this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 8pm: in a landmark ruling, the uk supreme court has decided that only parliament has the power, and not ministers, to trigger withdrawalfrom the european union. so any change in the law to give effect to the referendum must be made in the only way permitted by the uk constitution, namely by an act of parliament. to proceed otherwise would be a breach of settled constitutional principles stretching back many centuries. the government is expected to introduce a bill to trigger article 50 on thursday. but nicola sturgeon says the views of the scottish people are being ignored. with every day that passes right now, it's becoming clear that scotland's voice cannot and is not being heard in the uk on this question. president trump has angered environmentalists and native americans by signing orders intended to revive two controversial oil pipeline projects.

shares in bt have seen a dramatic fall in value, after an accounting scandal at the company's italian division. and in the next hour, the nominations for the 2017 academy awards have been announced. the critically acclaimed musical la la land has been nominated for m oscars — equalling the record for a single film. good evening and welcome to bbc news. in a ruling of huge constitutional significance, the judges of the supreme court have said that only parliament can trigger the brexit process. it's not the decision that theresa may wanted. she'd argued that it could be

done by ministers alone. thejudges also said that the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland do not have to be consulted. tonight, the bbc has learned that the government will present a brexit bill to parliament as early as this thursday. and the brexit secretary, david davis, had a warning for mps: don't use the debate in parliament to try to stop brexit happening. our political editor laura kuennsberg reports. a hot ticket to see judges rule, is it the prime minister or parliament that is in charge? theresa may wanted to avoid asking mps for permission to start leaving the eu. but businesswoman gina miller fought and fought and fought again, arguing the government simply does not have the power to do it alone. there is no precedent, so can our departure start,

so—called article 50, without parliament saying yes? today, by a majority of 8—3, the supreme court rules that the government cannot trigger article 50 without an act of parliament authorising it to do so. the referendum is of great political significance, but the act of parliament which established it did not say what should happen as a result. so any change in the law to give effect to the referendum must be made in the only way permitted by the uk constitution, namely by an act of parliament. to proceed otherwise would be a breach of settled constitutional principles stretching back many centuries. and there are consequences from that clear instruction. ministers have no choice. mps must have a say. of course the government is disappointed with the outcome, but we have the good fortune to live in a country where everyone, every

individual, every organisation, even government is subject to the rule of law. so the government will comply with the judgment of the court. the challengers, well financed outsiders, won the day. no prime minister, no government can expect to be una nswerable or unchallenged. parliament alone is sovereign. what next. despite the courtroom drama the government's been preparing for weeks. the government's priority following the european union referendum has been to respect the outcome and ensure it's delivered in the interest of the whole country. this house voted 6-1 to the whole country. this house voted 6—1 to put the decision in the hands of voters and that bill passed the other place unopposed. there can be no going back. the point of no return was passed onjune 23 last year. labour won't allow its mps to

stop the bill. but they will try to make changes. we're very clear, we're going to hold them to account. we're going to hold them to account to protect jobs, to we're going to hold them to account to protectjobs, to make sure british industry does have market access. and we're not going to allow ourselves to become some kind of offshore tax haven. that's not what people voted for. while mps will have more power, thejudges' decision not to insist holyrood has a formal say could strain further the union between scotland and the rest of the uk. the decision is looming for scotland. are we prepared to allow our future to be dictated by a westminster government that's going down a path i think the majority of people in scotland do not want to go down? or are we going to ta ke not want to go down? or are we going to take our future into our own hands? the prime minister never wa nted hands? the prime minister never wanted an ugly fight in the courts. she doesn't now want weeks of angry arguments as it moves to the house of commons. but for all its potential, this legal tangle has not strangled the government in knots. ministers were ruled to be wrong on

fundamental matters of law, but while they lost the case, the government has not lost control of the arguments, at least not yet. jus as theresa may's motorcade swept past the courts, she's been able to move past the arguments. one senior tory told me, we are on our way. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. one of the key rulings from today's judgement was the unanimous decision that the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland did not need to give their approval for the brexit process to start. here's some analysis from each nation, beginning with our scottish political correspondent, andrew kerr. the council generalfor the council general for wales, the chief law officer, for the welsh

government said it was a victory for parliamentary sovereignty, saying there's a chance for the senedd to engage in debate through the convention, even though a vote here wouldn't impact a brexit deal. today's decision comes 2a hours after ca rwyn today's decision comes 2a hours after carwyn jones, the today's decision comes 2a hours after carwynjones, the first minister for wales, after carwynjones, the first ministerfor wales, the after carwynjones, the first minister for wales, the welsh government, the welsh liberal democrats and leanne wood, the leader of plaid cymru were in westminster to deliver a white paper on what they'd like to see coming out a brexit deal. they'd like to see a norway—style deal, which would be the softest brexit possible, allowing the uk to stay in the single market and also in terms of immigration, people could come here so immigration, people could come here so long as they had a job. plaid cymru aren't happy with today's decision, saying it undermines wales in some respect. if wales' voice wasn't heard, there would be grave consequences according to stefan lewis the assembly member here. ca rwyn lewis the assembly member here. carwyn jones has always fought that wales should remain in the single market, which is in sharp contrast to what theresa may said just last week. a majority of people here in

