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. unemployment has fallen to its lowest total in more than a decade. i'm simon mccoy. in the next hour we'll be looking the latest delivery from china. and dan evans says he never played

after he knocked the world's number seven out of the australian open. 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. the supreme court will announce its verdict on tuesday on whether theresa may can trigger article 50 without consulting parliament.

our political correspondent iain watson reports. if newspapers are had a vote, theresa may would be guaranteed a landslide election victory. they liked her willingness to walk away from a bad deal with the eu. 2a hours later, the foreign secretary co ntroversially hours later, the foreign secretary controversially used rather more colourful language, comparing the french president to a world war ii prison guard. 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 i don't think that thatis war ii movie then i don't think that that is the way forward. i think actually it's not in the interests of our friends and our partners. downing street defended the comments asa downing street defended the comments as a theatrical comparison and denied mrjohnson had compared the french president to a nazi. the prime ministerfaced french president to a nazi. the prime minister faced mps to defend her own words in yesterday's brexit speech. she was attacked first of all, for not what she said, but the

fa ct all, for not what she said, but the fact she hadn't said it in parliament. restoring parliamentary democracy whilst sidelining parliament t not, mr speaker, it's not so much the iron lady as the irony lady! jeremy corbyn didn'tjust attack irony lady! jeremy corbyn didn't just attack the venue jeremy corbyn didn't just attack the venue for the speech, but the content, particularly the prime minister's warning that britain could become a low tax, low regulation economy if she failed to get a good deal. can i urge her to stop her threat of a bargain basement brexit? the prime minister call onjeremy corbyn himself to argue that labour had no brexit. she said leave the single market and at the same time said she wants access to the single market. i'm not sure how that's going to go down in deal. i want how that's going to go down in deal. iwanta how that's going to go down in deal. i want a deal that ensures that we have access to the market.

laughter i have got a plan. he doesn't have a clue. one of her own mps urged her to debate each part of her plan in the house of commons. would she please consider at least publishing the 12 objectives in a white paper so the 12 objectives in a white paper so that we can debate them here in this place on behalf of all our constituents. what we usually see at prime minister's questions is the opposition attacking the government and the government responding. but brexit cuts through party lines and party loyalties. so there are some conservatives who are worried about theresa may's decision to come out of the single market and within the labour party, some ofjeremy corbyn‘s backbenchers think he isn't taking a strong enough stance in opposing the prime minister's approach. this former shadow chancellor says his own party leadership should have been more vocalin leadership should have been more vocal in standing up for membership of the single market. for me that's a black and white issue and it's something that we should call out

and say it is bad for our economy. that's our duty as labour members of parliament and i will be doing that if we get legislation in the house of commons. the snp argued that leaving the single market would hit jobs and incomes. does the prime minister believe that this is a price worth paying for her little britain brexit? i repeat what i said earlier. we will be working to ensure we get the best possible deal in terms of access to the single market and continuing to co—operate in partnership with member, the 27 remaining member states of the european union. so divisions within and between the political parties we re and between the political parties were on display today and that's even before the formal process of leaving the european union gets under way. in the last hour, the european union council president, donald tusk, has said that there will be no place for pick and choose tactics from the uk in future negotiations. mr tusk was speaking in the european parliament. yesterday's speech by prime minister

may proved that the unified position of 27 member states on the indivisability of the single market was finally understood and accepted by london. it would be good if our partners also understood that there will be no place for pick and choose tactics in our future will be no place for pick and choose tactics in ourfuture negotiations. at the same time... applause at the same time, i want to underline that we took note of the warm and balanced words of prime minister may on european integration which were much closer to the narrative of winston churchill than that of the american president—elect trump. our political correspondent, carole walker, is at westminster. we hear it again, no pick and choose. there was some warm words

from donald tusk, but a warning that britain could not pick and choose, and we had other european leaders and we had other european leaders and meps lining up to say that britain can't expect a better deal outside the eu than it has inside it. well, i'm joined now by the former chief whip, mark harper. that's the case, theresa may a lot about getting the best possible deal, but it will be worse than we have got at the moment. if we can't get a deal, she will walk away and it will be worse? i don't agree. there is the deal that we get with out there is the deal that we get with our european partners and she set out a positive strong plan yesterday for our objectives and the way she is going to go about that and our aspirations to get a free trade deal and we start with the fact that we have common rules and we don't have tariffs which means we're not in the positioning of negotiating as you normally are, you are far apart and you're bringing all together.m normally are, you are far apart and you're bringing all together. if all 27 determined that we are going to

