this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: european commission president jean—claudejuncker promises to seek a "balanced" brexit deal, following theresa may's speech setting out her goals, but malta's prime minister says it shouldn't be better than eu membership. we wa nt we want a fair deal for the united kingdom. that deal necessarily needs to be inferior to membership. here theresa may defends her brexit plan to mps and rejects suggestions that she's bypassing parliament. what i said out yesterday was a global plan. bringing jobs to people and spreading economic growth across the country. thousands of british tourists are being flown out of the gambia after a state of emergency was declared there. unemployment has fallen to its lowest total in more than a decade, according to the latest figures. i'm simon mccoy. a partial victory

for wheelchair users when it comes to their priority on buses. and shock at the australian open as britain's dan evans pulls off the best win of his career beating seventh seed marin cilic. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the president of the european commission jean—claude juncker has told the european parliament that he will do everything he can to ensure that the negotiations over britain's exit from the european union end in "a good result" for all concerned. but he also admitted the negotiations would be "very, very, very" difficult. our europe correspondent gavin lee reports. a clear view from westminster, cold comfort to eu officials meeting in strasbourg's european parliament today.

"a sad, surrealist state of affairs," that was the brief tweet from donald tusk, and while the sudden clarity was welcomed here, seven months after the brexit vote, the verdict from joseph muscutt, the maltese president, is that he will work to make sure that britain doesn't get a better eu trade deal than what is already available. this is not a happy event for us. we want a fair deal for the united kingdom, but that deal necessarily needs to be inferior than membership. this should not come as a surprise to anyone. translation: over the last years, i have been sorry everyone is taking part in a kind of

internal market. we will see this in the next coming events. there was reason for optimism elsewhere. hungary's foreign minister called for the widest possible trade deal, warning of the risk of making europe less competitive if forcing britain to make quick trade deals elsewhere. the clarity of theresa may's message has brought more questions, and the scepticism across europe about whether a clean break from the eu is possible. there are less than ten weeks to go until article 50 is triggered, and with what theresa may has now clearly set out, negotiators on both sides will beginning to starting to formulate their opening positions. angela merkel has been talking about this as well in the last half an hour? yes, she has. this is not something she stepped away previously, but it is notable because she spoke to theresa may yesterday. going from we heard from the smallest member state with malta all be that he is going to be

chairing some of the meeting for the next few months to the largest, the most powerful with angela merkel. she said a short while ago that she believes there have to be close co—operation with the uk. she is willing to work with theresa may and she spoke to her yesterday on the phone and when it comes to the unity, she is with the 27. with the difficulty of, you know, the clear message from theresa may saying don't take punitive action against the uk. if you are worried about the staout of the union and other countries, france, holland, forthe risk of keeping the union, don't ta ke risk of keeping the union, don't take it out on the uk. the others would come back to say this is not about punitive action, this is about saying we try to make sure that you don't get a better deal than we've got already. i think already, you know the lines have been drawn in the sand for that. we heard from the prime minister of malta along those lines and the difficulty for the uk and for britain, it only takes one of the 27 to object and we go no further? it takes, ithink, splinter

moments. moments where something can happen where suddenly there is a big aning zit about it. a small trigger today. the words of borisjohnson perhaps quite humorous about to some that francois hollande shouldn't treat the british government like they are escapees with punishment like a second world war movie. well, actually within europe for the french that rhetoric is tantamount to passive aggression and doesn't help the talks. so i think that is interesting to see. on the one hand you've got theresa may very clear. some say quite cold, but concise and very explicit in here detail and then you have a foreign secretary who is not aid frayed to speak his mind. soi who is not aid frayed to speak his mind. so i think that allows an extra dimension to the recipe of negotiations, but i was hearing again from the european commission some of the more senior staff today and they have said for the last 2a hours now, they have been able to properly work around a position, a

rough outline of how their negotiators should work. relief one senses that they know what their probably going to be up against, but now they are looking for detail. what sort of mood, what is the mood music that you're getting from the pubs and clubs, but i know you don't do that, wherever you mingle with them? the coffee bars is the thing to do now a days. there is a sense of some kind of dictat which went around yesterday in which the leaders said little. some of them tweet as much as trump. the maltese prime minister, there is this unionity. they have formed in line to say it has become more tiresome than brexit means brexit. they say no decision without notification. so they don't give

much detail until article 50 is triggered. what i hear around brussels, it was a genuine surprise by many that britain will leave the single market. this is not something that leaders were expecting. some got a brief in the hours before the speech, but now that they can at least, i think, speech, but now that they can at least, ithink, we speech, but now that they can at least, i think, we lef that they can now properly assemble their teams and work out who the chief negotiators will be for them and the key summit coming up is 3rd february, malta, the eu 27 summit where everybody except theresa may sits around the table and works out what do we do from here? it would be malta, wouldn't it! gavin lee, thank you very much. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has said other countries are "queuing up" to sign trade deals with the uk once it leaves the eu. mrjohnson also said the uk would not be "hauling up the drawbridge" despite new migration controls promised by theresa may. he was speaking as he arrived for a two—day visit to india. well, i think that the prime

minister set out a very powerful and positive vision yesterday for how we can doa positive vision yesterday for how we can do a deal that will notjust benefit our friends in the rest of the eu, but also drive growth in the rest of the world and one of the points i will be making here in india is we think we can do free trade deals which will be for the benefit of both our countries, both britain and india as well. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, used prime minister's questions to press theresa may for more clarification on brexit. the question was mr speaker, would we have to pay for access to the market or not? the prime minister has not given an answer on that. and yesterday she set out a wish—list on immigration referring to skills shortages and high skill migration. does she now then disagree with the secretary of state for rural affairs, who told an employers conference don't worry, you can still have cheap eu labour after we leave the european union?