northern ireland voted to remain inside the eu. there have been legal challenges already to try to prevent this part of the united kingdom from leaving the european union. they feel some of the arguments used in those cases were rejected by the supreme court. for example, the differences here about politics, for example the good friday agreement. it did give people the right to determine whether northern ireland should be part of the uk, but not whether it should be part of the eu. that's been welcomed by the democratic unionist party, the biggest party here in northern ireland. however, it's been rejected by sinn fein, who until recently, we re by sinn fein, who until recently, were their partners in government, though, of course, powersharing were their partners in government, though, of course, power sharing has collapsed here. sinn fein say they will continue to push for special status for northern ireland. but the whole issue of brexit is sets to be debated here over the next month, as an election campaign plays out. though we now have clarity about

what's going to happen as regards the triggering of article 50 and how that will work, we don't have a clarity about what it will mean for northern ireland once brexit actually happens, because this is the only part of the uk to have a land border with another eu country, the republic of ireland. no—one is quite sure what's going to happen there. will there be some kind of physical border? could there be customs posts? that still has to be worked out and negotiated. chris buckler reporting from belfast. with me is nick evans, a partner and parliamentary agent at the law firm, bircham dyson bell. a lot of people expected the supreme court to rule the way it did on the sub—stan tiff point about whether or not it's parliament or ministers who can trigger article 50. there's a bit more surprise about the fact that the court believes the devolved governments don't really have a role

to play. or at least not in law. is that your belief? i'm not so sure. you have to remember, as well as gina miller's high court case, there was a gina miller's high court case, there wasa high gina miller's high court case, there was a high court case in northern ireland, which was heard at the supreme court hearing. the government won that one. they'd already won once on the devolution issues. perhaps it's not really a surprise when the supreme court said under the devolution settlement, yes there's an important role for devolved administration, specifically foreign affairs is a reserved matter. so the decisions to leave orjoin other treaties, whether it's the european union or otherwise, that's for central government. even though the point of law, that it's parliament not ministers, that's the supreme court seemed to have ruled in that way because we're talking about primary legislation that is being changed because it affects everybody and pretty much everyone in their everyday working lives, that's going to be happening in northern ireland, scotland, northern ireland and wales as well. their lives will be changed

in the same way. it seems odd. not really. it's primary legislation being changed. the appropriate place for that to happen is westminster. right, ok. do you see any problems as far as the government's time table is concerned? parliament has already voted that triggering of article 50 should be by the end of march. is there any way that time table could shift? it certainly could shift. if you look to the standing orders, manuals and guides and the procedures in the house of commons and house of lords, they set out specific time scales for the normal process of a bill. there's two weekends between stages here and 14 stages there. for a normal bill, it's three months. fast forward three months and you're into april, not march. potentially they're going to need the cooperation of the houses in order to condense that time scale and that results in a bit

of horse trading in the house of commons. the government has the majority. but in the house of lords, it doesn't. while people in both sides of the houses who may have been remainers have said, we're not going to try and stop brexit, many of them have said we want to see additional changes, additional safeguards put in place before you go off and negotiate the terms of brexit. this will be an opportunity to secure those. perhaps they will agree to shortening the time scale in return for agreement of amendments. perhaps, or agreement that there will be time for amendments to be considered. the government has to be, the suggestion is that they could put forward a bill as early as thursday. and the scottish nationalists are suggesting they're going to put forward at least 50 amendments. what is the best way for the government to cou ntera ct best way for the government to counteract that kind of nuisance, as they might see it? well, david davies said earlier today that he'd beenin davies said earlier today that he'd been in parliament for 30 years and if anybody had come up with a way of creating an amendment—proof bill

he'd like to know about it. the best way is the shorter the better. the shorter the bill is the less there is to attach an amendment to. the supreme court did say that actually it doesn't necessarily need to be a long bill. in other parts of the judgment they also said where you're taking away fundamental rights, as you would do here, you need to do that in clear words. the government will be looking carefully at what it is they have to do to comply with the ruling of the supreme court. and try to come up with a bill that achiefs that but is as short as possible. the shorter it is, the less there is to attach amendments too. then it will be back to the horse trading, how many of these amendments do you really want to discuss? how many do we really have to discuss? if we accept this amendment, lots of people earlier today were calling for a white paper, a more detailed plan. if government says yes, we want a bill that gives us the power to trigger article 50 and we are prepared to accept an amendment that says after

we've published a command paper, then will you let us have it through more quickly — there will be an element of horse trading on that as well. is there any possibility that because it's mps who are going to decide now when to trigger article 50, they could somehow, a combination of the snp and the labour party, dissenters and so on, could they stop the process dead? they'd be very brave, wouldn't they? theoretically, parliament is sovereign. it can decide whatever it is that it decides. so, but having voted only in december that actually the resolution — voted only in december that actually the resolution - to trigger it any way, was that it should happen by march. they would be brave and unlikely. and pretty bonkers. you can say it. i don't think i can. nick evans, thanks forjoining us let's speak to our political correspondent tom bateman at westminster. i was talking to nick evans there about the devolved governments being

