business is continuing but very soon they will be discussing rhi, the renewable heat incentive. the whole scheme on which this particular crisis is turning. although it is about much more than that. and then shortly after that, we expect to be up against that 5pm deadline when the

northern ireland executive formerly colla pses northern ireland executive formerly collapses and effectively collapses and we may then hear from the secretary of state for northern ireland james brokenshire that he is calling elections. the big question that leads to, if those elections happen, the issues that led to them won't have gone away. so how long could it take to get this power—sharing executive up and running again. first of all we have a report from chris page who tells us a report from chris page who tells us the story so far. after a week with no functioning government, this is the moment when northern ireland's power—sharing executive finally collapsed. today, sinn fein will not renominate for the position of deputy first minister. sinn fein has honoured all agreements. we have striven to make these institutions work. sinn fein‘s refusal to replace martin mcguinness as deputy first minister means stormont can't operate any longer. that's because under the power—sharing system, the first and deputy first ministers can't work in isolation from each other. a new election may be called

as early as this evening. northern ireland does not need, nor does its people want, an election. with the triggering of article 50 to leave the european union, a new president in the united states of america, a volatile global economy, now, more than ever, northern ireland needs stable government. long—running tensions between the democratic unionists and sinn fein came to a head over a financial scandal about a green energy scheme. the renewable heat incentive began in 2012 and had overly—generous subsidies and initially no upper payment limits. the scheme closed in february last year, having run almost half a billion over budget. political controversy grew. the dup leader, arlene foster, had previously been the minister in charge of the project. in december, sinn fein said she should temporarily stand down as first minister. she repeatedly refused. seven days ago, martin mcguinness resigned in protest. the power—sharing partnership between irish republicans

and unionists has always been uneasy and it's often been unstable. restoring it may take some time and people here are worried about the prospect of losing their devolved government. a key moment for the stormont executive had been due to come this week. an inquiry has been examining the scale of historical child abuse in residential institutions. its report will be published on friday but now it looks like there will be no ministers to act on the recommendations. we just didn't want to believe that as soon as sir anthony hart's report was ready and delivered on friday, there's the collapse of the government and the collapse of our dreams and hopes and desires that this was going to be our day. there are many concerns, frustrations and questions as northern ireland faces an uncertain political future. after ten years, the latest stormont stalemate has brought about the downfall of devolution. chris page, bbc news, stormont.

let's analyse what's going on a bit more. with me is david mccann the deputy editor and lecturer of politics. thank you forjoining me. could we have predicted that this was going to be where we would end up was going to be where we would end up in the new year? seven months ago we had an election. they seem to have good relations with the best relationship they had over ten years of evolution. now it has come to an end. it is only a week or so since martin mcguinness tendered his resignation. what has been the straw that broke the camel's back? arlene foster's refusal to stand aside for a period of a few weeks was a big pa rt a period of a few weeks was a big part of it. but that sinn fein in a

difficult position. there were also a few difficult position. there were also afew minor difficult position. there were also a few minor things, big eu difficult position. there were also a few minorthings, big eu peak communities minister cutting funding to irish language just before christmas ——. to irish language just before christmas --. it seems in previous crises there have been wiggle room but this time there wasn't. sinn fein asked arlene foster to step aside, either she did all she didn't. arlene foster was re-elected in may of this year. she is a very different personality, she's even acknowledged it herself. she's a strident personality. i asked who she modelled herself on and she said margaret thatcher. i think the personality between her and martin mcguinness hadn't meshed and this has led to the souring of relationships. give us a sense of how frustrated ordinary people are,

people who have nothing to do with politics. i get a sense people are extremely frustrated that this is on the brink of collapse, over a green energy scheme. turnout is going down in northern ireland. it's gone from the high 70s to the low 50s. this colla pse the high 70s to the low 50s. this collapse will get a lot of people shrugging their shoulders. many people were not that in with the performance of the executive. a lot of people shrugged their shoulders. this is just of people shrugged their shoulders. this isjust 16 months after the agreement. people will be shrugging their shoulders, thinking their vote doesn't make a difference. in terms of the wider uk picture, what sort of the wider uk picture, what sort of picture is this going to have on the brexiteer she is and how long will it take to get the executive back as well —— the brexit negotiations. in the context of article 50 being triggered by the end of march, we could be in a