the right honourable gentleman talks about access. yes, the whole point is that we will negotiate a free trade agreement with the european union, but is about the best possible access for british business to operate in the european union member states and for european businesses to operate here in the united kingdom. it's about sitting down and negotiating the best possible deal for the united kingdom. that's what i'm committed to and that's what this government is going to deliver. we are hearing from the supreme court that it will give its ruling on the article 50 case, the brexit trigger case, on 24th january. that's next tuesday. so next tuesday we will hear the supreme court's ruling on the article 50 case which so ruling on the article 50 case which so many people, of course, are waiting on. well, here to tie all the threads together is carole walker at westminster. we're going

to get that supreme court ruling next week. that will, of course, determine whether or not the prime minister has got to put a bill through parliament before she can trigger arle 50. i think the prime minister —— article 50, i think the prime minister will be confident that she will get the backing of mps for that. theresa may, as you heard there, seemed to be in upbeat mood and had her own side cheering her on during prime minister's questions. butjeremy corbyn was raising some issues, some of the more pressing matters about exactly what sort of access to the single market she hoped to achieve and with me is the shadow foreign secretary. theresa may was saying she wants the best dealfor may was saying she wants the best deal for access to the european single market. that's the same thing you want? absolutely. yesterday, she read out something that had plan written on the top of it, but when you look at it for any length of time, she promised everything to everybody. so she is saying we're

going to leave the european union and get all the benefits from leaving the european union, whilst keeping all the benefits of remaining in the european union and there is no plan for how she's going to deliver that. we seriously want her to succeed the we seriously want to make sure for the sake ofjobs, for the sake of our economy, for the sake of our children, we want to make sure we continue to have proper unfettered access to the single market of the european union with whom we do most of our trading at the moment. so we don't want any red tape orany the moment. so we don't want any red tape or any tariffs, we need really to be in the single market or to be close to the single market. she says she's going to leave it, but she says she will negotiate something that will look like it and the only way she thinks she is going to do it by threatening the european union that unless they get that, she is is going to set us up as some tax haven sailing off the edge of europe which is not only a threat to europe, but a threat to us. we're hearing that we're going to get this judgment from the supreme court next week. 24th january, that will determine

whether or not the prime minister has got to take a bill through parliament before she can start the article 50 negotiations. if that ruling goes against the government, will you make sure that that bill does go through swiftly so she can stick to the timetable she wants? we think she will lose. she certainly ought to lose and even if we leave law to one side, in terms of politics, she ought to be asking parliament and she ought, we ought to have a proper opportunity to debate the plan. it is a shame she decided to put forward her so—called plan where she couldn't be asked any questions about it. what we will be doing is we will be looking at how we can amend the legislation in order to make sure that when they are negotiating, their first thing in the front of their mind is the ecoi'ioitiy in the front of their mind is the economy and jobs and we will be trying to make sure that we get the best possible deal for britain because that's what ourjob is. our job is to be in opposition, but to make sure we get the deal that britain deserves. we heard comments from borisjohnson that britain deserves. we heard comments from boris johnson that seem britain deserves. we heard comments from borisjohnson that seem to be causing a stir. he talked president

hollande could saying britain could not expect a better deal. are these just theatrical comments or do you have concerns about his language? kind cani have concerns about his language? kind can i take it back to what he was rebutting the difficulty is. if theresa may gets everything that she wants, all the good things of going in the european union, none of the bad things of going in the european union, getting everything motherhood and apple pie, then presumably all the other countries in the european union will want it as well. and that's what francois hollande has been saying, so what does boris do? he comes out with extraordinary phrases of which we should be ashamed. of course, we should, it is amazing that this guy is in charge of our great foreign office that has people of talent and intelligence and knowledge and great diplomats and knowledge and great diplomats and they are headed up by boris. briefly, should he apologise?” think we should be focussing on what

is going to make a difference to our lives and the lives of our children, does theresa may have a plan for getting out of the european union without harming our economy and taking away ourjobs. the prepercussions of big speech from theresa may reverberating around westminster, but that's it for now. ca role westminster, but that's it for now. carole thatch. thousands of british holidaymakers are being flown home from the gambia after a state of emergency was declared there. the foreign office is advising people to avoid all but essential travel to the country, after its president refused to accept that he lost last month's election. richard lister reports. it's not very good news, it is basically that we are going to evacuate everyone back home today. today? yes, today. it's not what they wanted to hear, tourists in the gambia have been told it's not safer them to stay. thomas cook has five aircraft to bring almost 1,000 of its package tourists home.