left out of this process or at least not having a casting vote if you like, politically, nicola sturgeon wa nts to like, politically, nicola sturgeon wants to ratchet up the pressure on theresa may. she's going to have a vote a ny theresa may. she's going to have a vote any way and a discussion. that's what she is saying. you know, it's interesting, in the sense, what she is trying to do is disentangle the legal ruling today with the politics around this. i think that's the big observation tonight. in one sense, you have a very significant legal, constitutional story here, the highest court in the land has stopped the government from doing what it wanted to do, because it ruled it was, in effect, against the law, that it was unlawful. on the political side, this is something nicola sturgeon is trying to grapple with and trying to find leverage with and trying to find leverage with is the sense in which, article 50, last year, when we had the original high court case, when the government was being taken to court, had the potential of being a huge political football that could be

bounced between the government, the opposition and devolved assemblies. there was real concern among ministers that parliament and the devolved assemblies may have the ability to frustrate and maybe even block brexit from happening, according to their time table. since then, i think politically, everything has changed. that political football has been deflated and isa political football has been deflated and is a saggy balloon being kicked around between various parts of opposition parties. because what the government has been able to do in the meantime is to buy in many mps, at least in westminster, and get them to agree to the fact, and they've done this as part of a parliamentary vote last year, that they agreed to the government's time table and to the principle of triggering article 50. what nicola sturgeon is trying to do is to say 0k, sturgeon is trying to do is to say ok, we don't have the constitutional role to intervene here or to have a veto over brexit, but politically, the government, the uk government needs the consent of the scottish

parliament, she is saying, because the majority of people in scotland voted for the uk to stay in the european union. 0k, tom, thanks for that. tomorrow morning's front pages will have a field day with this. we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered the headlines on bbc news: ministers are expected to introduce legislation to parliament on thursday, seeking approval to begin the process of leaving the european union. it comes after the supreme court ruled that ministers must consult parliament before triggering article 50. president trump has

signed executive orders intended to revive two controversial oil pipeline projects. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's olly foster. sir alex ferguson thinksjose mourinho is finding solutions at manchester united. united are still in both domestic cup competitions and the europa league, but they are sixth in the premier league, 14 points behind the leaders chelsea. sir alex says mourinho has been unlucky to draw so many matches. i thinkjose is finding the solutions now. there was a period in the season where he wasn't getting the season where he wasn't getting the decisions. his emotions boiled over. he is an emotional guy. there's no question about that. people from portugal, spain, italy have that emotional part of them. it

shows very much in terms of howjose handled that part. he's calm and in control. the observation i'm making of the team now, the team is playing with great energy, determination, will to win, which i think is really important. there's football tonight. brighton will go back to the top of the championship with a win. they're at home to cardiff. half an hour into the match. no goals. there reading are also playing fulham in the championship. england's women have drawn 0—0 with sweden. siobhan chamberlain saved a second half penalty. it was the second half penalty. it was the second of two friendlies in spain as

pa rt second of two friendlies in spain as part of their preparations for the european championship. they lost to norway on sunday. the new man in charge of formula one, chase carey, says the sport needs a fresh perspective after a0 yea rs of needs a fresh perspective after a0 years of bernie ecclestone's leadership. the 86—year—old has been given an advisory role following fi's 6. 5 given an advisory role following fi's 6.5 billion given an advisory role following fi's 6. 5 billion takeover by the american company. ross brawn thinks ecclestone could have left a better legacy. the problem for me is that bernie didn't mentor someone into the sport. that would have been fantastic. that would have been his crowning glory to bring people into the sport and hand over and sit back and feel that's his final achievement. but he never had an inclination to do that. that would have been a nice end to his career in formula one. the former olympic champion nicole

cook has strongly criticised british cycling, uk anti—doping and uk sport. she says cycling is run by men, for men and attempts to stop doping are inadequate and ineffective. she made the claims to a culture, media & sport select committee earlier today, which was held to discuss issues raised at a hearing involving british cycling and team sky last month. she said british cycling shows discrimination and favouritism because it's a nswera ble to and favouritism because it's answerable to itself. one of rugby union's oldest clubs, london welsh, has been kicked out of the championship mid—season following their liquidation last month. the club was granted a temporary license to play, but the by temporary license to play, but the rugby football union says the club hasn't met the financial conditions required to extend that license. they were a premiership side as recently as 2015. they were relegated after losing all their matches. all this season's results will be erased and there will be no relegation from the second tier