position web throughout the entire negotiations, with the european union, that we have no government. and there will be no northern ireland voice at the table. read the dupand ireland voice at the table. read the d u p and sinn fein have fundamental disagreements over how to deal with brexit. there was no agreed position within the northern ireland executive. that will help further polarise. once 5pm passes, it is then over to the secretary of state james brokenshire to announce if he wishes to do so, that he is calling elections. the ball is then in his court. as for what happens next after those elections and if the parties fail to agree and come back together as a power—sharing executive, and many people are predicting that at this stage, then there has been talk of direct rule

from westminster or perhaps even joint authority. more unlikely, but joint authority. more unlikely, but joint authority. more unlikely, but joint authority between westminster and dublin. at the moment the secretary of state is saying he won't countenance any of that. he's not thinking about any other arrangement than the power—sharing executive returning to stormont. we are going to keep a close eye on developments over the next couple of hours. for now, back to you in the studio. an inquest has heard that a gunman who shot and killed thirty—eight people — including thirty british tourists — on a beach in tunisia in 2015, could have been stopped sooner. the hearing in london was told that local security units deliberately slowed down, to delay their arrival at the scene. the gunman was eventually shot dead by police. our correspondent richard galpin reports. the families of those killed in the attack have waited a year and a half for this moment. now, with the full inquest finally getting under way this morning, they are hoping for answers to some critical questions.

the gunman, seifeddine rezgui, a 23—year—old student armed with an automatic rifle and grenades, began his attack on the beach, systematically shooting dead british and other european holiday—makers as they sunbathed and swam. from the beach, rezgui, who trained at an islamic state camp in libya, killed and injured more tourists in the hotel complex. amid the panic, local shopkeepers managed to save some people by sheltering them inside. gunfire. the attack continued for more than half an hour until eventually, a large group of policemen arrived and shot him dead. it's alleged other police officers who had been nearby had been too frightened to tackle him, leading to one hotel worker snatching a policeman's gun and trying to shoot rezgui himself. but the gunjammed and rezgui threw a grenade at him.

and all this just three months afterjihadis carried out this attack inside one of the country's most famous museums, in the capital, tunis. once again, tourists were the target. 22 people were killed. and it is alleged the same is cell was behind both attacks. now, almost two years later, tunisia remains on high alert. the country has long been a hotbed of jihadist activity, the security forces struggling to deal with the growth of islamic state. it's estimated 5,000 tunisians have fought for islamic state in iraq, syria and libya. and many have returned home in recent years. we can get an update from richard

who is at the court. there has been some very graphic cctv video shown, and also amateur video showing of the attack as it unfolded. it has been very, very distressing for the families of those killed, some of whom broke down in tears inside the court. one person walked out. they have been warned there would be graphic footage, and one person walked out because they couldn't bear the thought of seeing that kind of video, given the trauma they had been pro—following the death of their loved ones. it's been quite a traumatic day so far. one of the most significant lines so far is that of a witness quoted by the legal counsel to the inquest, in which she said a witness had said that the tourist police, very close to the hotels in sousse, had the ability to stop the attack, but they wasted time getting to the hotel. in

other words they deliberately delayed their arrival, we don't know why. perhaps they didn't feel they we re why. perhaps they didn't feel they were sufficiently armed to deal with a man with an automatic rifle and grenades. it certainly seems if those police had intervened earlier, lives would have been saved. thank you. five people have been injured after an explosion almost completely destroyed a house in north manchester. emergency services were called to cecil road in blackley just after half past twelve. one man was seriously hurt and taken to hospital — with three others described as "walking wounded." a 35—year—old man is in a stable condition in hospital after being injured in a shooting near a primary school in glasgow. police scotland said no one else was hurt in the incident, which happened close to st george's primary school. detectives say it appears to have been a targeted attack, but don't believe there is an ongoing threat to any other person. now, time for a look at the weather. thank you. still forlornly looking

through the glazing in central london for a hint of blue sky. sadly i'm in the same boat that many of you are. at least it's turned dry here. that's the sort of scene typically across the british isles, with noticeable exceptions. graham in stirling caught that. you'll notice from the satellite imagery east anglia is doing quite well and one 01’ east anglia is doing quite well and one or two spots in wales and the south—west. there's a lot of cloud in the circulation of high pressure, keeping many of us eventually settled, but we have those weather fronts draped across the british isles. another one moving into the north—west. this one will tumble into the north of england, through scotla nd into the north of england, through scotland and northern ireland through the course of the evening. at least underneath that cloud with its hill fog, keeping the temperature is up. a touch of frost but at least you've got the chance of seeing some meaningful sunshine.