it will offer flights for 2500 travellers. for those now gathering at banjul airport, it's been a stressful day. wejust think really it is overkill and they are just trying to frighten people. to me, it feels stupid, because this will all be over within 24 and is the 48 hours. asking us to leave is unnecessary i think at the moment, but i understand that we need to do it. tension in the gambia has been building for weeks. residents are fleeing the capital, as are some government ministers, as the political crisis threatens to become violent. at its centre, this man, president yahya jammeh, who has refused to accept the results of last month's elections and declared a state of emergency. if it is allowed to continue, it may lead to a state of public emergency. opposition leader adama barrow was due to be sworn in tomorrow. a group of west african nations has

threatened military action if he is not given power, so last night the british government issued this warning to tourists. the gambia's reputation as a safe haven in the sun is now injeopardy, with thousands of tourists queueing up to leave, and the country edging closer to instability and conflict. our correspondent thomas fessy is in neighbouring senegal. an apparently confusing picture with, we hear, a vote to extend the president's term by three months yet the president—elect saying that he is going to take office tomorrow as well? yes, exactly. very confusing

and proof that the president is trying to cling to power. he has got majority at the national assemlby and he managed to get his term extended by three months and declaring a state of emergency in effectively suspending the constitution and so that is a problem for the president—elect and now with the international support that he has got, it will be interesting to see whether the west african states who have vowed to defend him and make sure that he will be able to take power tomorrow, well it will be interesting to see whether they will decide that this latest vote by the national assembly in the gambia is a problem or not. i think that there is a security

build—up ongoing with nigeria and with senegal who might lead a military action. they have said if the president didn't step down and we are heading towards that scenario which is more and more likely, but whether that intervention is requested, that remains to be seen. the president is in gambia at the moment. it all sounds like a recipe for a volatile time in gambia. what does this mean for those tourists who are there, especially those who are perhaps thinking about staying and completing their holidays and not taking up offers to come back to the uk or elsewhere? well, it means that it the uk or elsewhere? well, it means thatitis, the uk or elsewhere? well, it means that it is, the country is going into a great deal of uncertainty at the moment and until west african

states ta ke the moment and until west african states take a decision on whether to act militarily against the president, i think the situation will be rather calm as we're seeing today. i'm told that the roads are quiet. that the capital is fairly quiet. that the capital is fairly quiet. residents are actually quite fea rful quiet. residents are actually quite fearful about what may happen and so they're staying at home. they are stockpiling on food and supplies in case anything happens. thousands of others are fleeing across the border into senegal or on the other side of the gambia. so i think there is a great deal of uncertainty. these tourists have a window of 48 to be evacuated. thomas cook said that all their flights to the gambia will be suspended until friday so i can imagine they will be reassessing, depending on the situation on the

ground then. thank you very much for the latest from the gambia. the headlines: the eu will seek a balanced view ahead of brexit. unemployment has fallen to its lowest total in a decade according to the latest figures. as we have been hearing, thousands of thomas cook holiday—makers will return to the uk from the gambia after a state of emergency was declared and the foreign office changed its travel advice. in sport, dan evans earns the biggest win of his career stunning seventh seed marin cilic in the australian open. europe's ryder cup captain gets an extra wild card choice for next year's competition. and us world cup winner heather o'reilly joins and us world cup winner heather o'reillyjoins arsenal ladies. the 32—year—old joins from fc kansas

city. | 32—year—old joins from fc kansas city. i will be back with more on those stories in about ten minutes. southern rail says it will restore a "full train service", from tuesday next week, after the train drivers' union aslef suspended industrial action. fresh negotiations have been taking place this morning. the union is in dispute with southern‘s parent company gtr over the role of conductors on driver—only operated trains, amounting to britain's worst rail strikes in 20 years. unemployment has fallen to its lowest level for more than a decade. the jobless total dropped byjust over 50,000 between september and november — and now stands at 1.6 million. average earnings were up by 2.7% compared with a year earlier. but as our economics correspondent andy verity reports, the figures also show that after years of rapid growth, the number of people in employment is no longer growing and hasn't done sincejuly. this farmer and food processor near king's lynn in norfolk supplies

root vegetables like carrots to all the majorfood retailers from m&s to morrisons. but it is being squeezed. it is being forced to offer higher wages to attract the people it needs to do the work, regardless of the living wage. it says that is because the supply of workers from the rest of the european union has now gone into reverse. we are struggling to fill positions at the minute. it is a very fluid marketplace with inflation in wages in our sector at the minute, which is being driven by some eu citizens going home and moving from the uk marketplace. and it is creating a vacuum. in the three months to the end of november, the number of unemployed people dropped by 52,000 to 1.6 million. it remains at its lowest rate in 12 years, 4.8%. the average weekly pay packet was £477, up by £12 compared to a year ago, or 2.7%. businesses cannot always pass