championship this season. that's all the sport for now. more in the next hour, see you then. us president, donald trump, has approved two controversial oil pipelines. the keystone xl — designed to carry oil from canada to us refineries — was rejected by barack obama in 2015 because of environmental concerns. construction of the dakota access pipeline was stopped last month amid huge protests from native americans, who claim it threatened water resources. well, speaking in the last hour, the white house press secretary, sean spicer, said mr trump's move will help create jobs for steel workers. this memorandum directs agencies to expedite reviews and approves for the remaining portions of this pipeline, which the previous administration held up for political reasons. the 3. le billion pipeline already almost 90% complete will carry over 500,000 barrels a day of

crude oil to oil markets in the us. in both of these areas, as the president remarked this morning, he's going to ensure that we continue to negotiate in both areas to provide the best deal for the american taxpayer. the head of bt in europe, corrado sciolla, is to resign over the accounting scandal at the company's italian division. shares in the company have plunged in value, after the news that it will have to set aside £530 million to cover losses as a result of improper practices. five more bodies have been found in the hotel, which was destroyed by an avalanche in italy last week. it brings the total number of victims to ia. 15 people are still missing and rescuers say there is still a faint hope that some could be alive. a barrister de—februarying rolf harris over —— defending rolf harris

over charges, the 86—year—old now faces over charges, the 86—year—old now fa ces fa ces over charges, the 86—year—old now faces faces seven charges of indecent assault and one of sexual assault against seven victims between 1971 and 200a. he denies all the charges. this was the first day of rolf harris defence team putting the case on his behalf. the first thing the court heard was that mr harris himself will not give evidence. he's appearing via videolink from prison, where he's being held because of preexisting convictions. he's not been forced to attend because of his age and frailty. that's why his barrister told the jury he couldn't remember clearly events that were 30 or a0 yea rs clearly events that were 30 or a0 years ago. he told the jury, "if the defendant can say no more to you than i cannot remember being there, the evident shall importance is actually quite weak." instead his defence barrister has been questioning the convictions that mr harris already has. one of those relates to a community centre in

portsmouth, where he was found guilty of assaulting an eight—year—old girl in 1969. today, witnesses were called by the defence, people who had involvement with that community centre back in the late 1960s, people who knew it well. they all told the court they could never remember rolf harris actually appearing there. indeed, somebody from his management company who was involved in booking his appearances at that time, also came to court today and said she would never have booked rolf harris to appear at that sort of event at that time because of the level of fame he had achieved. that is part of the defence strategy to question the preexisting convictions, part of the prosecution case is that shows the propensity he has for this type of offending. his barrister said in short, "we say the jury got it wrong in the first trial. we don't say that lightly. we have enormous faith in thejury system, that lightly. we have enormous faith in the jury system, but no system is infallible. " in the jury system, but no system is infallible." rolf harris denies the seven counts of indecent assault he faces. the evidence here expected to

go on for another couple of weeks. a man, who was on holiday with his wife in tunisia, has said the thompson staff he booked the holiday with didn't warn them about any potential security risks, just a month before terrorists attacked them on the beach. jim windass, whose wife claire was killed in the sousse attack in may 2015, also told the inquest that thomson staff didn't mention the foreign office travel advice available online. our correspondent richard galpin was at the royal courts ofjustice. this is a really important piece of evidence in this inquest, of course the role of the holiday companies is absolutely key. it's been discussed already a lot during this inquest — did they provide enough information to the holidaymakers, many of them who booked through thomson, did they provide sufficient information to the people planning to go to tunisia at that time, before they booked their holidays? certainly, as you we re their holidays? certainly, as you were saying from jim windass, it appears, as faras were saying from jim windass, it appears, as far as he's concerned, that they did not. he was asked by

the lawyer representing the families specifically, "did anyone mention to you amongst the thomson staff at the store in hull, did they mention to you anything about the security threat? he said, "absolutely no, they did not." "did they mention the availability of the foreign office travel advisory on the foreign office website? again, he said, "no, they did not." having heard what the travel advice was, that was read out by mr richie, he said if he'd heard that at the time, he would never have gone to tunisia. a very strong statement from him. he also talked about the moment when his wife was killed. they'd been on the beach, where many of the holidaymakers were killed. the gunman was rampaging through the area at the time. obviously, like many others, they tried to run away. as they tried to

run, tried to move away from the sunbeds, his wife claire was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground. he said that he went down on his knees as well, obviously trying to help her. at that moment, the gunman came closer and closer. he shot more people around them and then turned round to mr windass and looked at him, but he did not open fire. after that, mr windass said that he checked his wife to see if there was any pulse, he said no, there was not. he closed her eyes. so obviously a very harrowing time for him and having to relive that in court today. what we've had again todayis court today. what we've had again today is other witnesses talking about the failures of emergency staff and some of the staff at the hotel. one man describing how british tourists, that is, describing how he was close to a man who'd been injured in the legs and he called for paramedics. they came

and they had no equipment, medical equipment with them and just stood there and did absolutely nothing. likewise, another witness talking about the reaction of some of the staff at the hotel, not helping the holidaymakers try to make their escape, instead of panicking themselves. this particular witness said he had to try to initiate things to get doors locked and windows locked in the building where they fled to stop the gunman getting in. very, very, very chaotic. stay with us. much more coming in u now the weather. some of us have had a nice day today. for others it was grey and persistent areas of fog across southern, coastal areas especially. the fog will become more widespread across central and southern england. disruption later tonight and tomorrow morning. check out bbc local radio stations for the latest updates. here's the fog, growing in extent and some slippery surfaces as