be on worse terms than we are now, clearly, british businesses will suffer? i'm more optimistic. it wouldn't be in their economic interests to put tariffs on their goods and their services and to put up goods and their services and to put up barriers to their businesses trading with us. sol up barriers to their businesses trading with us. so i think in the cold light of day when they look at what's in their interests, as well as our, trade is in the interest of britain and the countries we're trading with. the other thing we get by being outside the european union, and not being in the customs union, are the opportunities it gives us to strike deals, free trade deals with other countries around the world including for example with the united states of america and other fa st united states of america and other fast growing economies and... and borisjohnson is fast growing economies and... and boris johnson is off fast growing economies and... and borisjohnson is off in india trying to do that, but he now has been talking about the fact that if there was any punitive actions, comparing that to punishment beatings in world war ii movies. is it really helpful to have the foreign secretary raising the specker of world war ii

when he is talking about the french president, francois hollande who warned we would be worse off outside, that's not going to help oui’ outside, that's not going to help our efforts to get a good deal, is it? well, i think the media over interpreted what he said. i will stick to what the prime minister said yesterday. she made it clear, we have set out a positive agenda. she said... but this sort of language from the foreign secretary, is clearly going to upset people in a country that was occupied during the second world war? the prime minister made it very clear yesterday that we approach the negotiations in the spirit of friendship. she made it quite clear that if our european partners don't approach it in that spirit, that wouldn't be welcome, but i think she set out a positive speech in front of eu ambassadors and i think she took it in that spirit. she leads the government and sets the tone. should borisjohnson apologise the government and sets the tone. should boris johnson apologise for the comments the media overblown.

boris has a colourful tone of phrase and people like him. people are overblowing them. the prime minister sets the tone and she leads the government in a strong and purposeful way and she did that in an excellent way yesterday and at prime minister's questions this afternoon. mark harper, thank you very much indeed. still mps here at westminster picking over exactly what theresa may meant in that speech that she delivered yesterday. whether it will mean pulling out of the customs union altogether, what that could mean for businesses, we're hearing warnings from one of the big banks, hsbc that some of its staff are going to be moved to paris when britain leaves the european union and! when britain leaves the european union and i think that will concern a lot of mps with a lot of businesses who rely on trading with the european union. but that's it for now from westminster. carole, thank you very much. unemployment has fallen to its lowest level for more than a decade. 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're 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're 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. 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. 0ur 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 do 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. the headlines on bbc news:. the eu will seek a "balanced" deal

for britain after brexit, says the head of the european commission, jean—claude juncker. 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. dan da n eva ns dan evans earns the biggest win of his career stunning the seventh seed in the second round of the australian open. british sprinters are conscious and sta ble after british sprinters are conscious and stable after a motorbike during warm weather training in tenerife. and us world cup winner heather 0'reilly joins and us world cup winner heather 0'reillyjoins arsenal ladies for the spring series later this year. the 32—year—old transferred from fc kansas city. thousands of british holiday—makers 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 safe for them to stay. thomas cook has five aircraft to bring almost 1,000 of its package tourists home. it will offer flights for 2,500 travellers in the coming days. 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. 0pposition 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. some tourists at bajul airport expressed surprise that they are being told to return home. to me, it feels stupid because this will all be over within 24 hours to 48 hours. asking us to leave is unnecessary. i think at the moment, but i understand that we need to do it. we'll do it if we have to. but i understand that we need to do it. we'll do it if we have tolj don't know what's going to happen. no one knows. it's safety first. we just think really, it is overkill and they are just trying to frighten people. everyone seems to be panicking, i don't feel panicked. it is the first time i have been here, but my parents in law have got a place here and they have been coming for over 20 years and they are not worried. in the hotel, everything was ok, but now when we go from the

hotel to the airport, we see all the people. they're leaving. all the buses, they take people. even the people in gambia, they are very, very scared. for our family, people in gambia, they are very, very scared. for ourfamily, it is better that we go home. thomas cook is one of the travel companies affected. they are due to fly back 1,000 uk tourists from gambia. we can now speak to their group director of operations, paul hutchings who is at manchester airport. a lot of disappointed people. have you overreacted? no, we don't think so. you overreacted? no, we don't think so. we have been monitoring the situation in the gambia for quite a number of weeks now and we have been working very closely with the foreign and commonwealth office and the uk government to make sure that we have taken the appropriate steps to assure the safety and security of all of our thomas cook customers. that is our number one priority. there is always the risk that the airport will be closed, how confident are you that you will get