on the higher cost of labour by simply charging higher prices. simon will have to wait until he renegotiates his contract with his customers, the food companies and retailers, and they will not want big price increases. all of us are looking to try and recoup some of this back. and i think the load has got to be shared by all and that includes the consumer. if tighter labour markets are offering modestly paid workers the chance to bid up their wages, many economists will see that as positive. i think we are seeing quite a robust end to the uk economy, it is very consistent with all the other economic data that we have had. hiring has not slowed down materially, and people are finding jobs and finding jobs actually with improved wage levels. but there has been a marked change since the brexit vote. for 20 years now the number of people in work in the uk has been hitting new records. in the three months to the end

of november, it dipped slightly and it is now no higher than it was injuly. the latest figures for a&e waiting times show departments in wales have failed to hit their target. in december, 81% of patients spent less than four hours waiting to be admitted transferred or discharged, compared with 82.9% in november. the target is 95%. let's cross to cardiff now and speak to our correspondent tomos morgan who's at the university hospital of wales. this shows the nhs in wales is suffering the same winter crisis as the nhs throughout the uk. that's right, simon and that was the response from the welsh government was that these winter pressures aren't unique to wales. they are the same across the whole of the uk. let me give you some more stats. there has been a significant increase in the amount of patients that have had to wait more than 12 hours in a&e

departments across wales. it is difficult to make a direct comparison with england because the stats are calculated in a very slightly different way for those four hour targets, but the targets remain the same, 95% meant to be seen remain the same, 95% meant to be seen before four hours and nobody should be waiting for 12 hours, however, as i say, several more have been waiting more than 12 hours in a&e departments across wales. records have been broken here in december compared to last year. there has been a 10% rise in patience coming to a&e departments across wales. there has been a rise in older patients coming to a&e departments across wales. 20% of those that have been visiting a&e departments recently are actually over 85 years old, the head of the nhs in wales has said it has been an exceptional winter period. so far for the nhs staff, but they are battling through it and doing the best they can. there has been missed targets in wales and a deterioration

in those figures. no slack in the system. but the ambulance service was noted for some progress? yes, the ambulance service has seen one of its busiest periods on record. early january saw one of the busiest periods it has seen. on 27th december a&e departments across wales, it was the busiest day for the past five years. so the whole of the past five years. so the whole of the system across wales has again, been under some certain pressures. the opposition parties in the senedd in cardiff bay have criticised welsh government saying this kind of exceptional circumstances for crisis stats is now becoming the norm, but asi stats is now becoming the norm, but as i say, the welsh government are saying this is not unique to wales. winter pressures always come on the nhs and they have praised the staff that are working here as they battle through the rest of the winter months.

thank you very much. a wheelchair user has partially won his case at the supreme court against a bus company. doug paulley took legal action because he couldn't board a bus in leeds when a woman with a pram refused to move. our disability correspondent nikki fox reports. as he makes his way to the supreme court on one of the most important days of his life, doug paulley is about to find out whether his nearly five—year legal battle will end in victory for all disabled people who need to use a wheelchair spaces on buses. hi, jeff, nice to see you. this all began back in 2012 when doug was unable to catch a bus because the space for wheelchairs was occupied by a mum and her pushchair. she refused to move, which meant that doug could not get on. inside court, all sevenjudges unanimously agreed that first group's policy of requesting and not requiring a person to vacate the wheelchair space was unlawful. but it is only a partial victory. as it does not go as far as insisting someone move from this space.

i feel like it will create a cultural shift and that is what they said in court as well. so people will be aware of the fact that the wheelchair area is for wheelchair users and that they should take priority. the impact of today's judgment will still have wider implications. for example, any service provider with a space for disabled people will notjust have to request that a non—disabled person move, they will have to pressurise. for example, a bus driver may refuse to move from a bus stop in order to shame somebody off the bus. first group admit they may have to amend the training they provide their bus drivers following the verdict today. we really welcome the fact that the court has confirmed that a driver is not required to remove a passengerfrom a bus if they are refusing to move from this space. that is really important for drivers to have that clarity. i'm really happy with today's ruling. it's great that after five years of fighting and campaigning by so many people, that we have got a ruling that says that disabled people to have the right to catch a bus and that the bus company must

make all reasonable efforts to make that possible. today's supreme court ruling is not clear—cut but it does pave the way for a closer look at legislation when it comes to prioritising access for wheelchair users. let's get a weather update. it is a very dull day out there. good afternoon to you. come over here. ijust good afternoon to you. come over here. i just want to show you something. for some of you, your weather story does indeed look really rather dull. i have been showing this particular picture because across parts of east anglia, the south east, that's how the day has started. far from dull, but others, across wales and the midlands too close to this particular weather front are looking

at very murky conditions indeed. northern parts of scotland, northern ireland, relatively mild conditions and benign. get out and get on with it sort of weather. not a great deal changes overnight. having had a cold start across the south—eastern quarter, wildly across the southern counties through this evening and overnight, this is where the temperatures will fall away. further north, too much in the way of cloud save for that eastern side of scotla nd save for that eastern side of scotland for there to be a problem with frost. thursday, not a great deal of change. perhaps the sunshine more widespread, odd peaks across the western side of wales and maybe eastern scotland too. the temperatures in a rangish of five to ten celsius. it is not all dull, but as we get towards friday, still that high pressure very much the dominant feature. so still really quite settled. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, has said he'll do everything he can to make sure the brexit negotiations produce "good results"

