this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 7pm: the northern ireland secretary has announced a snap assembly election for march 2nd. it follows the collapse of the power—sharing executive. no one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake.” institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake. i am annita mcveigh here at stormont to ta ke annita mcveigh here at stormont to take you through all of the day's developments. ahead of a major speech tomorrow from theresa may, donald trump says he wants to help make brexit "a beautiful thing". obama said you'll go to the back of the line, meaning if it does happen and then he had to retract. that was and then he had to retract. that was a bad statement. 50 we are at the front of the queue? i think a bad statement. so we are at the front of the queue? i think you are doing great. an inquest into the deaths of 30 britons in a terror attack on a beach in tunisia in 2015, has heard security forces

deliberately responded slowly to the the shootings. also coming up: our nhs patients facing undue delays in getting specialist treatments? our new referral centres in england helping people get to hospitals or blocking them? and here's one for sherlock — how did last night's finale get leaked online before it was broadcast? hello, iam hello, i am annita mcveigh, a very good evening to you from stormont, home of the northern ireland executive which today effectively

collapsed. it was deadline day, but that 5pm deadline to try to salvage that 5pm deadline to try to salvage that power—sharing arrangement came and went and it forced the secretary of state for northern ireland james brokenshire to announce that on the 26th of january, the assembly here would formally be dissolved and on the 2nd of march, there will be elections to the assembly in an effort to try to get this power—sharing arrangement back together again. and it was interesting, james brokenshire said not once but twice, this — it was a warning to the political parties going into this election campaign, a warning about their conduct. he clearly is worried about any further divisiveness, anything that could prevent a return to what he called "partnership government" here at stormont. now with a look at the day's events and what led up to them, here is gavin hewitt. for ten years, power has been shared in northern ireland. it was one of the foundation

stones of peace. today, that power—sharing government collapsed. i propose that a draft order in council be brought forward shortly to set an election date of thursday the 2nd of march. no one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake. the trigger for the breakdown was a row over a controversial green energy scheme drawn up by unionist minister, arlene foster. but the bitter arguments over the scheme exposed growing tensions between nationalist and unionist politicians. i think it's both parties, personally, and i find it very disappointing and very, very sad. it's the tribal politics, you know, i feel like we're back in the ‘80s and i was really hopeful that future generations would have a different story. there's no appetite for a return to any sort of violence at any stage

or form in the near future. i think possibly what will happen is we will be led to another couple of years of political insecurity. at stormont, the northern ireland assembly depends on unionists and nationalists sharing power. today, both main parties were asked to submit a name for one of the two top posts. first up, the democratic unionist party. mr speaker, i very readily... and they backed their current leader. ..nominate arlene foster to be the first minister. next up, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broke, you stop and you fix it, that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so ending the power—sharing government. what does all this mean? uncertainty for northern ireland.

without an executive, key areas of government will be stalled and then, most importantly, there is brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice when crucial decisions are taken? we are in a very grave situation going into this election and the timing of it, when northern ireland has no budget agreed, when we're facing into brexit and when we're also coming to the end of the financial year, it's possibly the worst time that we could be entering into this kind of disarray. recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows of the past still make compromise difficult. and well, i can now speak to the indepedent‘s ireland correspondent, david mckittrick, it is very good to have you with us this evening. it is going to be a really tough road ahead this evening at the late —— isn't it to get to this sort of partnership government james brokenshire is talking about?

it certainly is that as you well know from your time reporting here, northern ireland has never run smoothly in politics. if you look on the bright side of this, it is a crisis but it's not a security crisis, it's not a violence one, nobody is being killed. at the same time, though, the disparate parties seem to be almost intent on proving that they can't work together, they are not able to in any cordial way and it will take quite a while, weeks and months, to rebuild some sort of places to get stormont up and running again. the ulster unionists were very quick off the mark to say to voters, if you are frustrated with this, come and vote for parties who are ready and willing to return to government. do you think the dup will be damaged by this? it will be damaged by this because they were the party who was in charge, who were supposed to be running, albeit in association with sinn fein, the country. sinn fein

has walked away and you will find many commentators, a lot who are anti republican and anti—sinn fein, tending to blame not sinn fein but arlene foster and the dup, so it is almost bound to be some leakage of votes from their party. yes, if the dup and sinn fein do return after these elections as the biggest unionist and nationalist parties, theissues unionist and nationalist parties, the issues that caused all of this world have gone away, so it looks like we're in for a pretty long period of negotiation to try to get back to a power—sharing executive. it does but i suppose the hopeful bid is there will be a period of negotiations, it will be where they seek to have some give and take. it's been established that the way things were going until this point was going to end in some kind of deadlock and it has done that, so i suppose the thing is that all the