through tuesday it will do nothing for your temperatures and that northerly feature tumbles through the north of england, north wales and down into the west country. mulder in the north and west and cooler in the south and east. —— milder. hello. this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines at 3.30pm: the us president—elect, donald trump, has promised a "quick and fair" trade deal between the united states and britain. he said the uk was "doing great" following its vote for brexit. northern ireland's power—sharing executive has collapsed following sinn fein's refusal to nominate a new deputy first minister. a date for new elections will be set after 5pm afternoon. an inquest has heard that a gunman who killed 38 tourists on a beach in tunisia in 2015, could have been stopped sooner. the hearing in london was told that local security units deliberately slowed down, to delay their arrival at the scene. two people with serious injuries have been taken to hospital

following an explosion which almost completely destroyed a house in manchester. the cause of the explosion is yet to be determined. sports news now and it isjess. andy murray has got his australian open campaign off to a winning start. he beat ukraine's illya marchenko in straight sets — although the world number one was made to battle by the world number 95. nick parrott reports. dan evans is also through to the second round. top seed for the first time at a grand slam. on the other side of the net was illya marchenko. if anyone thought it would be a gentle introduction to the first big tournament of the year, they were wrong. murray was given a good work—out in the heat, made to sweat for almost an hour before he could ta ke for almost an hour before he could take the first set. the ukrainian

was determined not to give the world number one an easy ride. breaking at the first opportunity in the second. the briton need add tie—break to ove rco m e the briton need add tie—break to overcome his opponent's sub born resistance, but after that, overcome his opponent's sub born resistance, but afterthat, it overcome his opponent's sub born resistance, but after that, it was how many would have expected it to be from the start, comfortable. murray rattled through the third. it was a farfrom murray rattled through the third. it was a far from world—class performance, but to be a champion you have to win when you're not at your best. illya marchenko played well. he was very aggressive. that made it hard, but also the conditions. it was playing very fast out there. the ball was very lively which it hasn't been in the practise week. so, i found which it hasn't been in the practise week. so, ifound it hard, but managed to get through. dan managed to get through. da n eva ns managed to get through. dan evans is through to the second round. he beat argentina's facundo bagnis in straight sets and is up against seventh seed

marin cilic next. but british number four aljaz bedene is out. he lost to victor estrella burgos. valtteri bottas will partner lewis hamilton at mercedes for the new formula one season. a warning — there is some flash photography coming up. the finn has been at williams, but was linked with a move when nico rosberg retired after winning the world title. his place at williams will be taken by felipe massa. the brazilian retired at the end of last season, but has signed a one—year deal with his former team. liverpool could be without centre—backjoel matip for the next month. the cameroon player has resisted calls by his country to be called up to play in the africa cup of nations. but fifa have so far failed to provide clarity of his eligibility for liverpool and are suggesting he should not now be allowed to play while the tournament in gabon is happening. commonwealth swimming champion fran halsall has announced her retirement from the sport. during an international career lasting over a decade, halsall made her olympic debut at beijing 2008 and narrowly missed out on medals at both london 2012 and rio 2016. she won over 30 medals at world,

european and commonwealth level, but says she's ready for a new chapter in her life. four—time olympic champion laura kenny has pulled out of the british track cycling championships with a hamstring injury. a statement from british cycling says kenny will miss the event in manchester at the end of the month and is having treatment. the injury casts doubt on her participation at the world championships in april. british sailor alex thomson has set a world record for the longest distance sailed solo in a day, in the vendee globe — that's the non—stop race around the world. thompson covered 536.8 miles which averages out atjust over 25mph over a 24—hour period. now that he's broken the record and reduced the gap on the leader thompson wants to become the first briton to win the race. i have been looking forward to it. i have been working hard. it is not

easy. it is not too bad. i'm getting enough sleep and eating well and feel in good shape ready for the last run in and i will give it my all and keep my fingers crossed. that's all sport for now. john watson will have more in the next hour. more now on our top story this afternoon and donald trump has promised a trade deal between britain and the united states will be a priority when he takes office as us president on friday. he was speaking to the former justice secretary and prominent brexit campaigner michael gove for the times newspaper. let's listen to a little of what he had to say about britain's decision to leave the eu. i thought the uk was so smart in getting out and you were there and you guys wrote it and put it on the front page trump said that brexit is going to happen. yes. right and it happened and that's when i was going to lose easily. everybody thought i was crazy. obama said they would go to the back of the line. that was a

