a breaking up in northern ireland. a little sleet and snow in the short—term in parts of east yorkshire and east lincolnshire. ice will become the issue tonight. " very solid temperatures will be different in one place to the next. you also notice on the chart, is a bigger issue tomorrow morning. the midlands and the south east in particular. some of that will linger into the afternoon but most of it will clear the way and the mourning cloa k will clear the way and the mourning cloak will break up to leave a sunny afternoon compared to today. —— morning cloud. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.30pm: theresa may won't say whether she knew about a failed trident missile test when mps were voting to renew the weapons system. i have absolute faith in our trident missiles. when i made that speech in

the house of commons, what we were talking about was whether or not we should renew our trident. trade, nato and brexit are likely to be high on the agenda as mrs may meets donald trump this friday. the prime minister said she wouldn't be afraid to challenge mr trump if he said or did anything which was unacceptable. president trump and his white house team have launched a furious attack on the media, accusing them of lying about the size of the crowds at his inauguration on friday. the former president of the gambia, yahya jammeh, has left the country, after agreeing to hand over power to adama barrow, who defeated him in a presidential election last month. andy murray's hopes of winning a first australian open title ended with a shock defeat by world number 50 mischa zverev of germany in the fourth round. now on bbc news — politics europe hello, and welcome to politics europe. on today's programme: theresa may spells out her brexit plan, confirming the uk will leave

the single market, warning eu leaders that no deal is better than a bad deal. we will look at reaction across europe and examine the likely negotiating strategy of the restof the eu. we report from strasbourg, where meps have voted for this man, antonio tajani, as the new president of the european parliament. and as donald trump enters the white house, how are the residents of melania trump's hometown in slovenia celebrating the success of their most famous ex—resident. we put white chocolate because of the white house, she is always dressed in white. so we put white chocolate. so, all that to come and more in the next half—hour. first, though, here is our guide to the latest from europe in just 60 seconds.

after much anticipation, on tuesday, prime minister theresa may delivered her speech on brexit. she said the uk would leave the single market, and had a strong message to european neighbours. no deal is better than a bad deal. there were mixed reactions from european leaders, some accusing her of cherry picking from the eu. others were more kind. we want a fair deal for britain and with britain. also on tuesday, the european parliament elected its new president, antonio tajani from the centre—right epp. migrants and refugees on thursday, meps called for emergency aid for migrants and refugees again, specifically to help them

with freezing temperatures and snow across europe. and also this week, a report from top officials calls for the eu to raise its own taxes. stand by for a european vat, a bank levy, or eu corporate tax. actually, don't hold your breath. with me for the next 30 minutes are two meps. and also, we arejoined from brussels by our political chief correspondent, david. let me come to you first. when will we get the combined or collective european negotiating position? theresa may has outlined with her speech this week about what britain wants. will we get something similar from the european union side? certainly not before the formal triggering of article 50. oi the eu has been very clear about this. it is not theirjob to help the eu along. so, you know the steps

we need to take. we are still waiting for a court decision for parliament to act. once that happens and the formal notification is received from brussels, we will see michel barnier kicked into action with a more cohesive message coming out of brussels at that point. with london, how much hostility is there to britain building up to these negotiations? there is resignation and disappointment with the way we are going. i would also say there is almost a feeling of abdication of political leadership, in terms of we keep talking about immigration and only immigration and not discussing important issues like the economy and jobs. and what that means... and the speech hasn't really addressed that, other than clarifying we will not be in the single market, which i am personally really devastated by, because i do think it is important for our economy and jobs, and for our income, to safeguard

nhs, education, and services, but i think the main concern is that we seem to have thrown in the towel before we have actually started negotiations. what do you say to that? i disagree. i happen to be in the more detailed discussions that are happening between the parliament's committees. what i have noticed is a change of tone over the christmas period. as the committees have started to look at the more detailed negotiations. we had a long interview with michel barnier. one of the people heading up the negotiations. he is a detailed person, talking about the need for a new partnership and relationship, one that recognises the close economic ties between europe... what i have noticed. sorry. is that as they look at the details,

the more practical and pragmatic approach, not wanting to damage the economy on either side of the channel, i am just beginning to feel that, in that negotiation... i would say that in response to theresa may's speech this week, it has undone some of that work. no, i think the opposite. i have heard this. no, my colleagues are also involved in those negotiations with michel barnier. and there is a plan to move these things forward, he said. but the speech, the way things have gone down now, people are saying, well, you are not really interested in closing a deal. you have stated you want out. let me go back to... david, let me ask you this again, because, on this side of the channel, we are still a little unclear. assume article 50 is triggered by the vote in parliament and that is the way it has gone.