parties now get together and not in concert with each other but they work out individually there to get any power—sharing back again, they are going to have to make some sort of compromises which involve the other side. how do you think, david, all of this is going to play out with regards to brexit and the brexit timetable? it means none of the northern ireland party will be at any negotiating table for brexit. they all have to rely now onjames brokenshire, the northern ireland secretary, so there won't be a detailed input from northern ireland, all of that will fall on a british minister rather than any of the local people. 0k, david, thank you very thought ? ? delete the local people. 0k, david, thank you very thought ? ?delete much your swords this evening, david mckittrick. —— thank you very much your thoughts. there is a three—week period after the election in which the political parties here will be asked to try to form a new

power—sharing executive. as we have been pointing out today, it is difficult to see how they will in that short period of time managed to resolve all of the issues that to be resolved. after that, we could be looking at a situation where there is direct rule from westminster once again. while that might help the government out in terms of any issues around brexit and am trying to keep their timetable for triggering article 50 ontrack, james brokenshire has said he is not even considering that at the moment, he is only thinking about and immediate future where we see a return to the power—sharing executive. but eve ryo ne power—sharing executive. but everyone here agrees that that is going to be extremely tricky to achieve in the time frame that we have got. so from stormont now, it is back to you in the studio. annita mcveigh, thank you, live at stormont. the us president—elect donald trump

seems to have cheered some in europe and annoyed others with his latest comments. he has said other countries may leave the eu as well, ahead of a speech by theresa may tomorrow in which he is expected to set out plans to leave the single market. mr trump said set out plans to leave the single market. mrtrump said britain set out plans to leave the single market. mr trump said britain was doing great after the exit boat. laura kuenssberg has the story. —— vote. thumbs up for brexit for the man who in 95 hours will be the most powerful in the world. former minister and sometime reporter, michael gove, with the front covers of donalds looking on. countries want their own identity and so did the uk but i believe if they had not been forced to take in all of the refugees, so many, with all the problems that entails, i think you would not have brexit. for months, she's been less keen

to say what it really means. brexit means brexit. what is that again? brexit means brexit. in case you hadn't heard. brexit means brexit. but ignore the platitudes, the big decisions have been clear since june. there is no mandate for a deal that involves accepting the free movement of people as it has hitherto worked. unlimited eu migration will not stay and neither will the power of european judges. judges sitting not in luxembourg but in courts across the land. without them in charge, it means we will be out of the single market. people talk as if somehow we are leaving the eu but still want to keep parts of membership. we are leaving. and she even dressed up to make plain how doing business outside of europe will be more and more important. with an enthusiastic offer now from stateside of doing a deal at speed.

it is very good news that the united states wants to do a good free trade deal with us and wants to do it very fast. great to hear that from president—elect donald trump. spreading good cheerfor brexit backers ahead of the prime minister's speech tomorrow. we will have the european court of justice no longer overruling our laws and we will be outside the single market so we can control our own borders and probably outside the customs union so we can negotiate our own trade deals but the rest of the world. with the rest of the world. this is the most crucial set of choices that any prime minister has made for years and although the fundamentals were clear before she moved in, there has been precious little detail in public and theresa may's opponents fear she will disappoint because she's juggling her party as well as the public. she has had to overcompensate as a former remainer to prove herself to her own party and also she has no mandate of her own, she has not been elected and is not in a strong position and also she has really chosen only to listen to the 52% of people who voted for brexit and not the almost half

of them remaining part of the remaining part of the voting public who voted for a different future. tomorrow matters, theresa may will tell us and them, the other european countries, more about her decisions that will shape britain for decades to come. her political hope, she and the country are not on their way to isolation. with me is soumaya keynes, economics correspondent with the economist. thanks are coming in. what do you make of donald trump suggesting that a trade deal could be done like that? it is certainly very optimistic. it also seems somewhat

implausible. if you look at the trade deals that have been agreed over the last few years, none had taken over the last few years, none had ta ken fewer than over the last few years, none had taken fewer than years, so the thing about donald trump is he thinks of trade deals as business deals, as transactions he can do very quickly but trade deals are much more complicated, they are about setting rules for trade and that involves trading of huge vested interests, complicated regulations, it is not just about wiping away tariffs, it's about rules. standardising the width of toilet rolls or whatever? you have to get all of that done. boris johnson says it is great that america is suggesting they want a quick deal. what time frame is he thinking? he must be thinking after 2019, because technically britain isn't allowed to negotiate its own trade deals until after it has left the eu. so that is a really important point, once article 50 is triggered, which should be by the end of march this year, an attempt to make outside trade deals outside the european union cannot be done until that two—year process is over? yes. this is also assuming that the government's plan goes ahead as they

want, so shaming they can do it the spring. assuming that will happen smoothly and then assuming that britain is kicked out after two yea rs, britain is kicked out after two years, then it does get the power to set its own trade deals if indeed it has left the single market. so the end of 2019 is when we can start negotiating with donald trump potentially and you reckon it is six, seven or eight years, longer? even that could be optimistic. it doesn't entirely make sense, i don't think, for america to negotiate a trade deal with britain after the rules of trade between britain and europe become clear. you need to tack on really a few years to work out what is going on between britain and the eu and then you can really start thinking about what the rules should be between american and british trade. so current trade deals are about rules, they are about setting common rules so that you can be assured that who you are dealing with has the same standards