well. further north and west, no such problems, more cloud and breeze, milder as well especially for northern ireland and scotland, where we have the odd spot of rain. but mostly dry. nine degrees for glasgow and belfast. nearfreezing across the south and east. it could be quite slippery in some places. that fog persisting for some through the morning. it lifts into low cloud, a grey afternoon across southern and eastern areas, chillier than today for some. a slice of sunshine from south—west england, through wales, into northern counties. a lot of cloud for scotla nd counties. a lot of cloud for scotland and northern ireland. most of the rain holds off. mild here, nine or ten, chilly across the south and the east. hello. you are watching bbc news. the top stories now at exactly how fate. in a landmark ruling, the uk supreme court has decided that only parliament has the power, not ministers, to trigger withdrawal from the european union. today, by a

majority of eight — three, the supreme court rules that the government cannot trigger article 50 without an act of parliament authorising it to do so. the bbc understands the bill to trigger article 50 could be introduced as early as thursday. here is the brexit secretary, david davis. we will, within days, introduced legislation to give the government the legal power to trigger article 50 and begin a formal process of withdrawal. president trump has been holding talks with the leaders of some of america's biggest car companies urging them to produce more cars on home soil to boost jobs. shares in bt have fallen dramatically in value after an accounting scandal at the company's italian division. more now on our top story, a bill will be presented within days to

start the process of leaving the european union after a ruling by the supreme court. today, the government lost its appeal over who has the authority to trigger article 50. the judges ruled by a majority of 8—3, parliamentary approval is needed. the referendum isn't great political significance. the act of parliament, which established that, did not say what should happen as a result. a change in the law to give effect to the referendum must be made in the only way permitted by the uk constitution, namely, by an act of parliament. well, this afternoon, david davis told mps the bill would be kept as simple as possible. we will, within days, introduced legislation to give the government legal power to trigger article 50 and begin the formal process of withdrawal. it will be separate to the grid repeal bill that will be introduced to repeal the european

community 's act 1972. this will be the most straightforward bill possible to give effect to the decision of the people and respect the judgment of the supreme court. the purpose of this bill is simply to give the government the power to invoke article 50 and begin the process of leaving the european union. gear starmer said labour would seek amendments to the bill. labour accepts and respects the referendum result and will not frustrate the process. but we will be seeking to lay amendments to make sure proper scrutiny and accountability of the process. but sta rts accountability of the process. but starts with a white paper or plan, a speech is not a white paper or plan, we need something to hold the government to account throughout the process. so, what can we expect in the coming days? the government says legislation paving the way for brexit will be tabled by thursday. sources have told the bbc people to

trigger article 50 will be introduced later this week. both houses, the commons and lords, will needed to vote on the bill. it could pass through the commons in a fortnight. theresa may intends to trigger article 50 by the end of march. once that has happened, the uk hasjust march. once that has happened, the uk has just two years to leave the european union. well, seven months after the eu referendum, what the voters pick of the ruling. danny savage has been finding out in leeds. when it came to the decision on whether to leave the eu or stay, leeds footed to remain, but only just. what did the a9.7% who voted to leave? we voted to go to, so white cannabinoid curve chris rock we voted for the prime minister tickling comedy premise to consider. woodward to leave and theyjust style a nd woodward to leave and theyjust style and stall. it is wrong. there area style and stall. it is wrong. there are a lot of countries want to do deals with england. trump, for

starters. we'll like the guy, but thatis starters. we'll like the guy, but that is not the point. it is up in england and us. that suits me. let's get this country going again. the majority in this city voted to stay and many have not changed their minds. jamal ‘s from iraq and the things europe should stick together. i don't know what is going to happen. would you rather they stopped brexit now and kept in europe? yes. i was opposed brexit underfunded against leaving the eu. jim manson believes things would be different if we had known then what we know now. i know people voted for brexit and they didn't understand the consequences of what they were voting for. i think before the referendum we were not totally told what it implied or what it meant to

leave the eu. did you wish brexit would just go away? if i could start all overagain, ithink would just go away? if i could start all over again, i think the lead up to the referendum would be totally different. those who voted for brexit just want the government to get on with the unhindered. those who didn't are still against it but see it as inevitable. let's go to america where president trump has been signing more executive orders, including the approval for two controversial oil pipelines. reports have also emerged suggesting mr trump plans to keepjames comey as the hit of the fbi. mr coleman angered democrats when he ordered investigations of hillary clinton boss michael e—mails just 11 days before the election last year. president obama saw fit to put a halt to the continuing production,