what then? how does europe come to its collective view? does that have to be determined by the council of ministers by the eu 27, excluding britain? do they give michel barnier a broad negotiating mandate? we get the idea that it is already taking shape, that mandate. let me go back to the previous question. there is a lot of lip service being paid to the continued importance and relevance of british officials in brussels and the eu. but what we are seeing is that it is quickly apparent they are being marginalised. even in the parliament they are saying everyone is a full member until brexit happens. it is quite clear that relevance is disappearing very fast. that is very important for the uk, which will be part of the eu for many years.

in terms of the mandate that michel barnier has, there has been reaction to the prime minister's speech. looking back to the very first but simple things that angela merkel was saying after the referendum. the four fundamental freedoms of the eu are not up for negotiation. what official are telling my colleagues in paris and berlin, the does not seem to be significant recognition of that in london. they have not got the message. these things are not negotiable. and... it is not like an american express ad. membership has its responsibilities. the prime minister recognised the importance of the four freedoms to the rest of the eu. she went back to talking about a close economic partnership. from the side of the uk side, we want to keep open as much of trade as possible. and put it back to the practical co—operation we have on economic issues like trade in goods, she mentioned cars and financial services as well.

practical cooperation. they want to keep... can i ask you... can i ask you a question? no, we have not got time. if the government is now ruling out membership of the single market, why are the four freedoms relevant? they do not need to be up for negotiation. because if we are not going to be a member of the single market then the four freedoms do not apply. they are not for us. iagree. no, i am asking here in london. i assume it is one of the reasons she has decided... that is my understanding as well. it clears these issues. i think it is wrong that we put immigration above jobs and the economy. and that is what i am hearing from manufacturers in the west midlands. they need access to the single market... when you look at the referendum... hang on, do you accept? let me finish. you are talking about the referendum and i do not want to do that.

do you accept that if we are not part of the single market then the four freedoms that are part of the single market do not need to be part of the negotiations? we have had some statements from the prime minister saying we will have customs arrangements. we do not know the details of that. we do not know what that means. let me go back to david. david, if we are going... if it is the government's position to go for a free trade agreement, why are the four freedoms of the single market relevant? what i think is that to understand if there has been compromising on that side, if the uk is not willing to live up to those standards, then, in fact, there will be a cost to leaving membership of the eu. that any trade deal will not be as preferential, will not have as good an arrangement as the current arrangement. if they understand that it will not happen for some time. in any free trade agreement, there is always a clause about movement on visa—free

access with no visa. the canadian free—trade deal which is the most recent one does not involve free movement. let us be very clear... can i come back in? what i have heard the chief negotiator for the european commission say is not a special deal for the uk, but a deal that is specific that recognises our economic links, that wants to form a new partnership, and that is what the prime minister has set out. she has set out her willingness to not put up new barriers to free trade and manage the economies on both sides to be we need to start working on the detail of that. that is the tone i have had out of brussels. we need to work on that. let me go back to david. how much concern is there from brussels, or do they not think it is a concern, that the kind of anti—establishment insurgency we have seen with brexit and then donald trump's election, could well dominate the important

elections in holland, in france, in austria, perhaps in italy, and almost certainly, elections are taking place in germany this year. and that could be the backdrop. are they worrying about what is happening on the ground in europe. there is no question these political forces, this anti—establishment forces, are concerned. but interestingly, donald trump may be a force that serves to unify the eu. that if the eu saw some reason to stay unified because of the upcoming brexit negotiations, then donald trump seems to be giving even greater urgency or the eu 27 to stick together. i think people are feeling fairly confident. and so, in fact, i think there is confidence growing in brussels that they will make it through these elections ok. and in a funny way, donald trump is creating a unifying force. all right. there was confidence in the republican establishment was there

that he would win the primary races as well. we will see whether the brussels bureaucrats are better at predicting than the politicians on the other side of the atlantic. thank you for being without. —— with us. we need to move on. there has an election in europe. it was in strasbourg this week. meps vote for the next president of the european parliament, an important position, because he is the parliament's top dog, which brings considerable influence behind the scenes. here is our report. the moment when antonio tajani from the centre—right european people's party became the new man in charge. congratulating him, his predecessor martin schultz, the german socialist who's leaving after five years at the helm. even though his party's candidate, gianni patella, was defeated gianni pitella, was defeated in what was a bruising contest. as schulz exits stage left, the changing of the guard at the european parliament is completed. this election was really a battle