as you. and so it really matters if britain is committed to keeping the same set of rules as europe before america starts dealing with britain. so supposing britain has a deal with america, that would massively influence what happens in europe and for all that america is a big economy and that is very lovely, the eu is still much more important in terms of a share of britain's trade. and sterling, it fell precipitously again today, the lowest level against the dollar since the mid—19 80s. what is it theresa may needs to say tomorrow to stop it falling like a stone? well, i think the thing the market really don't like is the suggestion that we are going to go for a hard brexit, we might leave the single market, leave the customs union. all of that, the economic evidence suggests, would be harmful to the british economy and so the

fall in sterling is reflecting the fact that over the long run, there will be less demand for british goods and services and the british economy will be weaker. whenever theresa may makes announcement that seems to confirm this fear of theirs, the pound falls. tomorrow, we might not even get new details of the plan but so far it seems whenever they say something specific orsay whenever they say something specific or say what everyone is thinking what she has indicated before, every single new statement, the market seems to have jitters. single new statement, the market seems to havejitters. i'm sure single new statement, the market seems to have jitters. i'm sure you will be listening with all of us to what theresa may says tomorrow, thank you very much for that. let's turn now to our chief political correspondent vicki young, who is at westminster. vicki, analysis suggesting that it may be tricky for theresa may to be as explicit as she would like to be tomorrow because that could have a detrimental effect on sterling, but specificity is what eve ryo ne on sterling, but specificity is what everyone wants, because at the moment, no one has an idea what

brexit is. that is right, she has been under enormous pressure to say more than brexit mince brexit because what the markets have been doing and reacting to is notjust comments by herbert by chancellors and other ministers, piecing the picture together and over the last few weeks, we have learned some things and that is why the markets have reacted as they have, because theresa may has made it clear that what she does want to do is global trade deals with other countries, she wants to control immigration, she wants to control immigration, she wants to not be under the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. now, in orderto jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. now, in order to get some or all of those things, it's going to be incredibly difficult to stay within a single market so in many ways, people are just making that a logical leave and the same thing the customs union. sol that a logical leave and the same thing the customs union. so i think she will put out there her priorities. i think it will be quite easy to piece together what she once and it won't please everybody but i

think the interesting narrative is the government trying to move this away from how britain will suffer, how the economy might be damaged and trying now to look at what we do bring to the table. we are a big economy, we are a growing economy, we have the city of london, we are an outward looking nation. they see these as positives and we have a lot to contribute in the area of security, for example. all of these things are useful notjust to spread to the eu as well, so they are trying to change the story, you like, to say it is not about us being losers, it is about the partnership we can have the eu and what we can bring to the table and they feel they have a strong set of cards in their hand. thank you for that. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are broadcaster david davies and france 24's uk correspondent benedicte paviot. the sob stories for you now on bbc

news. northern ireland secretary james brokenshire or —— says new elections will be held for the assembly on the 2nd of march. donald trump has promised a trade deal with britain will be a priority when he becomes us president on friday. an inquest into the fatal shootings of british tourists in tunisia 18 months ago has been told local security unit deliberately and unjustifiably delayed their arrival at the scene. 18 months ago, 30 british holidaymakers died in a terror attack in tunisia — now an inquest into their deaths has been told that some of the victims might still be alive if local security forces had acted more quickly. outlining the evidence the lawyer for the inquest said tunisian forces had deliberately delayed confronting the gunman. seifeddine rezgui was allowed to go on the rampage at a five—star beach resort near sousse for more than half an hour before he was shot dead. from the old bailey, daniela relph reports.

for them, the inquests matter so much. the families of those killed, the anguish and grief of the past 18 months, they now hope for answers. as the hearing began, the names of those who died were read out followed by a minute's silence. 30 british tourists murdered on holiday. they included three generations of one family, married couples and a teenager. the inquest heard they had needlessly lost their lives. shouting mobile phone footage shows the chaos and confusion during the attacks. the families watched it in court. listening to the sound of gunfire and the sense of panic. gunfire the gunman was seifeddine rezgui, a 23—year—old who was eventually shot dead by the security forces. but he'd been intent on killing tourists. the inquest also watched cctv footage from around the resort.