the continuing work for these two pipelines, mrtrump the continuing work for these two pipelines, mr trump says differently. yes. the guidelines, the fight is over more than pipelines at this point. those two pipelines at this point. those two pipelines or a proxy battle between environmentalists and energy advocates and they had taken on greater import. when obama came down on the side of the environmentalists and suspended and it sort of approval process for those two pipelines, the army corps of engineers like to one in dakota and the obama administration blocked the other. it was seen as a winner for environmentalists, but as soon as donald trump one, he said it was costing usjobs, it was important for energy independence and it is not surprising then that in the first few days of his administration he would take action to begin a process of approving those pipelines. he has decided to keep on

the fbi director, james comey. yes. they had their first meeting since donald trump became presidentjust a couple of days ago and trump spotted comey across the room and went over to shake his hand and joked that he had become even more popular than he had. james comey being the source of a lot of anger from democrats for bringing up the issue of the fbi investigation into hillary clinton just weeks before the general election. that changed the dynamic of the race and a lot of people attribute that as an improper influence on the presidential race. to hear him extending the tenure of jason comey as the hit of the fbi will open him up for more criticism. thanks for that. let's get a little bit more on that, the retention of james comey. larryjohnston is a

former cia analyst and was deputy director for counterterrorism at the us state department. thank you very much for being with this. despite the ups and downs of the relationship between mr trump and the intelligence community, there was no question he was going to keep mr comey, was there? no, there was some question. i would rephrase your characterisation, it was not a confrontation with the intelligence community, it was a confrontation with the leadership of the intelligence community. it is important to recall that both jim klapper and john brennan had been caught on several occasions lying in public. the last thing you need to have at the hit of your intelligence organisations and liars. so, trump's issue was with the lies being put out by them and, frankly, a lot of disinformation being circulated regarding russia was coming from leadership. it was devoid of any

evidence, devoid of any sourcing. i would be happy to go through that witty piece by piece, but it is one of those things, it was a light that was pushed out there, it was circulated and by virtue of being circulated and by virtue of being circulated it became true. there is nothing to prove it was leaked by security agencies? to use the correct term, it was a leak of those e—mails, not a hack. there is an important difference there. i think even as julian assange important difference there. i think even asjulian assange has said on several occasions, this was not as a result of russian interference. when you bring up result of russian interference. when you bring uinm comey, this is an illustration. one minute we are informed that he has interfered in the election and kept hillary clinton from being installed as president, the next we are told it is the russians. the story and the excuse keeps moving. the reality with the jim excuse keeps moving. the reality with thejim comey incident, as fbi director, all he kunduz need the

investigations, gather the evidence, but ultimately it is the decision of the department ofjustice is whether to present that evidence before a grand jury. to present that evidence before a grandjury. one to present that evidence before a grand jury. one thing i was given to understand was during this process there was political pressure being exerted by the department ofjustice not to present the evidence to a grand jury. not to present the evidence to a grandjury. i not to present the evidence to a grand jury. i think that is one of the thingsjim comey bristled at. grand jury. i think that is one of the things jim comey bristled at. do you believe donald trump now that he is chief executive, as it were, he is chief executive, as it were, he is commander in chief, he will not be as free and easy with his allegiances with the cia and fbi as he was with the candidate. when he got a decision he didn't like, sent the fbi and cia are useless, the next, when he got a decision he liked he said they were great. will he be more consistent now?m liked he said they were great. will he be more consistent now? if you are looking for consistency among politicians, let me know if you find one. you will have discovered a very rare creature. they go along with

unicorns, perhaps. the fact of the matter is, we will see whether or not donald trump tries to exert political influence on the intelligence communities and on law enforcement. he should not do such. one of the problems we have had the history, especially of the cia, i experienced it myself during the iran—contra days, is regardless of whether it is a democrat or republican republican administration, have always been effo rts administration, have always been efforts to politicise intelligence and it has always been incumbent upon the leadership especially at the cia, to maintain its independence and its integrity by trying to tell truth to power. u nfortu nately, trying to tell truth to power. unfortunately, that is up and rarely in our history. you are happy then that the rank and file of operatives in american intelligence organisations, but they are happy

with mrtrump, organisations, but they are happy with mr trump, but they will work with mr trump, but they will work with him, to what they can, despite the references to nazi germany and so on and so forth? correct. the saw that on display on saturday. everybody who was in the audience we re everybody who was in the audience were intelligence officers. they we re were intelligence officers. they were not people who were trapped in by the current administration. simply getting on to the cia grounds isa simply getting on to the cia grounds is a very difficult task unless you have a badge. the fact that there we re have a badge. the fact that there were more than 1000 who wanted tickets and a00 showed up on a saturday, when most would be on holiday, is a show of the real frustration that i have heard about from some of my former colleagues about the politicisation that had taken place under the previous director, john brennan. brennan, frankly, was more concerned about promoting socialjustice and transgender rights and homosexuality than he was injured doing the work of intelligence. my colleagues do