for all parties concerned. we wa nt we want a fair deal, that is still valid. we need a third dealfor britain, and that means equal obligations for everybody who is taking part. theresa may has rejected suggestions that she is bypassing parliament, and defended her brexit plan to mps. the supreme court is to give its judgment her brexit plan to mps. the supreme court is to give itsjudgment in her brexit plan to mps. the supreme court is to give its judgment in the legal battle over brexit on tuesday january 24. the case is about whether or not parliament had to be given a vote before the uk triggered the article 50 process of leaving the article 50 process of leaving the eu. unemployment fell by 52,000 to 1.6 million in the three months to november — the lowest level for more than a decade. the jobless rate was steady at an 11—year low of 4.8%. british tour operator thomas cook is flying british tourists out of the gambia, where president yahya jammeh is refusing to step down and has declared a state of emergency. the supreme court has ordered

a transport firm — first group — to take tougher action to make sure that people who have wheelchairs can use the space reserved for them on buses. time., let's get the very latest with jessica. time., let's get the very latest withjessica. good afternoon. —— time for sport. british number three dan evans has pulled off a huge shock at the australian open — beating seventh seed marin cilic to go through to the third round. katherine downes reports. dan evans is no stranger to winning against the odds. on the verge of quitting tennis a couple of years ago, he's now beaten two of the top ten players in the world in the last couple of weeks. today's big scalp, former us open winner marin cilic, who looked too much for evans in the first set. he won it 6—3, as evan struggled

with the sinking sun. but as the shadows lengthened, evans came to life. breaking the cilic serve to take the second set. and, belief blossoming in the darkness, he dominated the third as well. the fourth set turned into a battle, but evans was edging it. and cilic was struggling to keep up. with a weakened cilic serving, evans took his chance. and what to do after the biggest grand slam winner of your career? get straight on the phone, of course. it was really good. i think i played as well as i could play today. i played well, particularly towards the end of the match. taking it in his stride, he is in the third round of the grand slam for the fourth time. he is now finally into the top 50 in the world rankings. not bad for a player once described as the most wasted talent in british tennis.

katherine downes, bbc news. andy murray saw off russian 19—year—old andrey rublev in straight sets to move into the third round. murray did appear to twist an ankle in the match, but insisted he was ok. the scot plays number 31 seed sam query of the united states next. british sprinters james ellington and nigel levine are "conscious and stable" after a motorbike accident in tenerife. the pair had been involved in warm—weather training on the island, and posted this video on social media earlier in the week. ellington has twice competed at the olympics and twice won gold as part of the 4x100m relay teams at the european championships. levine won european relay golds in 2013 and 2014. british athletics staff are liaising with hospital doctors over their treatment. europe's captain will be able to choose four players for next years ryder cup in france. thomas bjorn will get to pick one more player than darren clarke was allowed last year. it's part of a revamp of the qualifying system, after europe lost heavily

to the united states in hazeltine. tournaments in the latter half of the season will carry weighted points, helping in—form players to qualify. some exciting news from women's football. world cup winner heather o'reilly willjoin arsenal ladies for the new season. o'reilly retired from the us national team last year with 231 caps, three olympic gold medals and victory in the 2015 world cup. the 32—year—old has joined from american club fc kansas city england women head coach simon middleton has included four new faces in his 33—player squad for the six nations. england host defending champions france in their opener on february third. it's a tournament that should see tamara taylor win her 100th cap — and one that she thinks is ideal preparation for the world cup later this year. ourfamily is our family is back together now as a whole. the six nations is an amazing

tournament because you get to have an international merely every week, which you don't get in any other tournament for us. that's going to be huge preparation. again, we get to play some of the top teams in the world. and at the masters snooker, reigning world champion mark selby is playing mark williams in the first round at in the first round at alexandra palace. these are live pictures from bbc two. selby has come from a frame down to lead 3—1. he needs three more frames to go through. coverage is live on bbc two and on the bbc sport website that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. more now on the comments by president of the european commission jean—claude juncker, who has told the european parliament that he will do everything he can to ensure that the negotiations over britain's exit from the european union end in "a good result" for all concerned. but he also admitted the negotiations would be "very,

very, very" difficult. the foreign secretary borisjohnson has also been speaking about brexit while on a trip to india. there's controversy over some of his remarks — in which he warned france against seeking to punish the uk. i think you missed your hole and wa nts to i think you missed your hole and wants to administer —— i think if mr hollande wants to administer punishment beatings, i don't think thatis punishment beatings, i don't think that is the way forward. it is not the way forward for our friends or oui’ the way forward for our friends or our partners. let'sjoin a let's join a labour mp from the foreign affairs select committee. those comments were described by labour as wildly inappropriate, but how damaging are they?” labour as wildly inappropriate, but how damaging are they? i was surprised by that time, particularly in light of the tone that the prime minister struck yesterday. she was