the lone gunman on the beach, armed with an automatic weapons and explosives. armed with an automatic weapon and explosives. and also, roaming around inside the hotel, looking for his next victims. a british police team put together this map of his movements. the red arrow indicates where he started shooting near the sun loungers. before moving to the terrace and outdoor pool area and then into the hotel. he killed everywhere he went. there were no clear signs of any police or security guards trying to stop him. samantha leek qc, counsel to the inquests, referred to a statement from a tunisian witness. inquests can't lay blame, but they

can offer guidance. the families here just want to know how their loved ones came to die in such a horrifying way. the trial of the former entertainer rolf harris has been told he groped a blind woman despite her protestations. the woman said it was appalling and degrading. rolf harris, who's not attending court in person, denies indecent assault and sexual assault. the former youth football coach, barry bennell, who worked at crewe alexandra, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of child abuse. the allegations against bennell all involve a boy under the age of 15 between 1981 and 1986. some patients face dangerous delays

getting treatments because of referral management centres used by some gps. they were designed to reduce nhs spending by limiting unnecessary referrals a hospital but the bma says they create barriers and take decisions away from doctors. the bbc has found many referrals were refused because of administration errors. here is hugh pym. if a gp refers you for a hospital checkup or treatment, you might think it would happen automatically, but in some areas, the decision has to be vetted by another organisation, sometimes a private company. and that's the subject of a growing controversy. tracy used to find everyday household chores a nightmare, in constant pain because of her varicose veins. i was in so much pain with my leg, 2a hours a day. i wasn't sleeping properly. i was struggling to get through my work. her gp recommended an operation on the nhs, but this was barred by the referral centre, so she had to get it done privately. if a gp feels that a specialist needs to look at you then the nhs should be supporting that

and they‘ re not. research by the bbc has revealed an increase in the use of these centres in england. there are about 13.5 million referrals for treatment by gps every year. last year, about 2 million were screened by referral management centres. more than 84,000 were rejected, for clinical reasons or because of clerical errors. really, it's a form of rationing. and that's not to say that we don't need to perhaps ration within the nhs. but i would rather that it was done explicitly. and that the public were involved, rather than every purchasing authority making its own individual decisions and sometimes choosing private companies to do that. the logic of the system is that at a time of rising patients demand and stretched resources, local health commissioners have a mechanism for scrutinising decisions, which could lead to expensive hospital treatment. they acknowledge that once you've taken on board the costs of the centres, there's no way yet of

assessing whether they do provide value for money. some local health bodies are limiting certain types of care. the referral centres are reinforcing those decisions. we don't want to squander any money. we have limited resources. so it's really important the resources we have, we spend most effectively. and get the best value for our population. best value for money or bad news for patients? that's the question. there limited use of this system in wales. it is not part of the health service in scotland and northern ireland. in england, it's certainly generated a lively debate. hugh pym, bbc news. it's a case that might have baffled sherlock holmes himself. who leaked a copy of the final episode of the bbc‘s sherlock on to the internet? the fact that it was dubbed into russian is a major clue. but was it criminal piracy, done for money? or something more sinister? nick higham's been investigating. please, no, don't hang up. do not hang up.

calmly, sherlock, ori will finish right now. the last episode of sherlock, eagerly awaited by millions, but on saturday, a copy was leaked online dubbed into russian. it was a spoiler and broadcasters don't like those. everything up to this point has been planned with the intention of presenting this programme, this very important finale, as a global event, as a collective community of fans coming together and very much experiencing it for the first time and this has put a big spanner in the works of that. the russian version was widely shared online. the mystery — worthy of an old—fashioned sherlock holmes story — who leaked it and why? one theory, the episode was put online to damage the bbc, which the kremlin doesn't much like at present because the beeb is increasing its radio broadcasts to russia. another theory, it's just somebody trying to make money out of some stolen property. experts say film and television piracy is widespread in russia.

according to the russian interior ministry, piracy brings around half a billion us dollars annually, that is quite a large number. we have seen is quite a large number. we have seen recently reported that at least >> amber—macro: heads of public organisations that have been lobbying for reforms of this sector have been arrested and some of the russian experts have suggested that this is a backlash of those pirates who often have also government protection. with russia, it's hard to tell and today, the mystery deepened when the russian state—owned television channel who broadcasted the series denied responsibility for the leak and claimed save my soul.

seek my room. but who could the external third party be? no one seems to know and the conspiracy theorists are having a field day. no mystery about who has got the weather. here is nick miller. much of the uk will be cloudy tonight, low cloud with some hill fog and some outbreaks of rain, some pushing across scotland and northern ireland and some along when a frontier the northern england, through the midlands along the south coast, pushing into south—west england and wales. for much of the uk underneath the cloud, you will avoid a frost and quite mild night across scotland and quite mild night across scotland and northern ireland but called on for a touch of frost under clearer skies into part of east anglia and south—east england but after a cold start here, this is where tomorrow you are most likely to see some sunshine, brightening up in the afternoon the northern scotland but for much of the uk, rather cloudy day and outbreaks of rain affecting