bad statement. front of the queue. i think you're doing great. i think it's going great. countries want their own identity. and the uk wa nted their own identity. and the uk wanted its own identity, but i do believe this — if they hadn't been forced to take in all of the refugees, so many, with all the problems that it entails, i think that you wouldn't have a broks it. it probably could have worked out. i can now speak to lord marland who acted as the prime minister's trade envoy under david cameron. donald trump says we are doing great. we may not be at the front of the queue. what is it we need to negotiate with him? it is a good question. we've had, as you know, we haven't had a trade deal with america in our history and yet they are our biggest trading partner so it will be interesting to see what this trade deal works out to be. i'm particularly encouraged however because the us food and drug

authority, have always been a thorn in the side of many of our pharmaceutical and agricultural businesses in protecting american imports so i think if we can crack that nut, it will be encouraging, but for the rest of our trade we have an extremely good relationship with america and not a lot needs to be tinkered with. in terms of a wider trade arrangement, how do you see those negotiations between specifically britain and america progressing? if you put apart the pharmacy argument, what are the other issues? as i have said quite frequently. you only need a trade deal with a country where the deal gets abused and i have been concerned about the onslaught that under the obama presidency they had

against british petroleum, against our banks and against a number of our banks and against a number of our manufacturers which was extremely unfair and unreasonable and we seemingly had no respite. we had no respite from it and we also had no respite from it and we also had no respite from it and we also had no defence mechanism for it. so at that point i think american and british relationships were hitting extremely rocky waters. and could have got worse and indeed, had president obama continued and said we've gone to the back of the queue, they would have got a lot worse. so i think the mood music is very important in what donald trump has said andi important in what donald trump has said and i think we should be encouraged and wait and see how this shakes down. it will be a long way off yet. you talk about mood music. if you see a picture of donald trump and theresa may standing together, there is no doubt they will at some stage this year, would you be playing a waltz under it? are we looking at reagan and thatcher or

something more feisty?|j looking at reagan and thatcher or something more feisty? i think you're thinking of a tango perhaps! i'm sure they're good dancers. look, imean, i'm sure they're good dancers. look, i mean, what i like and i'm happily chairman of the international winston churchill society, i like the fact that they are bringing the relationship churchill with america into the dialogue. i think that's absolutely fundamental because it was probably the greatest relationship we had with the united states, they‘ re relationship we had with the united states, they're both great fans of his. so i think that sets a very attractive framework and reminds us all that actually britain is america's oldest and greatest ally. that we've shared an awful lot together. we have enormous exchange of business and industry together whether it be in the movies or music or whether it be in manufacturing and of course, financial services. we share a hell of a lot. we stand shoulder—to—shoulder on defence issues. we share enormous amount of

intelligence and i think donald trump is being extremely sensible in saying, you know, i recognise who our allies are and i'm going to work with them. everybody looking at every possible little sign maybe of what the future holds. when he moves into the white house on friday. a lot of people are concentrating on his desk. a gift from queen victoria. if he keeps it, does that means he loves us more than we know. if he gets rid of it, does that mean we're in trouble this this country? i think the great thing about mr trump his mother is scottish. that is, that means he has got great roots and heritage to this country. he is clearly a director of great assets that belong to this country. he owns a very well known golf course and i'm sure he will continue

to have artefacts from our country. he loves what we stand for and he is clearly very keen to meet with the royal family who he admires and that's got to be a great thing for us. on a personal level, but in terms of your role under david cameron, if i had said to you a year ago that we would be talking about, what we're talking about, you would have said i was barking mad! well, i would never describe you as barking mad under any circumstances! but you know, the wonderful thing about what we have with trump and what we have with brexit is we're moving into a very unpredictable space and those that predicted and be optimistic and positive about it, are going to fair extremely well. those that don't are going to suffer very badly. my concern currently is the uk government has got to up its game in