not want to worry about someone's sexual preferences, they want to worry about whether we have accurate information and correctly analysing it. iam information and correctly analysing it. i am hoping, information and correctly analysing it. iam hoping, i don't information and correctly analysing it. i am hoping, i don't know if this is the case, that the new cia director will do that. if he referred to the politicisation and the other side, then shame on him. mr brennan isn't here to answer those allegations, but thank you anyway. former cia analyst and deputy director of counterterrorism at the us state department. we have got some breaking newsjust at the us state department. we have got some breaking news just coming into this out of preston and that is from the department for education, sorry, the chief veterinary officer has confirmed that avian flu has been discovered the premises in preston in lancashire. the uk chief veterinary officer confirmed that today. a three kilometre protection zone and a ten kilometre surveillance zone have been put in

place around the infected promises to limit the risk of the disease spreading of subsidised advice for anyone who wants any more information on this, including action to reduce the risk of the disease spreading, then you should contact theirfriend. disease spreading, then you should contact their friend. that news coming in in the last couple of minutes, but the chief veterinary officer has confirmed he had five and yet avian flu has been found at and yet avian flu has been found at a premises in preston and adds that the risk to the public is actually very low. now, the headlines on bbc news at a quarter to nine. ministers are expected to introduce legislation to parliament on thursday seeking approval to begin the process of leaving the european union. it comes after the supreme court ruled that ministers must consult parliament before trigger an article 50. president trump has angered us environmentalists and native americans by signing

executive orders intended to revive two controversial oil pipeline projects. and an update for you on the markets. this is how the ftse and the dax in london and frankfurt respectively got on. a mixed bag. the dow down ever so slightly. the dow and nasdaq up on trading in the united states. now, flood management in england and wales is still fragmented, ineffective. that is according to members of the environment environment committee. the government has been accused of failing to take steps after the recommended an overhaul of the system. the government rejected criticism so many suggestions have been accepted. sadly not such a rare sight, waging war against the water as roads are transformed into rivers. in recent years there's been severe flooding in cumbria, yorkshire, scotland and somerset. two months ago the environmental food and rural affairs committee defra called for a radical overhaul

to what it called the government's disjointed flood management. just one of the many criticisms levied at defra, it hasn't created a national floods commissioner for england. flooding is a much more regular occurrence affecting many more people than it ever has done. so the citizens of this country want to see the government protect them against flooding. we've asked some questions and made some recommendations, it's the government's responsibility to protect its citizens. defra say it's already implementing many of the report suggestions, such as managing water courses across entire catchment areas. but say there is no need for structural changes. over the next five years the government is investing £2.5 billion on building flood defence schemes across the country, protecting an additional 300,000 homes. but with climate change we're being told to expect more heavy rain,

increasing the flood risk. and so for this select committee it's unlikely the government's current interventions will be enough. right, let's turn to the oscars and nominations for the 20 academy awards have been announced. the musical la la land tops the list with no fewer than 1a, equalling the all—time record. that the cat three of the most prestigious categories now. for best picture, these are the films in the running. la la land, manchester by the sea, moonlight, lion, fences, hell or high water, cracks are rich and hidden figures. these are the nominees for best actor in a leading role. and for

best actress. right, let's get more analysis. chris hewitt from empire magazine is with me. vintage year, grittier, not so great? it has been a good year. this is a selection of very solid films. there is nothing here that will embarrass the academy in years to come. it has happened before. movies like chicago when the oscar make you look back and think, really? titanic at it bit of a backlash and a backlash to the backlash. botanic is fine but it was a record along with ben hur and return of the king for the most oscars, maybe didn't deserve that money. la la land returning 1a? 1a might be stretching it. it sounds

like a juggernaut that will be unstoppable, i don't think it is. i don't think it will scoop every word is nominated for. it will come away with seven or eight. it will take effect is —— best picture. with seven or eight. it will take effect is -- best picture. city of stories, are you canjust for me? city of stories, there is so much i can't see? nice and warm, isn't it. gives you a nice glow. in a year or 18 months of turbulence, a bit of a musical is a nice bit of an offering. a very different film when it comes to mood, manchester by the sea. it is a gruelling, emotionally, you come out of this film a bit of a wreck. it is from kenneth lonergan, a good director. he only makes a

movie every four or five years. they are fantastic. it is the frontrunner for best actor in a casey affleck. it is about a man who returns to his hometown after his brother dies and he confronts secrets from the past. it isa he confronts secrets from the past. it is a well acted, well written film and it will take your heart and ripped out in a way that lala doesn't. even though la la land has a bittersweet element, it makes you wa nt to a bittersweet element, it makes you want to dance down the street. you don't do that with manchester by the sea. what happened to my brother? i am sorry you couldn't get you in time. i have to get up there before it's good that out. it was my impression you spend a lot of time here over the years. your brother has provided for patrick's upkeep. here over the years. your brother has provided for patrick's upkeeplj can't be his guardian. has provided for patrick's upkeeplj can't be his guardianlj has provided for patrick's upkeeplj can't be his guardian. i assume joe discussed this with you. matt damon