parts of northern england and wales with some hill fog around. mild and northern ireland and west of scotla nd northern ireland and west of scotland but chilly despite the sunshine. east anglia and south—east england with a sharp frost to start wednesday morning. wednesday and thursday, variable cloud, a bit of sunshine if you are lucky. hello — this is bbc news with clive myrie. the headlines at 7.30pm: northern ireland is to hold new elections, following the collapse of its power—sharing executive. secretary of state, james brokenshire, has set the date for march 2nd. the us president—elect, donald trump, has promised a "quick and fair" trade deal with britain. theresa may will be making a major speech on brexit tomorrow morning. an inquest into the deaths of 30 britons on a beach in tunisia in 2015, has heard local security units were deliberately slowed down, to delay their arrival at the scene. doctors have warned some patients in england are facing ‘dangerous'

delays in getting specialist treatment — because they're being held back by referral management centres. little more on our top story now. the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, has announced that a snap assembly election will be held on the second of march, after power—sharing at stormont broke down. martin mcguinness of sinn fein resigned as deputy first minister a week ago, in protest at the democratic unionists' handling of a controversial renewable energy scheme. today, both parties blamed one another for the collapse of the government. well this was the announcement that was made this afternoon by mr brokenshire this afternoon. no one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions in northern ireland and what is at stake. while it is inevitable that debate during an

election period will be intense, i would strongly encourage the political parties to conduct this election with a view to the future of northern ireland, and re—establishing a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that poll. this is essential to the operation of devolved government, and this means that all must remain open to dialogue. the government continues to stand firmly behind its commitment to the belfast agreement and its successors, and our responsibilities to safeguard political stability here, in northern ireland. we will continue to do all that we can, to find a way forward, to secure the continuation of devolved government. conor murphy, a sinn fein mla, spoke on behalf of his party.

today we have called time. we have done so because we can no longer accept how the institutions were ka nte treated accept how the institutions were kante treated with contempt and continue to be treated with contempt. for our part, sinn fein and martin mcguinness have stretched ourselves to the very limits, to trying keep these institutions working. unfortunately they've been let down by the behaviour of the dup, the imposition of tory policies on in action of the irish government. the former northern ireland first minister was scathing in her condemnation of the actions by sinn fein, in a statement earlier today. a warning, there is some flash photography in this item. 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. we, asa ireland needs stable government. we, as a party, have done all that we can to maintain government in the northern ireland assembly so that the real issues like health, education and brexit are addressed. but instead of trying to work with us, as we have done so many times in the past with sinn fein, they have chosen to pursue political self—interest. they did not like the election result last may and therefore they are looking to have another go at the election. they have forced an election that risks northern ireland's future and its stability and suits nobody, apart from themselves. they will take every vote for them as an

encouragement that they can bring down the northern ireland executive, whenever they don't get their own way, whatever the cost and northern ireland. again and again and again and again. arlene foster, former first minister of northern ireland. we can now speak tojon tonge, professor of politics at the university of liverpool, who's an expert on northern ireland. hejoins us from our salford studio. it is good to see you again, thank you for being with us. the election has been called, march the 2nd, pretty likely sinn fein and the dup will beatty two leading parties. so what's going to change? very little will change. i think we're looking at a period of direct rule that may go on longer than people expect or want. the dup and sinn fein are likely to be the largest parties, as you suggest. possibly not in that order. if sinn fein was to become the largest party, it's difficult to see the dup supplying a deputy first minister. you can code by which those jobs as

much as you like but there is a perception the first minister is the prime minister of northern ireland. in effect elections are the equivalent of taking cough medicine for a bad headache. they weren't actually solve the problem at stake here, which is a lack of ministerial and loveless manage marriage rift between the dup and sinn fein, which only survived on the basis of personal chemistry between martin mcguinness and ian paisley and a pragmatic relationship between peter robinson and martin mcguinness. difficult to see where we go from here, other than back to direct rule for a period. 0k, is arlene foster the problem? arlene foster could have stepped aside for a few weeks in advance of a full inquiry into this saga. but she would argue innocent until proven guilty, why should i step outside my post when i've been found guilty of nothing at this stage? it certainly would have helped politically. but this is more than about personnel, more than the

£500 million lost as a consequence of this scandal. it's about a working relationship which is utterly dysfunctional between two parties. in some ways it's a miracle they stuck together in government for ten years because they don't get on, their support bases are com pletely on, their support bases are completely polarised, in the sense there will be two elections, one in there will be two elections, one in the unionist community on in the nationalist community. unless they revise their attitudes and come up for a coherent programme for government after the second march, expect to hear the phrase direct rule for a long period after that, ata time rule for a long period after that, at a time when northern ireland needs strong government. they have agreed budget and we're coming to the end of the financial year. direct rule from westminster... how would that go down with the different communities? no one really wa nts different communities? no one really wants direct rule, the british government certainly doesn't want direct rule, it has enough on its plate with brexit the dup once