right, and i welcome the town that was in her speech. i think the tone we have needed to bring into debate, one that says that our allies across europe are friends as well. we may be leaving the eu but will not leaving europe. we have a very important role to play in this negotiation process as well, which is to make sure that we see the success of the remaining members of the european union, as much as we look to our own success. that's because our economies will continue to be very connected, very into point. we cannot have this kind of language in all public dialogue. i believe it doesn't do us any good, and it certainly doesn't do the european union as a whole any good. briefly, we know that borisjohnson has a colourful turn of phrase. does he need to be brought into line by theresa may, rather than his use of language explained away or excused perhaps? i personally hope that she does remind her ministers that they

have a responsibility to adopt a much more responsible tone. this is a really important time. i think what is important now is that we focus on where we are going as a nation, that we don't lose sight of that. we've got some very, very serious issues to address if we are to looked rather huge economic prosperity, the welfare of our citizens —— our future prosperity, the welfare of our citizens —— ourfuture economic prosperity. i don't want my constituents to end up in two years' time where we don't have an agreement, where we don't have a way in which our young people are able to study abroad just as other european young people, other european young people, other european nations' younger people have access to opportunities and chances of prosperity. we have so much to do to make sure that we are at the front line, making sure we are investing in science, making sure we have got the vision of the future that is truly britain at the centre and creating its destiny positively. are you encouraged then by those comments byjean—claude junker, saying he will do everything

he can to reassure the negotiations over brexit and in a "good result for all". do you think it is possible to get a good result for all? some others of the european union want to end up with a situation where britain as far as the rest of the block is concerned, is that he lost for wanting to remove itself from the block?” welcomed those comments by jean—claude junker, because i welcomed those comments by jean—claudejunker, because i think they responded to the tone set for they responded to the tone set for the debate. i believe very strongly that we need to make sure that we have a strong economic relationship, add a sense of partnership with the european union. the responsibility we all have in my view, the prime minister yesterday made some progress but in some waste in the foreign. i believe we should have membership of a reformed single market in the future —— in some ways didn't go far enough. we are at the end of round one in our brexit story. we have to move forward in

partnership with our european allies. i believe the time we sat in our dialogue is an important part of that. -- the tone we sat. if we get toa that. -- the tone we sat. if we get to a point of eventual vote of triggering article 50, are you prepared if you are not happy to do anything you can to delay that process ? anything you can to delay that process? well, i also thought it was right that the prime minister adopted the recommendation of the brexit select committee in our report that came out at the weekend, where we said there should be a vote for parliament in the process. what we also said was it was important that it was timely, so that it happened with enough time to be able to consider the views of parliament before the final deal is put together. i think that's a vital principle, it's vitalfor together. i think that's a vital principle, it's vital for our democracy, it's vitalfor parliament, but it's also vital that, that is a chance for the voices of our constituents to be heard, that's our responsibility and i believe it is the premises the's

duty. is that a yes or a note of the question? i think we should be prepared to vote against any deal that we don't believe is right. i do think that if we have a situation where we have a timely vote, where there is enough room for that to be influenced by the outcome, that's the kind of relationship that the government should have would parliament. in the same kind of spirit that we should have a responsible dialogue between the uk and our european allies. thank you. thomas cook is flying home nearly 1,000 british holiday—makers from the gambia because of the worsening political crisis there. the firm plans to bring home nearly 1000 package customers over the next 48 hours — another 2500 flight—only customers will be offered the "earliest available flight". the foreign office is now advising against all but essential travel to the west african country — where president yahya jammeh is refusing to accept defeat in last month's election. let's speak to simon calder, travel editor for the independent. he is in our glasgow studio. how unusual is this sort of swift

response? effectively, the foreign office all about the state of emergency had been declared, saw that it was extremely unlikely that the president was going to go quietly, as all of the neighbouring west african states have urged him to do, and the main concern i understand that the high commission was that in the crisis that is developing in gambia, that the airport may be closed. in a sense, they are trying to get everybody out of the capital, out of the gambhir, before anything worse happens. of course it is terrible news for, first of all the gambian people, who are so dependent on tourism. and as you say, the 985 thomas cook holiday—makers should be brought back today, first flight to manchester is leaving quite soon from the capital. but there is also several thousand independent travellers, who have just got flight

only deals. the airline is trying to track those people down and make arrangements to bring them back in the next 48 hours. but it's a right old model, i'm afraid. and of course, as we've seen so many times, when things like this happen everybody goes to the airport, which means that it all gets quite chaotic quite quickly, i'm afraid to say. does explain why a package customer is given priority over a flight only customer? it's a straightforward matter of consumer protection. when you book a package holiday, the tour pareto, such as thomas cook matt ta kes full pareto, such as thomas cook matt takes full responsibility for you —— the tour operator. as soon as the government says, we advise against all but essential travel, as we have seenin all but essential travel, as we have seen in egypt and tunisia, the airlift goes on and people are brought back. if you have brought a flight brought back. if you have brought a flight only deal, you are not subject to the same legislation, effectively, you are then in the position of having been warned that