was kicking himself. he dropped out at the last minute and casey affleck stepped in. he is a producer on the film, matt damon. he is, yes. it is good to see people like that fostering people like kenneth lonergan who might otherwise find it difficult to get movies made because they don't necessarily make a lot of money. moonlight, tell us about that. it is a fantastic movie by barryjenkins who is someone to keep an eye on. it is a tale of the young african—american boy and he has three distinct stages in his life as he suffers, he grows up with a mother addicted to drugs, he struggles with his sexuality. it is a wonderful, poignant, emotionally involving tale. it looks beautiful. it will have the best supporting actor. you never know. let's get a

clip of moonlight. did you hear? relax. i got you, i promise. i clip of moonlight. did you hear? relax. i got you, i promise. lam not going to let you go. i got you. very good. ten seconds. that right there, you in the middle of the world. no accusation for oscars -- oscars so white. we have fences, denzel washington starring and directing fences. naomi harris nominated as well. the academy got their act together on this? we can probably wrest the hashtag this year. seven out of 20 acting nominees are people of colour. lion as well, it is a fantastic film. it

is really refreshing. it is wonderful that the academy is beginning to finally embrace diversity. the academy in the 21st—century. arrival. diversity. the academy in the 21st-century. arrival. it is a cerebral science fiction movie. it is about aliens coming to earth but it is not an explosion —based movie. it is about amy adams, he is a linguistic expert who has to piece together this alien language and decide whether they are here for good or ill. it is a wonderful film. of the day is that it got a lot of awards. jamie adams, he is fantastic and is the emotional io awards. jamie adams, he is fantastic and is the emotional iq of the movie, didn't get nominated. she has been nominated five times but hasn't won. it wasn't her year, it seems. been nominated five times but hasn't won. it wasn't her year, it seemslj think she is absolutely fantastic. let's see a clip of arrival.|j think she is absolutely fantastic. let's see a clip of arrival. i am human. what are you? that is

incredible. nocturnal animals, amy adams in front as well. tom ford's second directing film. didn't get anything. bizarre. michael shannon was nominated for best supporting actor. it got nine nominations at the baftas. that split a lot of people down the middle. is pervasive film. people love it or hate it. the academy didn't go for it. michael shannon's nomination is interesting because aaron taylorjohnston won the golden globe for best supporting actor. wasn't nominated. that is the first time that has happened since 1975. the academy isn't so beholden to what has gone before. the critics choice awards and the critics circle awards and the guild awards, producers, screenwriters, they can maybe strike out on their own and forge a new path. they didn't do it quite as much before. there are

films i love that got no oscar this year, which is a real shame. a final film nominated for best picture is lion. i had the producer in here an hour ago. i was a happy man. this is a fantastic film. it is a year for heart—rending films. a fantastic film. it is a year for heart-rending films. it is only january. this is a true story, the stunning true story about a young boy who is separated from his family in india. he ends up in cork at 1600 miles away from his hometown. he is five years old, he doesn't speak bengali, he gets lost in his adopted by an australian family. 20 years later he tries to track down his family, which he could eat because ofa family, which he could eat because of a new invention called google earth. this is a wonderfulfilm. a good performance from the producer

of slumdog millionaire. he really comes into his own with this one. nicole kidman as his adopted mother got a nomination as well. la la land, your money is on that for best picture. it is. it would be a fight between la la land and manchester by the sea. you can't discount crowd pleaser is. what's interesting is that the oscars by and large have ignored the big blockbusters, the mothers —— the movies that make money. they do tend to take note of the crowd pleaser is ultimately, so a movie like hidden figures, which is coming out here in a few weeks, thatis is coming out here in a few weeks, that is doing well at the box office, so that mightjust sneak into the race at the last minute. good to see you. thank you for coming. right, time fora good to see you. thank you for coming. right, time for a look at the weather news. ford is the

headline story, some big batches already at the southern end of the m3, the 8303. badly affected by poor visibility. the fog will become more expensive, freezing fog across southern and eastern parts of england, travel disruption certainly likely as we hit through the night and into tomorrow morning. check out your local bbc radio station if you are concerned as you hit out. you can see the extent of the fog. cold and icy surfaces. further west than such problems. it will be mild and breezy. dampness in the west of scotland. look at those temperatures compared to the south—east. another wintry start. we have heard several nights when we have got off to a frosty start in southern and eastern areas. that would be the case tomorrow. the fog will lift into the cloud that will they could chilly to the afternoon. the best sunshine across south—east england, wales, northern counties of england. north—westwa rd northern counties of england. north—westward be cloudy but if you degrees lower than today in the

south—east. on thursday, it looks as if it will turn even colder. some places on thursday might struggle to get above freezing. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. president trump has signed executive orders to reverse blocks on two major oil pipelines in the us. we will build our own pipeline. we will build our own pipes. that's what it has to do with, like we used to in the old days. the uk supreme court has ruled that parliament, not the government, should be responsible for triggering the brexit process. we'll report from westminster and from brussels. israel has approved plans to build 2500 new homes in the occupied west bank, the second announcement of new construction since president trump took office. and not a good day for the bookmakers, just as we thought, la la land is leading the way in the oscar nominations.