everybody back? well, i think we've introduced a repatriation programme thatis introduced a repatriation programme that is well planned. it is controlled. we have to be aware of how many aircraft we can get into the airport at any one time. so we have a total of 3500 customers in the gambia. 1,000 are package tour operator customers and the remainder are flight—only customers. we're putting on additional flights over the next three days and we are providing enough airline seat capacity for 3500 customers and we should be able to complete that repatriation programme by the end of friday afternoon which is when the last flight is planned. why are you different ating between package and flight—only passengers? we're hearing from some who are concerned that you seem to be prioritising those on package deals? no, we're

not prioritising package customers at all. in fact, all of our customers at thomas cook are equally as important to us. the difference that we have is, of course, when you provide accommodation together with a flight, we know where our package tour a flight, we know where our package toui’ passengers a flight, we know where our package tour passengers and customers a flight, we know where our package toui’ passengers and customers are. tour passengers and customers are. we know where they are accommodated so it makes it very easy for us to make direct contact with those customers and start that logistics plan, putting that logistics plan into place. the difficulty we have with our flight—only customers, some are gambian nationals, others are there to stay in the gambia for extended periods of time over the winter and therefore, it is more difficult for us to make contact with those customers. we rely on them it make contact with us and we have put a lot of information on our website to make sure that they contact us and so we can appropriately make the airline seat

booking for them and the reservation for them so we can get them all back as quickly as we can. is there any difference in the insurance package that the passengers have if they have a package deal or flight—only deal? no. not from a thomas cook prospective as i said earlier on. we will treat everybody equally the same. what, you know, what insurance packages customers have themselves, i can't answer that question. in terms of what we will do for customers is obviously look to provide them with adequate compensation, we will give free bookings and amendments to future plans for gambia up until 31st january and that will give us some time to understand how the situation develops further in the gambia. global difficulties, one thinks of eejit, tunisia, have they changed how you react to events like this? no, i don't think so. we have as a

travel business and in particular, i work in the airline part of our travel business, managing disruption or crisis management is a core competence for us at thomas cook. it's something that we work hard at andi it's something that we work hard at and i think we're good at. i think what we see more recently is perhaps more what we see more recently is perhaps m o re eve nts what we see more recently is perhaps more events occurring, but the way in which we react hasn't changed. we have just become more in which we react hasn't changed. we havejust become more practised in which we react hasn't changed. we have just become more practised at doing it, the more often that these events happen. 0f doing it, the more often that these events happen. of course, it is very disappointing to our customers. we wa nt disappointing to our customers. we want them to have a great holiday, but when their safety and security is our number one priority, then we have to ensure that we get them home when the foreign and commonwealth 0ffice recommend that. when the foreign and commonwealth office recommend that. paul hurks utchings, thank you very much. 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. a baby has been born to a previously infertile couple in ukraine using a new type of "three—person ivf". a baby has been born to a previously infertile couple doctors in kiev are reported to have used a method called pro—nuclear transfer in what is a world first. it is not the first baby born with dna from three parents, however. another child was created using a slightly different method in mexico last year. an inquest into the death of a man who killed himself in prison has

been hearing evidence from the medical director of a company that provided health care services there. dean saunders took his own life last january at hmp chelmsford despite warnings from his family that he was suicidal. live to our correspondent ben ando outside chelmsford coroners court where the inquest has been taking place. take us through the xwak ground to this first of all. yes, it was in december of 2015, in fact that the authorities were first alerted to issues around the mental health of dean saunders. he locked himself in the bathroom at his girlfriend's pa rents the bathroom at his girlfriend's parents home and claimed that the authorities were trying to get him. he was taken at that time to a hospital, but then allowed to go home to his parents house and the next day he attacked his father and his brother with a knife and his father has told the inquest which has been going on for a week that allowed his son to stab him and he held the knife inside his own body because he thought that was the best way of his son taking the knife out and then harming himself with it. despite the fact that dean saunders