decisions taken on its own island, but if you can't agree a coherent programme of government, you can't really have devolved government. we've had so many false dawns in northern ireland, we've had fresh start initiatives, american diplomats coming to broker differences between the talks. ultimately these politicians have got to get together and agree a programme of government, otherwise devolution is finished. it's always been a problematic challenge. it was subject to suspension from 2002-2007. it was subject to suspension from 2002—2007. it was subject to suspension from 2002—2007. it's only really lingered on since then without real political progress. finally sinn fein have called the plug on it. sinn fein doesn't want direct rule itself, but feels it is better off in the short term under direct rule and possibly making electoral gains as a consequence of an election. fascinating. thank you for your analysis. a coroner has ruled that the death of a young mother following childbirth was the result of "failures, inadequate diagnosis and treatment". frances cappuccini — who was 30 — suffered a fatal haemorrhage

at tunbridge wells hospital, after an emergency caesarean in 2012. daniel boettcher reports. frances cappuccini died after giving birth by caesarean, the inquest heard she'd suffered a haemorrhage because a piece of placenta had been left in her womb. she was operated on, but died within eight hours of the birth. today, her husband tom arrived at the inquest to hear the coroner's conclusions. roger hatch said the death of frances cappuccini was as a result of the failures, inadequate diagnosis and treatment of her at tunbridge wells hospital. the coroner found that the c—section had not been carried out with care, that there should have been checks to make sure that nothing had been missed. the result of this failure, he said, led directly to the subsequent series of events, which tragically ended in the death of frances. among the otherfindings was that the haemorrhage was not properly managed, that a breathing tube had been removed too soon during her treatment, and that the supervision of a doctor was undefined and inadequate. after the inquest, the family's lawyer read out

a statement on their behalf. she was bubbly, intelligent, beautiful, loving, and much loved. failures at maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust and those employed by the trust cost frankie her life. nothing can heal the pain. maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust, said in a statement that it had made a number of changes to its processes. and that it recognised from the start that there were aspects of frances cappuccini's care that fell short of the standards it would expect. it said it wanted to extend its deepest sympathies to her family. donald trump has made a lot of insights on brexit and the eu. he said the german chancellor angela

merkel made a mistake letting immigrants and their country. he said nato might be obsolete, so little wonder their husbands and terse comment from berlin and brussels, as our diplomatic correspondent explains. they have rehearsed the inauguration in washington with a stand—in for president trump, but no one knows quite what to expect that friday's ceremony, still less what will happen in the first 100 days with donald trump in the oval office. what we do know is there will be nothing conventional about it, because the president—elect has made that very clear. among his most eye—catching new quotes, donald trump says the eu is on the brink of collapse, partly because germany's leader angela merkel made one very catastrophic mistake with her open the doors approach to migrants. i think it's not good, i think it was a big mistake the germany. —— for germany. germany's chancellor was diplomatically cautious in her response.

translation: the fight against terrorism is great challenge for all countries. we see this as a pan—european and a global task. i would separate this from the task of helping refugees. the majority of refugees have left syria because of their oppression by assad. so what about the most complicated trump relationship of all, with president putin's russia? mr trump will explore making good deals with russia. as part of that, nuclear weapons on both sides should be reduced very substantially. it's true both the united states and russia have more than enough missiles and warheads to destroy each other. mr trump hinted a nuclear negotiation might involve offering mr putin the easing of sanctions over the ukraine. but mr trump was also highly critical of vladimir putin's intervention in syria, calling it "a very rough thing".

the bombardment of aleppo, he said, was nasty, with troops, in his words "shooting old ladies walking out of town". so how to reconcile all that with the president—elect on nato, the west's military alliance? nato is obsolete, he keeps repeating. so what could that mean for america's new deployment of heavy armour to poland to deter any future russian threat? germany, for one, is worried. translation: at nato, remarks made by president trump are a cause of concern. as world leaders gather in the swiss alps for their annual davos forum, many will be perplexed, even alarmed, not knowing what sort of future they — we — all face. james robbins, bbc news. the bbc has found that 56,000 people over the age of 80 had waits of more than 12 hours in england's emergency departments last year. the extent of delays involving elderly people was revealed in an analysis of nhs data

for the bbc‘s inside out programme. now some hospitals are adopting new ways of working to try and prevent such long waits. jemma woodman reports. it is early evening in the royal devon and exeter hospital. 92—year—old joyce taylor has been brought into the emergency department after a fall at home. coming down the stairs, and when i came right down to the bottom i didn't realise that i had hurt myself. joyce is among an increasing number of elderly patients coming into the department. we regularly have patience over 90 on an almost daily basis, 100 in our department. the majority of our patients are in their 70s or 80s. across england it is a problem. we

have discovered that 56,000 patients who are over 80 spent more than 12 hours in a&e department last year. that's gone up by 280% in five yea rs. the paramedic gives us a hand over and as they do we will check your blood pressure. to stop patients waiting too long in exeter, most are seen by senior co nsulta nts exeter, most are seen by senior consultants within minutes of arriving. a lot of services are now put into predicting discharge of patients. if we can get them to the medical before nine o'clock tonight rather than tomorrow morning, you save yourself 12 hours of hospital stay. joyce was close to being admitted but it's decided she'd be better off at home. i don't think we're going to have any benefit bringing her in. it's what mum once and it's better, i think anyone who can stay out of hospital, it's better to be in your own surroundings, especially someone of my mother's page.