you've got to get out, well, you can either disobey that, in which case your insurance will become invalid if you actually turned down the option of a flight, or you try to sort out alternatives. i mean, the alternatives, ordinary scheduled flights to places like barcelona which people can get out on. but i understand that thomas cook is mounting war of airlift to bring back its white on the customers, —— more of an airlift. —— its flight only customers. or indeed perhaps seeing friends and family in the gambia. if the worst fears are realised and the airport is shot, given that the foreign & commonwealth office has changed its advice, is there an onus on them to get people out —— the airport is shot. if the airport will be closed, there is the alternative of going across the back are in senegal. it's across the back are in senegal. it's a difficultjourney, across the back are in senegal. it's a difficult journey, not across the back are in senegal. it's a difficultjourney, not a pleasant experience, but that would be another possibility. however, i'm assuming that we will actually find

that the wise heads will prevail in terms of the tourist industry, the gambian tourist board has already said they are looking forward to british holiday—makers returning. indeed, i'vejust been british holiday—makers returning. indeed, i've just been checking, you can happily but a february holiday from thomas cook in the gambia. the longer this goes on, though, the more that gambia's image is tarnished, and the more it is going to ta ke tarnished, and the more it is going to take to rebuild the tourism industry that is so essential to the point simon, always good to good to talk to you, thank you very much, simon calder. the headlines and bbc the eu will seek a balanced - for britain seek a balanced dealfor britain after brexit, says the head of the european commission, jean—claude junker. unemployment has fallen to its lowest total in more than a decade, according to the latest figures. thousands of thomas cook holiday—makers will return to the uk from gambia after a state of emergency was declared there, and

the foreign office changed its travel advice. in the business news... average weekly earnings increased by 2.8% in the three months to november compared with a year earlier. and its 2.7% if you minus bonuses. that means wages are rising faster than inflation, so we should have more money in our pockets. meanwhile, the number of people looking for work fell slightly by 52,000 to 1.6 million. two of the largest investment banks in the uk said that some staff will have to move abroad when the uk leads the eu. hsbc said it was preparing to move 1000 staff from london to paris. and swiss bank ubs said some staff would definitely moved to frankfurt or spain. mobile operator ee has been fined £2.7m by the telecoms regulator, ofcom, for overcharging more than 30,000 customers a total of around £250,000 in billing errors.

before the watchdog stepped in, ee had decided not to reimburse the majority of affected customers, instead proposing to give their money to charity. the majority of customers have now been refunded. now, if you're looking for a sizeable return on your cash, your options might be limited at the moment, with interest rates at rock bottom levels. well, if you think money doesn't grow on trees, then think again — uk forestry has been one of the best performing asset classes durings the past decade, delivering returns of 19% a year on average. joining me now is anthony crosbie daswson, investment manager at fim services. hello. let's start off about why returns are hello. let's start off about why returns a re pretty hello. let's start off about why returns are pretty good. timber prices are helping returns. and also we are looking at the uk, where actually in terms of demand to supply, actually in terms of demand to supply, there isn't a huge amount of forestry. therefore demand is outstripping supply? good afternoon, that's absolutely right. we in the uk import 80% of our annual timber

consumptions, we have a totally captive market. since the brexit vote, the cost of imports has of course risen, which has allowed us as domestic growers to increase our prices as well—stocked white investors don't pay any income tax or corporation tax —— investors do not pay. is it a way with people with a substantial amount of money, is ita with a substantial amount of money, is it a way of getting those sort of individuals with high net worth, a way of getting out of paying tax? traditionally forestry has always been seen as a preserve of ultrahigh net worth individuals, you need many millions to buy a forest out right. what we do is operate timber funds where people can invest from £40,000. the tax advantages are long—standing. and they are in place to encourage investment in forestry, which has of course in environmental benefits, and also social benefits. people being out and about and

visiting forests in the uk. we only have about 11% of our total and bus forested, which is far below the rest of europe —— our total landmass. the government is always looking to encourage more forestation, therefore advantages are in place, the tax advantages. you are an unregulated industry, why is that? why do you not have a regulatory body? we are authorised and regulated by the fda. but the funds themselves are not regulated, and the reason for that is the structure —— the sca. they are limited partnerships. thank you for joining us. let's take a look at some of today's other business stories... if you like your mr kipling's or bisto gravy, listen up, because shares in the brands' owner, premier foods, have fallen sharply after the firm said it expects profits to be significantly lower this year. the uk food manufacturer predicts a 10% fall in profits due to rising costs. that includes a weaker pound pushing up the price of imported ingredients like sugar, cocoa and palm oil. shares in the international publishing group pearson have fallen

by 30% after the company warned of a big fall in sales in its us education business. the company said profits for 2017 could drop by £60 million, and it would cut its dividend for shareholders. the economy in scotland is only growing at a third of the rate of that of the uk as a whole. fresh figures from the office of national statistics show that scotland's economic output increased by 0.2% in the period july to september 2016, compared to a rise of 0.6% for the uk as a whole. a quick look at the markets before we go. pearson is down quite considerably. the uk sterling, the pound, slightly down after a pretty good day yesterday after the speech by the prime minister theresa may. that's all the business news. plenty more to come throughout the afternoon. thank you, charlotte. the chinese government is calling it the new silk route — for the first time, china has begun