tried to kill himself with the knife, the coroners' court heard when he was charged with attempted murder of his father, he was put in chelmsford prison and after a review at the end of december, it was decided to take him off constant watch and putting him on a half—hourly watch regime and that said his family is when he was able to find the time and find the opportunity to kill himself in his cell. dr sarah bromley is the medical director of care uk, that's the company that's contracted to run health care services inside the prison and she said that suicides in prison and she said that suicides in prison are rising at an alarming rate. she said in this instance, there was a lack of leadership, supervision, and support, but she denied that budget cuts were responsible for the change in supervision regime around mr saunders. she said the team leader who took the decision and was involved in the meeting that decided to reduce that level of support

should not have been at that meeting and she said that was unacceptable. the inquest here is continuing. it is likely to finish in the next couple of days. 0k, ben, thank you. ben ando. now the weather. good afternoon to you. a mixed bag of weather across the british isles just at the moment. 0ur weather watchers have captured it as ever. glorious, no other word for it, but chilly across kent. not for the first day and gloomy conditions across the midlands. you're too close in the central swathe of the country to this weather front which really isn't doing very much. it is not moving north. it is not moving south which is bad news for those of you who have endured those conditions. all that cloud keeps the temperatures up

somewhere in the south is going to dribble away to minus three or four or five celsius. the odd dribble away to minus three or four orfive celsius. the odd piece dribble away to minus three or four or five celsius. the odd piece of mist and fog. further north, it is more cloud again across the midlands. brighter skies in parts of scotla nd midlands. brighter skies in parts of scotland especially in the eastern quarter. we have done well for weather over the past few days. as weather over the past few days. as we move towards friday, not a great deal changing. it is slow movement at the very best and that's going to be bad news if you are still close to the remnants of that front. helen willetts is right here in half an hour. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the foreign secretary, boris johnson, has warned eu leaders not penalise the uk for leaving the eu. if mr hollande wants to administer punishment beatings to anybody who

chooses to escape in the manner of some world war ii movie, then i don't think that that is the way forward. and i think actually it is not in the interests of our friends and our partners. 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 want a fair deal, that is still valid. we need a fair deal with britain, and that means equal obligations for everybody who is taking part. the supreme court is to give its legal ruling and the legal battle over brexiteer. the case is about whether or not parliament is —— has to be given a vote. 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. 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%. the first train on an inaugural china — britain freight service has arrived at barking in east london after a long journey to build commercial links across europe and east asia. time for sport again. let's get the latest with jessica. good afternoon. we'll start with tennis. 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. 0n 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 0pen 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 win of your career? get straight on the phone, of course. it was really good. i think i played as well as i can play today. i was really pleased with how i played, especially towards the end of the match. taking it in his stride, he is in the third round of a 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. more good news for british tennis fans. 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. he was full of praise for fellow brit evans. once used to play at the highest level, the more you play at this level, you get used to it. you know, it's probably given him a lot of confidence, you know, these last six to 12 months, playing on the tour against the pros, practising with them. he will have improved a lot. and also he will have realised how good he is. i think it's more the consistency, you know, of the performances that has been surprising, because he hasn't done that before. it's credit to him and

his team for, you know, the form he is injust now, hopefully his team for, you know, the form he is in just now, hopefully he his team for, you know, the form he is injust now, hopefully he keeps it going. 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. world cup winner heather 0'reilly willjoin arsenal ladies for the new season. 0'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. scotland head coach vern cotter has named his six nations squad for his last championship in charge before he departs for montpellier in the summer. scrum half and points kicker greig laidlaw,

who is heading to cotter‘s old club clermont auvergne at the end of the season, retains the captaincy, and matt scott is also recalled. scotland finished fourth in the championship last year after victories over italy and france. we know where we are in the world ranking, and how we are ranked. we know we are playing against teams ranked better than us, bar one. we know that every one of those teams are improving, we are trying to improve and! are improving, we are trying to improve and i think we have, other teams have as well. the challenge of the six nations is substantial. it's a big competition. that's all sport for now. we'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. carol walker is at westminster. it goes with the territory when boris johnson is on tour, doesn't it? yes, and you sense a bit of frustration in downing street that after that big speech from the prime minister yesterday, which won them plaudits and most of the front pages today, once again it is some comments from borisjohnson, the once again it is some comments from boris johnson, the foreign secretary, that are being seized on by all the commentators today. boris johnson was responding to remarks from the french leadership that britain could not expect a better deal outside of the eu. what boris johnson said was, well, it's not sensible for him to talk about punishment beatings for anyone who tries to escape like some world war ii movie. and of course, those