between two italians, but it started off as a contest divided up between six candidates. after three rounds of voting, it was down to gianni pitella on the left and antonio tajani on the right. in the end, it was mr tajani who came out on top. tajani's election marks a clean sweep for the centre—right grouping in the eu. as well as the parliament, the commission is headed up byjean—claude juncker and the council by donald tusk, all in the epp. we fought the monopoly but we weren't able to win but we fought strongly against the monopoly and we will fight again, again, again. so who is antonio tajani? well, he's certainly a familiar face around the parliament but he cut his political teeth as a spokesman for the controversial

former italian prime minister, silvio berlusconi. he's loyal, he's a builder. he's a very honest person. he keeps his word. you can feel it, all of the different groupings in the european parliament. if you ask them and in particular members of parliament, what they would say about him, it is not only me, it is that he is a man that keeps his word and this is essential now. it's this approach that eventually won tajani the support of the other conservative groups. i think tajani would be a better chairman for us in the parliament, for two reasons, primarily, one, he has promised to be more of a speaker of the house than a prime minister, we need a more neutral conductor of business, and the other thing for a conservative mind, is that it is better to have a centre—right person in the chair, than have a leftist as schultz. so for those two reasons we ended up in the last two rounds supporting tajani for presidency.

mr tajani's intray is already pretty full, countering the rise of euro—scepticism, ahead of elections in france, germany and holland, coping with any new wave of migrants, and of course, brexit, although he won't be the man leading the negotiations on behalf of parliament. that will be done by the liberal mep, mr verhoffstat. how do you think antonio tajani will respond in terms of brexit? i think in terms of rhetoric, of course, he will subscribe to the standard european position that they are opposed to brexit, they think it's a disaster, they're going to punish us, they're going to expect to see us perform very badly, that will be what he will say. i think actually, i think he is much more measured and pragmatic. so mr tajani will most likely be the man here in post here at the parliament in just over two years' time, when the sun sets on the uk's negotiation over its exit and meps from the remaining 27 member states will have a vote to ratify any deal that's been agreed. so, jean—claude juncker

the president of the commission and another conservative president of the council of ministers, donald tusk, now a centre—right italian mep, president of the parliament. is the right taking over the institutions of the eu? i am disappointed that our candidate, who put up a good fight and was not successful... i think it is wrong because it eu governments... and who were you supporting? pitella. it is of concern that all three institutions are on the centre—right. i do not think it bodes well but more importantly what concerns me, and i get along very well with antonio tajani, but i think he is not really a strong candidate in terms

of the challenges that the eu faces this year. martin schulz has really increased parliament role and visibility. is there not an irony that a conservative government is taking us out of the eu institutions just as conservatives are dominating european union institutions? in response to nina, the reason we have a centre—right politician now is because the centre—right have more votes because the centre—right got more votes from the public... you mean in parliament? yes. they won more votes in the european elections. that is why he won. i am pleased to see someone who has said they will be more of a speaker and less of a prime minister. we found martin schulz very dictatorial. he overruled many decisions of the

committees so the back benches... will the new chap be helpful or unhelpful on brexit? i voted for him in the last round because he promised to listen to all of the parliament, especially to the conservative reformist group and he promised to play a neutral tone on brexit, to allow the negotiation... although, part of the deal is that guy verhoftstadt, stays as the chief negotiator and he has been strengthened. and what gianni pittella was offering... let me finish. he was saying that he would take a verhofstadt off the negotiations. in terms of british interest, it would have been better, given guy verofstadt's position on the uk... that is the belgian federalist? he is the leader of one of the groups. he has an agreement now

with the centre—right grouping the epp, to change the direction of the eu. they want a european coastguard. a new governance for the eu. a european defence force... that is why. hold on. and also a european intelligence and investigation capacity. so if that's the way that these two big groups in the european parliament are going, even labour could not support most of that. no. we were not supporting these candidates. but is that the direction of europe now? i could not have supported the socialist candidate. you have a choice of two, both of whom are fundamentally federalist. pitella was not federalist. the offer from antonio tajani was to be more of a neutral speaker to allow the parliament to move on with its post. just on the role of guy verhofstadt, he is not in the negotiation. he is the chief negotiator and...