terms of realising that, you know, it isa terms of realising that, you know, it is a brave new world out there. i'm not talking about ministers, i'm talking about the civil service. they've got to adapt very quickly to a change of environment which has been totally focussed on worshipping the sun king that's the european union to a much wider canvass and i think that's going to be very exciting and i very much hope they up exciting and i very much hope they up theirgame to exciting and i very much hope they up their game to respond to it. i'm gratefulfor your time. up their game to respond to it. i'm gratefulforyourtime. i'm grateful for the personal endorsement. thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. thank you. barry bennell pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sex offences. the former crewe alexander coach appeared via videolink. andy swiss gave us this up—to—date. appeared via videolink. andy swiss gave us this up-to-date. barry bennell didn't appear here in person. he appeared viedia a

videolink from woodhill prison in milton keynes where he is currently on remand. we saw him on a tv wearing a blue jumper. on remand. we saw him on a tv wearing a bluejumper. he spoke only to confirm his name and then to plead not guilty to eight charges of sexual assault against a boy aged under 16. the offences are alleged to have taken place between 19.81 and 1986 at three different locations in derbyshire, at nantwich in cheshire and at a butlin's holiday camp. barry bennell is a former football coach, a former youth coach with crewe alexander, he worked with other clubs across the north—west including stoke city and manchester city. he has been remanded in custody and he will next appear here at chester crown court on 20th march. all eyes on theresa may and her

speech tomorrow. our chief political correspondent vicki young is at westminster. theresa may has over the month said that brexit means brexit and she isn't going to give a running commentary, but we have gleaned many clues, i think, commentary, but we have gleaned many clues, ithink, overthe commentary, but we have gleaned many clues, i think, over the last few months and there are many people who think that she probably is going to say that the uk could be leaving the single market. now, there is the ins of donald trump saying he's willing to do of donald trump saying he's willing todoa of donald trump saying he's willing to do a free trade deal, very, very quickly with britain once we leave of the let's discuss this more. i'm joined by neil carmichael. what do you make of this promise from donald trump. this is good news, he, america they are willing to do a quick trade deal with us? it is good news if it actually happens. a promise like this i can anothers the complexities of the agreements and discussions that would have to be made to get a deal that suits us. i think also the problem is that

donald trump also signals to a lot of people he is a protectionist. he isa of people he is a protectionist. he is a protectionist in terms of internal markets in the united states and he is already amplified the view that he is sceptical about free trade in asia so that doesn't add up. some people would say actually, he does know that's his reputation and he said he is willing to do free trade deals with like—minded countries? to do free trade deals with like-minded countries? the problem is free trade deals take a long time to completement they are started with a kind of discussion about what it is you're talking about. it is not a sort of comprehensive deal as we've got with europe. it mightjust be certain manufactured goods or it might be certain parts of the services economy. that's not really good enough for us. the second big problem is we don't have the capacity to put huge teams of negotiators into a situation with the united states or indeed elsewhere. looking ahead to theresa may's

speech tomorrow, it it has been billed as being significant. she has said she will say more about her negotiating, what would you like to hear her say? that we are going to have good access to the single market. it is really important that we understand that 44% of our products and services go to the european union. and we have to protect those relationships. and in terms of education, for example, the field that i chair, on the education select committee, it is critical to recognise that students and staff, who would be coming here, who are already here, are actually worried about the way in which wet might end up about the way in which wet might end up shaping our immigration strategy. you say about the single market. she said she would like to have the most free trade she can, tariff—free access if she can, if we were to leave. it is not in her gift. this isa leave. it is not in her gift. this is a negotiation. she said she wants to control immigration. isn't that what most people voted for?|j to control immigration. isn't that what most people voted for? i don't think they voted for a smaller, wea ker think they voted for a smaller, weaker economy and the difference

we've got to bring out here is between what we can do in terms of protecting our interests and making sure we have our appropriate controls of our borders. that's what the electorate really want in the long—term because what they do not wa nt long—term because what they do not want is a country which is effectively isolated from the rest of the world and not able to deliver the kind of economy, the kind of services and the kind of international punch that we would like to do. neil carmichael, thank you very much indeed. that's the kind of argument that's raging here at westminster. the pros and cons of being in or out of the single market. people we were talking to earlier saying britain could thrive if we were outside and in many ways we have been held back by those countries, the rest of the countries, the rest of the countries, in the eu. we will see what theresa may has to say tomorrow morning. vicki young, thank you. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news:

donald trump has promised a trade deal between britain and the united states will be a priority when he takes office on friday. northern ireland's power—sharing government looks set to collapse today sparking fresh elections. an inquest has heard that a gunman who shot and killed 38 tourists on a beach in tunisia in 2015, could have been stopped sooner. hello. in the business news: the pound has hit its lowest level for more than three months — it fell below the $1.20 level before recovering slightly on monday. analysts said traders were reacting to reports that the uk prime minister theresa may would use a speech on tuesday to signal britain would quit the single market. bt recorded more than 31 million nuisance calls in a single week before christmas. it said more than 12 million of those were about accident claims. you may not have heard of luxottica and essilor, but they are massive players

in the eye—wear market. essilor makes lenses and luxottica makes sunglasses like ray—ban. they are merging and together will be worth about £40 billion. now we've all had a nuisance call at some point. british telecom recorded more than 31 million of them in one week in the lead up to christmas. so in response, they're launching a new service that will filter these calls to a junk voicemail inbox. joining me now to discuss the new initiative is christine lampard, a tv presenter and now an ambassador for bt‘s new project. you're passionate about this. tell us about your experience? you're passionate about this. tell us about your experience ?|j you're passionate about this. tell us about your experience? i think we all have similar experiences. with my parents they seemed to be bombarded with nuisance calls continually. i really noticed when i was living abroad and back and forth to america and i would try to contact my parents on the land line and they were always wanting to a nswer and they were always wanting to answer the phone, but would get caught out by a ppi, sales person or

someone trying to sell them double glazing. i it got to such an extent my mum and dad didn't want to answer the phone half of the time and that's ridiculous. it is something that's ridiculous. it is something that we all take for granted having the land line at home and for people to sort of abuse that and to invade your personal time and space at home, i don't think it is good enough. this initiative is a fantastic project. 31 million calls as you just said there before christmas time recorded by bt. it is a huge, huge number of calls and that hopefully will continue now, the more people that sign up to call protect the better and let's just try and stamp the nuisance calls out for good. it is a staggering number. the government have said that actually they are doing quite a bit to counter this. they have introduced fines up to £500,000, there is prosecution, yet caller display, is that enough? we hope so. imean, display, is that enough? we hope so. i mean, certainlya display, is that enough? we hope so. i mean, certainly a lot of that stuff apparently will kick in in the spring time. let's hope it does. it isa spring time. let's hope it does. it is a huge fine if you get caught out

doing something you shouldn't be. however, i mean, it hasn't made any difference to my weekend. i got quite a few calls over the weekend trying to sell me ppi, i don't think it is in our natures to want to put the phone down rudely. ifind it difficult, but that's what we have got to. we are busy people. you don't need t as annoyance and can be stressful for people. particularly our elderly people, i think of my pa rents our elderly people, i think of my parents or grandparents. a land line isa parents or grandparents. a land line is a lifeline for a lot of people at home and they don't deserve to have bombardment of those trying to sell them things that they have no interest in and i think for me is one of the biggest issues as well. so hopefully, as i say, this is a free service. so let's just try and encourage everyone to sign up to this and just let's knock it on the head. the service is going filters through the calls they identify as nuisance and it goes through to this

junk voice mail box. yes. have you got any tips for people that perhaps are suffering from lots of nuisance calls ? are suffering from lots of nuisance calls? well, i mean, firstly, a lot of this system apparently, bt are working on filtering the calls before they get to our phone lines. but certainly, if one of those calls get through to the home line, you just type in 1572. and it brings it back into this junk voice mail box. you just register online as well which is simple. but a lot of times, there was a lot of research done before christmas time and if you in a nyway before christmas time and if you in anyway linger at the beginning of the conversations with these salespeople, you are on average on the phone for one minute 52 seconds of the that's a bit of time with just waffle that we don't need in our lives because you're probably not going to want to buy the thing that they're selling. so i think probably putting the phone down is number one and secondly, sign up to this and hopefully you will never get the call in the first place. thanks, christine. let's take a look at some of today's

other business stories. nearly half of working fathers would like a less stressfuljob so they can spend more time caring for their children. that's according to a report from the charity working families which also said employers are not doing enough to help dads take a more active role in childcare. the government has lost a legal case over the way it changed the pension scheme for the uk's judges in 2015. the claim by 210 judges that they suffered age, race or sex discrimination during the change. when the new, less generous, scheme was introduced, olderjudges were allowed to stay in their old scheme until they retired. the world's eight richest individuals have as much wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world, according to oxfam. not everyone agrees with oxfam's figures which have been criticised by organisations such as the adam smith institute. you can find analysis