comments apparently comparing the remarks from the french president to what happened during the war have got a lot of hackles roused. downing street were insisting it is all being hyped up by the media. well, i'm joined now by a labour mp, being hyped up by the media. well, i'mjoined now bya labour mp, one of the leading brexiteers during the brexit campaign. let me ask you about those comments. that's not really going to help our prospect of getting a better deal in europe?” think somebody who is german born and got to know boris during the referendum, i'm sure that there was nothing meant to be offensive anywhere. probably for the next two years, any senior politician, just don't mention the war, which ever one it is, it may be a good start. we have had comments from jean—claude junker today, sounding fairly warm about some of what theresa may was saying, but also saying, you can't pick and choose. we've had other european leaders,

including the maltese, who are taking over the presidency, saying, we can't expect a better deal outside of the eu than we had inside it. we? i think in terms of any classic negotiations, both sides are now defining the extremes. theresa may yesterday sort of sad, we wish the european union well, —— sort of sad. we will leave the single market, because of we don't, the freedom of movement would be incompatible with the referendum. but no deal is better than a bad deal. she has given us a pretty white envelope, this is the response. the response is saying, don't think you can come and pick the bits you want without being specific. as to what the red lines is. over the next few weeks we will see positioning. do you not accept there is a real danger of the other 27 ganging up to make sure that we are worse off outside the eu? 27 ganging up to make sure that we are worse off outside the 5mm would not be in there interests. it

is notjust 27, you have got a group of the single currency. and they have some needs the deeper fiscal integration and political integration. countries who are not members of the single currency but significant players, like pollen for example, want to make sure that we keep defence —— like poland. mutual interest will prevail. it is in nobody is interests for the uk to be worse off, because that would mean the mainland continent of europe would be affected and that would not help anyone. thank you very much indeed. those who have campaigned for britain to leave the eu insisting that the prospect have to be there for a decent deal, because it seems everyone for that to happen. that's certainly the message we are getting —— it suits everyone. there is going to be two years of ha rd there is going to be two years of hard bargaining ahead. during the us election campaign, donald trump pledged to make america great again,

but as he prepares to take office can he deliver on that promise? in the week that donald trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the united states, jon kay is on a road trip through the heart of america on route 45 to find out how americans are feeling about trump's presidency, and whether he can deliver what he's pledged to when it comes to rebuilding america. today as he continues on hisjourney south — jon's in tennessee. if you want to understand donald trump's election win, this is a good place to come. next to route 45, the ohio river meets the mississippi. it's an essential artery for the us economy, carrying 18 million tons of cargo every year. but things aren't what they used to be. the locks which boats pass through here have seen better days. nearly 100 years old, they regularly break down,

causing long and costly delays. so around 52 hours at one time. a boat could be waiting out for 52 hours before coming through? yes, sir. mark, the lock keeper, says it's a struggle to keep trade moving. the concrete is starting to break up and crumble. every time it gets hit by a boat as it lands on it, it puts pressure on it and causes more cracks and more stress on it, we patch it together and try and keep it going, but it's not going to last forever. donald trump has pledged $1 trillion to rebuild america's rivers, roads and railways. a promise that's won him plenty of support round here. but he hasn't said where the money will come from. we drive on, into america's rural south. there are two million farms in this country. willa property developer president understand this business?

at the university of tennessee, students are learning how to weigh and vaccinate cattle. stick it in, press it forward, pull it out. there are going to be some are gonna be more willing to go forward and some are wanting to hold back. sounds like politicians! i guess so! donald trump won nearly 80% of the vote in the martin area. they like his confidence, and in turn, they have confidence in him. he might have a few mess—ups on the way, but eventually he'll figure it all out. but is farming compatible with trump's plans for building? what about the land, the environment? donald trump is a man you associate with skyscrapers and new york city, not with farming and places like this. do you think he understands you and what you want to do?