judyis of my mother's page. judy is a retired doctor and used to work at the hospital. my heart from time to time goes into a wrong rhythm. they are going to put two electrodes on my chest, pass the current through my heart and hopefully that will shock my heart back into a normal rhythm. it's a sort of procedure which is used to need a short stay in hospital but is now being done within the emergency department. by getting things done here, we are saving her hospital admission. it's good for the patient and also good for the trust as a whole because that's for someone else to move into. 253 patients came through the emergency department on the day we were filming in exeter but only 46 were admitted to a hospital bed. so, we've hearing a lot about the pressure on the nhs this winter. 0ur correspondent chris cook is here — you have some more news. good news, better news? some of your viewers might remember

last week we found that the first week of january this year fewer than fourin week of january this year fewer than four in five a&e patients were seen within four hours, which is the magic inch mark we set for a&e. ideally we want 95% of patients to be seen in four hours. in the second week of january, that figure has recovered. we up above 80%. if you look at the daily rates over this weekend, more than 85% of patients we re weekend, more than 85% of patients were seen within four hours. that's still really bad, a long way from where we wanted to be the good news is that as the number of people going to a&e has declined the first week in has really improved. there are really big dangers, though. we still have a hospital system in england where 95% of the beds are occupied, 5% of the beds are taken by people who are stuck in hospital, who would better be placed in

nursing homes or other hospitals who are stranded in the hospital system. what those things together mean it is the hospital system is very vulnerable. if there are further increases in demand for hospital services, they don't have a lot of slack to pull through. it's good issue news, things are getting a bit better but they are still very vulnerable. indeed. winter still has two months to go, things could get worse. clearly, as you are suggesting, horrible phrase, but bed blockers are there, and problems with the social care system in this country has a knock—on effect to a&e department. trolley rates are high as well, when you are admitted to the hospital but the hospital can't find anywhere to put you. these are all things, a systematic problem not just in the hospital but in social care, run by local authorities. chris cook of newsnight, good to see

you, thank you. it isjust chris cook of newsnight, good to see you, thank you. it is just after 740 5p. the top stories on northern news: the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, says new assembly elections will be held on the second of march. it follows the collapse of the power sharing government. donald trump has promised that a a trade deal with britain, will be a priority when he becomes us president, on friday. an inquest into the fatal shootings of british tourists in tunisia 18 months ago, has been told that local security units ‘deliberately and unjustifiably‘ delayed their arrival at the scene. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. the british antarctic survey will be shutting down its winter station, in antarctica. it's for safety reasons and won't be operational again, until november. joining me now from cambridge via webcam is professor david vaughan,

director of science at british antarctic survey. david, good to see you, thank you for being with us. why are you taking an early winter break? we have been monitoring this ice shelf on which the station is situated. we've got some cracks in theice situated. we've got some cracks in the ice shelf. 0ne we were monitoring for the last couple of yea rs, monitoring for the last couple of years, and it's caused it to move the station across the ice shelf but another crack has now appeared. the complexity of that situation is one we are not really willing to commit our people to over the winter period, when it is hard to extract them because it is dark and cold. when would you be doing most of your research? 0ur research? our research focuses on the summer period, which is now up until the middle of february, but it also goes through the winter. so some of the

scientific datasets we gather are gathered during the winter. what kind of research were you hoping to do in this period? we do various bits of work at the station, we monitor the atmospheric condition, in an area that is so remote it's giving us the global average. we monitor ozone, which halley station was central to identifying the ozone hole in the 80s. we now use it to monitor the recovery of the ozone hole. there are a whole set of data strings coming out of halley that my tea m strings coming out of halley that my team andi strings coming out of halley that my team and i are looking at, to work out how we can minimise the scientific impact of not running the station overwinter. how much of a blow is this to the research?m station overwinter. how much of a blow is this to the research? it is a great disappointment to us scientists and my team down there

are very scientists and my team down there are very committed to maintaining these data streams. there is a level of disappointment there, but the safety of our staff on the station is of paramount importance and we can't face the risk of having people there during the winter period when it is hard to get them out. absolutely, safety first. the reason for the crack in the shelf? that's not clear at the moment, and i suspect it will never come entirely clear. these ice shelves do this now and then, produce a big iceberg, but it is unusual to see two cracks forming in the ice shelf. it is the juxtaposition of how those two cracks might interact which is causing us the greatest concern. it makes it so much harder to predict what might happen. professor david vaughan, thank you for speaking to us. on friday donald trump will be sworn