of the story on our website, bbc. co. uk/news/business a quick look at the markets. the ftse in negative trading at the moment. the story of the day is the pound. it fell to its lowest level for more than three months. that's it for this hour. i will be backin that's it for this hour. i will be back in an hour's time with more business. five people have been injured after that explosion which destroyed a house in north manchester. dave guest is there. what happened? yes, this is cecil road in manchester in the suburb of blakely and around the corner is a torresed house which has been flattened by this plast. it was after 12.30 this afternoon that a huge explosion literally shook this neighbourhood. people have talked to me about being thrown off their see

tees. people came out into the street to find what happened and found the end terrace house had been wrecked by the blast, the fire service are saying it seems to have been a gas explosion, butjust what caused the gas to ignite, nobody knows as yet. three people are being treated in hospital and another two we re treated in hospital and another two were treated on the scoon by paramedics. the road remains sealed off here. they sercht dogs into the building to see whether there were any other people trapped inside. thankfully, no further casualties. although a small kitten was found trapped in a void, it was pulled out by firefighters and is being cared for by the rspca, the cause of the explosion is being looked into. this has shocked this community. people said the noise was deafening, they we re said the noise was deafening, they were aware there had been a blast. people came out to the streets to see what happened. very little of the building left. the fire service now with structural engineers trying to shore up what is left of the building. a number of houses had to be evacuated in the vicinity of what

the blast happened. it is not clear when those people will be able to return to their homes and the investigation into what cause this is still very much ongoing. that was dave guest there with the update on that explosion. now the weather. on the other side of the newsroom , weather. on the other side of the newsroom, nick millar. different presenter, same forecast! if you're in kent you may have seen some sunshine today. this is where the lowest temperatures are, just three orfour celsius. another one approaching north—west scotland. it will provide outbreaks of rain through scotland and northern ireland. elsewhere, plenty of low cloud, hill fog and drizzly, but there are clearer skies to be

had in the far south—east and you can see the impact. there will be a frost for some in dplaouk and south—east england. overnight, you get to see sunshine tomorrow morning. the rest of the uk, it is more gloom. this is the picture at 8am. low cloud, hill fog and patchy outbreaks of rain or drizzle, parts of scotla nd outbreaks of rain or drizzle, parts of scotland and into northern england. maybe fringing parts of nael. behind the rain in northern ireland, but a cloudy, dplamy start to the day. hill fog around and parts of wales and south—west england, but then that clearer, but colder zone as tuesday begins so yes, you have got a frost to parts of east anglia and south—east england, but more here will get to see the sunshine tomorrow, compared with today. you can see the brighter area here. if you're close to that, but you stay cloudy, you will be cold. elsewhere, the further north—west you go, the higher the temperature, parts of western scotland, and northern ireland, get ten or 11 celsius, still some patchy rain to be had, parts of northern england and north wales. but there is the sunshine, east anglia,

south—east england, but you have the lower temperatures, just four or five celsius for you at max. it will feel chilly, but you have the sunshine to compensate. the blues taking hold. that's the frost. a sharper frost as wednesday begins. well below freezing for some of us. maybe a few fog patches. elsewhere, it is not as cold. maybe drizzle, but a chance for a few brighter brea ks but a chance for a few brighter breaks as well with temperatures eight to ten celsius. looking further ahead, thursday and friday, it is high pressure, nothing is changing very quickly, variable cloud. some bright or sunny spells if you're lucky, but expect a good deal of cloud and that is the picture, big picture, with high pressure going into next weekend as well. we have to wait until the following week then where things start to change and turns more u nsettled start to change and turns more unsettled with the low pressure coming back. that's how it is looking at the mum and for several days to come. more details is available on our website. i'm back in halfan available on our website. i'm back in half an hour. this is bbc news.

the headlines at apm. donald trump promises a trade deal between britain and the united states will be a priority when he takes office on friday. obama said you'll go to the back of the line, meaning if it does happen, and then he had to retract. that was a bad statement. now we're at the front of the queue? i think you're doing great. fresh assembly elections for northern ireland look likely as sinn fein refuses to nominate a new deputy first minister. an inquest hears a gunman who shot and killed 38 tourists at a beach resort in tunisia in 2015 could have been stopped sooner. a blind disabled woman has described how she felt completely and utterly trapped by rolf harris at his trial. also in the next hour, the abducted teen reunited with her parents after 18 years. her biologicalfather speaks for the first time