a direct freight rail service to the uk. it's taken over a fortnight to get here, but that's around half the time a journey by sea would take. 34 wagons travelled 7,500 miles to arrive in barking this lunchtime. our correspondent leanne brown is at barking eurohub terminal in east london, where the freight arrived a short time ago. this is it, this is the first train to arrive from china. it set off on new year's day. as you say, it's taking 18 days to get here. it's travelled 12,000 kilometres, or seven point 5000 miles. it has gone through various different mountains -- 7500 through various different mountains —— 7500 miles. if red mountains, deserts, different cultures and languages. some of the countries it has been through include kazakhstan, russia, poland. of course it has gone through europe, through france and onto the channel told. now, it's

carrying more than 30 containers. and they include small consumer goods, things like textiles, clothes, bags, and small electrical items. and they went through on a special container, —— special containers, which were designed to go through the channel tunnel. why do this? it has taken much less time to get those products here by rail thanit to get those products here by rail than it would have done by sea. it ta kes than it would have done by sea. it takes around 30—35 days by sea. so this service is twice as fast. but when you compare the cost, it is more expensive. if you compare it to air transportation, then it is half the price. so there is a saving to be had. this train... liamin, can you hear me? sorry to a drug, i was

just about was due, what sort of impact is this going to have an trade —— sorry to interop. impact is this going to have an trade -- sorry to interop. this is just a test train. we have had no further announcements. but the operators, in the rail, do run a weekly service already to lots of other countries in europe, such as germany, italy and spain. it is hoped that this will become a regular service. of course, theresa may yesterday in her speech spoke very much about further trade links, and it is hoped that this could be pa rt and it is hoped that this could be part of that future. post brexit. leanne brown. jackie kennedy is best remembered for her style and elegance, as well as for the events in dallas on the 22nd of november 1963, now a new film examines what life was like for the wife ofjfk before and after his assassination. natalie portman, who plays the former first lady, has been speaking to tom brook about the role, and about her thoughts on president—elect donald trump. you're getting masses

of praise for this role. did you know a lot about jackie kennedy before you began working on the film? i really didn't know anything beyond the popular conception, this sort of two—dimensional icon. preparing for the role was what taught me about her more. i said i have changed my mind. we will have a procession, and i will walk to the cathedral with the casket. she is one of the most popular first ladies, why did she have such a hold on people? i think she really had this exquisite understanding of image, of public image. one of the most—shocking things in the movie is when you see at the end, the plaque on the door that they were only there for... jfk was only president for little over two years, and to see the import that they have

meant to the american people shows how strong the story she told was. natalie portman. it is almost 3pm, time for the weather forecast. we canjoin the dumping ground survival files for the very latest. thanks very much. despite rumours to the contrary, although things settled at the moment, it isn't quite dull and great across the british isles. —— dull and grey. this was the scene across east anglia and the south—east, but you will pay for it with a hard frost in some places. as you would expect, we'll tell you the holst or you. widely across parts of wales and the midlands it is really very murky indeed —— the whole story. there is a swathe of cloud away from the brighter skies across the south—east. the heart of this zone, there is a weather front.

the south—east. the heart of this zone, there is a weatherfront. we draw it as a lying fulsome visited, but in fact, as is the way of it with nature, —— we draw it as a line. but it is a good deal more extensive than a simple line on the trot. we have another line of blue birds of the north of scotland. that isa birds of the north of scotland. that is a weather front in its own right —— we have another line of blue. hints of brightness. some of this will stay around. then it is a rather more murky fare underneath the weather front. this rather more murky fare underneath the weatherfront. this has been sitting around for a day or two. there is nothing to get about the way at the moment. brighter skies but chilly temperatures to be found across the southern counties england. and the south—east of wales as well. here we will see the sharpest decline in the temperatures during the course of the night. further north, the 0rd piece of rain in the western isles, the old drip and drab across the north—east of england. as we keep the cloud, the temperatures will stay up. relative to the south, rather like last

night, somewhere around the oval area could be down to —4 minus five. a bright and chilly start to the southern counties. but in the north, what a contrast in fortunes. leaden skies, rather murky. the brightest parts of northern ireland, one or two spots in the north—east. we have relatively mild air in the north and west, colder in the south. we keep that sort of imbalance throughout friday, where we begin to see more ofa mix friday, where we begin to see more of a mix of temperatures. that front looks rather threatening, i don't think it will be much of a player for the weekend. the high pressure isa dominant for the weekend. the high pressure is a dominant feature. i'm hopeful that has the weekend goes on some of the skies will continue to break up. more of you will get to see a sunny spell, not much more than that, but it stays dry. it will be more chilly thanit it stays dry. it will be more chilly than it has been of late. by day and by night, if you want to see your pictures and there, check out the bbc weather watchers on the bbc

weather website. this is bbc news. i'm anita mcveigh. the foreign secretary borisjohnson warns eu leaders not to give the uk "punishment beatings" for brexit. if mr hollande wants to administer punishment beatings to anybody who chooses to escape rather in the manner of some sort of world war ii movie then, you know, i don't think that is the way forward. meanwhile european commission presidentjean—claude juncker promises to seek a "balanced" brexit deal. what i called during the campaign a fair deal, that's still valid. we need a fair deal with britain. fair means obligations for everyone who is taking part. thousands of tourists are being flown out of the gambia.