in as the 45th president of the united states. his election to the white house followed one of the most bitter and divisive campaigns in history and many have questioned if the new leader is capable of uniting the country. to find outjon kay has set off on a road trip through the heart of america — along the iconic route 45 — travelling from north to south. today, in the first of a week—long series of reports, he's in wisconsin — a state that elected mr trump by the narrowest of margins. milwaukee. known for its harsh winters, for making cheese and beer, and now for its role in america's fragile new politics. go, go, go, go — right now. this is no place forfragile. junior ice hockey. this is the green bayjunior gamblers. jonathan is coaching the under—9s. he likes donald trump because he's different — a non—politician, an outsider. itjust goes back to an alternative that's outside of the box. a different viewpoint.

he's a billionaire, though, isn't he? he's a tv star, he's not exactly everyman. no, he certainly is not, but i think there's something to be said for him being able to relate to, you know, a plumber, a welder, a teacher. the state of wisconsin switched sides in this election. the large white working class electorate normally votes democrat, but this time they chose trump. they like giving new things a try here. even if it's risky. your gloves are nearly as big as my hands. engineerjason is confident. after nine redundancy threats in six years, he says it's time for a businessman in the oval office. it will be nice to have a little bit more stability on the job front, so i'm hoping, from an economic standpoint, that trump reflects giving that stability back to the country.

some of america's top ice athletes practise on this rink. i understand you like to do this thing, but you're stopping to do that. you are not doing that much as much, correct? nancy was an olympian and is now a coach. it's time to be a little risky. she told me donald trump can bring a winner's mindset to the white house. trump makes a decision, he gets it done. do you have any reservations about his personality? i mean, the things he said about women, for example. yeah, i think everybody who is behind him has some reservation, because they really don't know the truth behind that, and they're just hoping at this point in his life he has put that behind him. wisconsin may have voted trump, but only by 1%. and some here are still struggling with the result. this is one of the most importantjobs in the world, and i'm not certain he's prepared for it. but hockey mom liela is willing to give the new president a chance, even though as a muslim she is worried by some

of his comments. i try to look at the bright side, so, ijust, i think they have to wait and see what happens. you sound to me like you're maybe a little nervous? yes, i might be. we heard that a lot here, a desire to unite, but an acceptance that it may not be easy. the news to bring you before we go to the weather. we are hearing this out of the united states from nasser. it's saying the agency is saddened by the loss of the retired nasa astronaut gene cernan. he has died. we are just getting that through from the united states. we will bring you more, when we can. but now, time for

a look at the weather. sunshine will be at a premium this week as it was today, for many it was cloudy, damp and gristly. this picture from nottinghamshire from one of our weather watchers. but in kent it was a lot brighter but a colder picture, but at least some blue sky to compensate. the rain in nottinghamshire, another one approaching north—west scotland will give outbreaks of rain overnight into parts of scotland and northern ireland. the weather front straddling the midlands will nudge further westwards, with plenty of cloud across the uk, low cloud, hill fog will be around. but where it was cold today in kent but with some sunshine, it will be clear overnight and in parts of east anglia as well, but this is where there are the lowest temperatures with a touch of frost for tuesday morning. eight o'clock in the morning and plenty of low cloud and hill fog in scotland, rather dreary. into northern ireland as well. there will be some outbreaks of rain around eastern

scotland, northern ireland, into northern england, just about anywhere where you have cloud, you could encounter some drizzle. but here is the big exception. a touch of frost in south—east england and east anglia to start the day, but here is where you may start with some blue sky and it will continue during the day. areas hear more likely to see some sunshine compared with today. it could brighten up into the afternoon in north—east scotland. a few brighter breaks elsewhere at on the whole a lot of cloud on some outbreaks of rain affecting northern england and wales. 10—11 in western scotland and northern ireland but just wales. 10—11 in western scotland and northern ireland butjust 4—5 in east anglia and south—east england. but some of us here have the sunshine to compensate. tuesday evening and overnight, clearer skies and temperatures dropping, a sharp frost as they go into wednesday morning. elsewhere in the uk and cloud cover, you're likely to start frost free. the best of the sunshine on wednesday will be in southern

england into east anglia. elsewhere rather cloudy. some brighter breaks and still some patchy rain here and there. little change for thursday and friday. high pressure in control, so our weather is reasonably settled. that is the picture going into the weekend as well. we have to wait for next week until low pressure to come back and the weather to turn unsettled. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm: the northern ireland secretary has announced a snap assembly election for march 2nd. it follows the collapse of the power—sharing executive. no one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake. ahead of a major speech tomorrow from theresa may, donald trump says he wants to help make brexit "a beautiful thing". 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. so we are at the front of the queue? i think you are doing great. an inquest into the deaths of 30 britons in a terror attack on a beach in tunisia in 2015, has heard security forces deliberately responded slowly to the the shootings.