i think he's going to help the small town people also out. i don't think he's just going to be the big city man when he gets in office. what about farming, does he understand farming? not as well as some agriculture people. whether it's agriculture or infrastructure, in these communities away from washington, many feel trump will be a president who finally speaks for them. someone not just following the political herd. jon kay, bbc news, tennessee. and tonight, barack 0bama gives his last news conference as us president. you can watch that here on the news channel at 7pm. the headlines: the eu will seek a balanced deal

for 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 today... two of the largest investment banks in the city of london have said that some staff will definitely have to move abroad when the uk leaves 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. 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. mobile operator ee has been fined £2.7m by the telecoms regulator, 0fcom, 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. a new report today revealed that science research, engineering and technology jobs will grow at science research, engineering and technologyjobs will grow at double the rate of other occupations. it will create 140,000 extra jobs between now and 2023. students currently choosing their gcses are expected to start entering the workplace then. joining me now is clare canning, a renewable energy

research engineer in teesside. clare, the number of females in research in science is fairly low, and a 20%. it has improved in the last couple of years. why is it so slow? -- so low. ithink last couple of years. why is it so slow? -- so low. i think there remains a stereotype with some stem subjects like science and technology, engineering and maths, they tend to be boys' subjects rather randgold' subject. i don't know if that is the reason we tend to see les girls coming into stem careers. in your experience, are the challenges for women? 0r careers. in your experience, are the challenges for women? or is it like any other kind of line of work, there are challenges to being a female when it comes to maternity and other sort of challenges that perhaps male colleagues do not face? i think it is the same challenges, and if anything, organisations, particularly energy organisations, are doing what they can to bring courage women to get into the sort of roles. yes, it is the same sort of roles. yes, it is the same sort of challenges as men. for some

reason there might be still some stereotypes associated with these type roles. what can employers tutoring courage more women to get into these careers? i thinkjust trying to ring courage women may be into apprenticeship schemes, particularly with edf energy we have a website where you can find lots of information about how to get involved in these careers. maybe we need to filter down or into schools and try to encourage teachers and pa rents to get and try to encourage teachers and parents to get their children into stem subjects. did you need any encouragement? why you always keen on science? i was always interested in science, by biology from an early age. i have been doing science since i was 12. thank you, clare canning. 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. the ftse is doing quite well. yesterday was a good day for the sterling, we saw rises of roughly

2.6%. today, the sterling has fallen by 0.8%. the ftse has done well off the back of that. 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. 0ur 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 taken 18 days to get here. it's travelled 12,000 kilometres, or 7500 miles.

it has gone through various different 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 tunnel. 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 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 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. but if you compare it to air transportation, then it's half the price.

so there is a saving to be had. this train... leanne, can you hear me? sorry to interrupt, i was just about to ask, what sort of impact is this going to have on trade? this is just a test train. we have had no further announcements. but the operators, interrail, 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 part of that future. post—brexit. leanne brown. sailor alex thomson is closing in on

the lead on the solo round the world race. it is entering the home straight. he has narrowed the gap with race leader, fewer than 40 miles separate the two men. if he we re miles separate the two men. if he were to win, it would be the first timea were to win, it would be the first time a british man has won since robert knoxjohnston time a british man has won since robert knox johnston first sale time a british man has won since robert knoxjohnston first sale by course in 1968. i wondered why there we re course in 1968. i wondered why there were huge crowds outside the bbc earlier. it is because chris eakin is here, you may recognise him. good to have you with us! delighted to be back. let's talk about the race. in terms of where we are right now, this is nail—biting stuff. terms of where we are right now, this is nail-biting stuff. it is unprecedented, to be honest. it is extraordinary. 35 miles is the latest, the gap has narrowed, the latest, the gap has narrowed, the latest position report is in, maybe tomorrow evening for alex if he is still in second. third place is 700

miles behind. the back of the fleet is 9000 miles behind. you know, 35 is 9000 miles behind. you know, 35 is breathtaking. this is his boat we can see. 35 miles seems like nothing in the contest. it is a photo finish, absolutely. what are the chances he is going to win? you can see all the left—hand side of the boat, the port side, that is a blade sticking up. these are very radical and new for these type of boats. the one on the right—hand side, the starboard, was damaged two weeks into the speed. it does make it incredible that he has still managed to be so close two months later. these are rare pictures taken by a french navy helicopter right in the southern ocean. you get a sense of the conditions there. so it is staggering that he is that close. he is disadvantaged. he is not going to win an raw speed alone, there not enough miles left to do that, he needs something to happen to the