the two of you are confusing me here. you say he is not an negotiation and you say he is the chief negotiator. you can't both be right. article 50 negotiations are conducted in the european council and with the barnier team. they were in negotiation parliament. parliament as a whole has a vote. i'm still not clear but i have run out of time to clarify. we have the latest now in the series of films profiling eu member states. we have travelled to slovenia. where people are getting used to the idea

that their most famous ex—resident is now the first lady of the world. i was born in slovenia, a small, beautiful and then communist country in central europe. and here is where — the town of sevnica. population, around 4500. fittingly for a former model, it is where you will find slovenia's biggest manufacturer — of pants. melania left and found fame, fortune and a husband in the states in the mid—1990s. since then, her home country has joined nato, the eu and the euro. armed with my nova magazine, with melania on the front cover, let's find out what people think about her. where was melania's house? this building over here. that one there? yes. what do you think about melania? she is a great woman.

to me, it's not very interesting. nothing? can you imagine donald trump in the street, going to visit that house? no. here, they are offering a wise first lady tour, where you can see melania's old school, have some of the famous local salami for lunch. 32.30 euros per person. at the julia bakery, they are selling a trump—themed cake. we put on white chocolate because of the white house, she is always dressed in white, so we put white chocolate. and we put gold on top because it's luxury. also almonds and other special ingredients. it's not exactly melania—mania, maybe because mrs trump's slovenian lawyers have issued a reminder that her name isa trademark. tasty! the biggest thing mrs trump has done for us is to get us

recognised, says the mayor. "in sevnica, we're respectful about using her name, partly because her family still live here. and that will continue to be the case in the future." but surely it's all great material for slovenian comedians. what is your best melania joke? that she was a robot designed in slovenia designed to infiltrate the white house and now we are in charge. we are such a small country, this was our secret plan. the president of uefa is also slovenian, so we're kind of like putting people in positions and waiting to see what is happening. thanks for letting us know! celebrations for the inauguration are low—key. the main event is the annual pruning of sevnica's vineyards. oh, and eating melania cake. adam fleming who is not a robot but you should see his air

miles from these reports. that was from slovenia. thank you to our guests for being with us today and that is it for us now. thank you for watching and goodbye to you. good afternoon i hope you are enjoying your sunday so far. a dave mixed fortunes. as far as soap are concerned, it the staed off sunny but mixed fortunes. as far as soap are concerned, it the staed off sunny but stayed cleared. a few breaks in the cloud in some areas. you can see the cloud in some areas. you can see the grey skies producing the odd spot of sleet and snow into north yorkshire and lincolnshire. skies clearing later, so a risk of ice tonight but it'll be difficult, judging the exact cloud amounts. you will need lengthy cloud breaks to see the frost form but where it does, it'll be another chilly night.

temperatures in rural areas, with towns and cities could be as will he as minus—6 or 7. fog is the other issue tonight, increasingly so for parts of wales and south ease england which could cause a few issues for road and air travel, not just tomorrow morning but also tuesday morning. keep a close eye on the forecast. fog dense in places first thing, so probably that double thing again as the frost on the car and fog slowing the journey. keep an eye with your airline if you are heading to airports, there maybe some delays. further west, fog not much of an issue. clear skies and frost around in the city centres. some patchy fog to north midlands, northern england. more in the waive clear skies around for scot scotland and northern ireland compared to today. more sunshine to come, so it means it starts on a colder note with more in the way of sunshine around. the fog should lift and clear for many. one around. the fog should lift and clearfor many. one or around. the fog should lift and clear for many. one or two areas where the fog will linger into the afternoon. most prone parts of east

midlands into east anglia. most will have a sunny afternoon. especially to the north and west, compared with today. it's not going to be especially warm, but pleasant enough in that sunshine. temperatures lifting up, close to 10 in the west later. more of a breeze here as we finish today, scotland and northern ireland in particular and finish today, scotland and northern ireland in particularand rain inches closer to the hebrides and western parts of northern ireland through monday evening. that sets us up through monday evening. that sets us upfor through monday evening. that sets us up for the week ahead, we have the battle of high pressure and continental europe trying to push n milder but with wetter and windier weather working into the atlantic, that battle starts good and proper on tuesday. tuesday first thing frosty start but dry and sunny times during the day. some sunshine east of high ground but there will be wind around at times, too. this is bbc news. i'm maxine mawhinney. the headlines at three. theresa may will not say whether she knew about a failed trident missile test when mps

were voting to renew the weapons system. i have absolute faith in our trident missiles. when i made that speech in the house of commons, what we were talking about was whether or not we should renew our trident. the prime minister confirms she will be the first world leader to meet president trump when they hold talks on friday. millions took to the streets in protest against the new president, but the white house accuses the media of dishonestly reporting numbers attending his inauguration. the gambia's defeated leader, yahya jammeh, flies into exile, 22 years after taking control of the west african state in a coup. world tennis number one andy murray crashes out of the australian open after a shock defeat in the fourth round.