race leader. there is a history of things happening right in the closing stages. what is that something? at point... that's exactly what they are doing, they have one crucial big pack to go, that's it. that will be any minute, i suggest. that is the final run, write to the south of france. they have got almost up to the english channel, a strange fruit because of the wind. that's something that can happen, a british sailor, mike golding, is famous in france, he is so famous that he cannot sit in a pavement cafe in paris without people coming up to him, they are rock stars in france. his keel fell off 50 miles to the finish, he still managed to limp home in third. it happens, they have got 300 plus to do. what would it mean for a briton, alex thomson, a welshman, to win this? he was asked about the welsh link and he does facebook live and all the rest of it, during this. it

is one of the big difference between now and then when it was first done. he calls himself british, although the welsh call him welsh. it would be the first time since robert knox johnson achieved this in 90s exceed - 69. the johnson achieved this in 90s exceed — 69. the thing then, nobody knows knoxjohnston. this — 69. the thing then, nobody knows knox johnston. this is — 69. the thing then, nobody knows knoxjohnston. this is when i was storming him when i sailed with him across the channel to the start of the race a couple of years ago. still at the age of 75 he was competitive, he came third in the transatlantic race. that's his boat there. those boats are very, very fast, four or five times quicker on average. they shake, rattle and roll, it is acre coffee of noise, which is why knoxjohnson doesn't like it as much as his ear at —— they or a cacophony of noise. when you compare the two, this would be the first time that a britain has won the race since knoxjohnson. this race is utterly french dominated, you would be the first non—frenchman in this race, which is the big one. here you can see 1969

in falmouth, he comes in on his boat. it's very interesting because i was asked a few days ago on facebook live, what is the difference, which was harder, was it then in 69 or now? and he says, robin took ten months with an average speed of just robin took ten months with an average speed ofjust over four knots. and alex is going to finish in 2.5 months. the record he set the other day was an average speed of 26 knots. —— 23 knots. but he says it was harder then. he says actually... he said it is like comparing the wright brothers to concord, it's a good comparison. there is lots of human drama as well. and when could this race by over? it's looking like tomorrow afternoon or the moral evening. is great to see you back, in colour! fantastic to see you. let's have a look at the weather

with helen. let's have a look at the weather with helen. hello let's have a look at the weather with helen. hello there, let's have a look at the weather with helen. hello there, good afternoon. a real change in type of weather from what we've been used to. last week we had the high pressure with us this week, we've got a different type of weather, despite it being high pressure. not much wind for sailors, although we do have a little bit down the channel and a little bit towards the law. but by and large it is a cloudy picture, and a very frosty one first thing this morning, and a mild one further north. temperatures have recovered in the south but they will go away again overnight. high—pressure keeping things static. the weather front gives us all that cloud. it has been low cloud and misty with health, not a completely pleasa nt misty with health, not a completely pleasant day for most. through this evening at overnight we keep the clear skies across is that scotland, but especially the south again it will be a cold night. nuttal pockets of frost here on the further north.

quite frost again. this was taken in west berkshire earlier on this morning. i suspect many areas in the south will look similar, tomorrow morning we will be scraping by ice off because again. it could be slippery on untreated roads and pavements. —— off the cars. the thicker cloud is sitting on the hills, gray, misty and murky. just thick enough to give a little bit of drizzle in places. where we do see brea ks drizzle in places. where we do see breaks in the cloud, overnight there could be for a run. is that scotland for example, as well as the risk of frost. the weather front is weak across the north, but giving us conditions. for many this was taken in staffordshire earlier today. it isa in staffordshire earlier today. it is a tale of two halves. the sunshine and by frost. but the cloud and the rather mild weather. it continues through much of tomorrow. we might be given a bit more cloud in the south and is later on, it might not be quite so cold, we pull

in milder weather. a temperature contrast further north will not be quite so extreme tomorrow afternoon. friday, very similar if anything, we might seek more cloud in the south. south of the m4 is the best chance of sunshine. high—pressure sat across ours, keeping the weather fronts at bay. don't concern yourself with them, as we move forward into the weekend, it still looks mainly dry with a little bit more sunshine, possibly for some, less for others, but some chilly nights. if you want to see your weather watcher pictures, do keep sending them in, they are wonderful. this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh.

the headlines at 4pm: the foreign secretary borisjohnson warns eu leaders not to penalise the uk for leaving the eu. 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 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.