this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm: labour accuses ministers of offering a "sweetheart deal" to a conservative council to drop a referendum on more council tax for social care. rolf harris is cleared of three historical sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. a major brexit milestone — mps vote tonight on giving the prime minister the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu. i'm ben brown from westminster — with reaction and analysis building up to that brexit vote at 8pm tonight. a woman denied her late long—term partner's pension wins a landmark appeal that could affect millions of co—habiting couples. i'm jane hill. in the next hour, warnings of a catastrophic famine looming in yemen. the united nations launches an appeal for money, saying more than three million people are facing acute malnourishment. and alan simpson —

one half of the writing duo behind classic sitcoms including steptoe and son — has died at the age of 87. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has accused the government of doing a "sweetheart deal" with conservative—led surrey council to avoid a controversial referendum. mr corbyn asked theresa may to "come clean" about how much money had been offered to surrey county council to drop a vote on a fifteen per cent rise in council tax in order to pay for social care. the local authority has denied there was deal. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminsterfor us. norman smith is in westminster.

simon, thank you very much. well, social care has dom thateed the headlines fore weeks now with growing concern about the pressure that those services are under. today it took a political turn with a suggestion of a sweetheart deal between the government and conservative surrey council to avert a referendum surrey are planning to hold to raise council taxes by 15% to pay for their local social care services such is the pressure they're under. services such is the pressure they‘ re under. this services such is the pressure they're under. this followed leaked texts obtained by jeremy they're under. this followed leaked texts obtained byjeremy corbyn between the leader of surrey council and an unnamed official in the department for communities and local government called nick in which there is a suggestion that an agreement was reached which enabled them to call off the referendum. let mejust read you them to call off the referendum. let me just read you one of the text m essa 9 es me just read you one of the text messages sent from the council

leader david hodge to this unidentified individual. he says, "nicki unidentified individual. he says, "nick i have received clarification from my chief executive. the numbers are acceptable for me to call off the r. i think we can all guess what the r. i think we can all guess what the r. i think we can all guess what the r stands for, the referendum! he goes on to say, "i really want to kill this off." now, mr corbyn‘s suggestion was that is evidence of a secret sweetheart deal between the tory council leader and the government to stop a highly embarrassing referendum prompted by the pressure on social care. listen to the exchanges in the commons. the crisis is so bad, david hodge planned to hold a referendum for a 1596 planned to hold a referendum for a 15% increase in council tax. and at the last minute it was called off.

can the prime minister tell the house whether or not a special deal was done for surrey? the decision as to whether or not to hold a referendum in surrey is a matter for the local authority in surrey. because i've been leaked copies of texts sent by david hodge intended for somebody called nick. these texts read, "i'm advised that dclg officials have been working on a solution and you will be contacting me to agree a memorandum of understanding. will the government now publish this memorandum of understanding and while they're about it, will all

councils be offered the same deal? what we have, what we have given all councils is the opportunity to raise a3% councils is the opportunity to raise a 3% precept on the council tax for that to go into social care. now, the reason this is such an explosive political issue because it points to the very heart of the controversy of what is happening in terms of social care provision across the country, but more than that, surrey is perhaps the wealthiest council in the whole of the uk and one is forced to ask if surrey are struggling to provide adequate social care then what on earth is happening in other parts of the country? on top of all that, the suggestion that surrey, solidly conservative council, with the chancellor and the health secretary, both local mps, was poised to raise council tax by 15% sounded alarm bells in government because of the

fear that would hit the so—called just about managing. people who were just about managing. people who were just getting by. the people who theresa may has said she will try to protect. now, surrey have put out a statement. this is from the council leader david hodge. he says: "surrey‘s decision not to proceed with a 15% council tax increase was ours alone and there has been no deal between surrey county council and the government. however, i am confident that the government now understands the real pressures in adult social care and the need for a lasting solution." you get a sense that david hodge has made his point about the plight of social care. norman smith, thank you. joining up health and social care services in england is one of the government's big ideas for easing the pressures on the health service.

but according to a report out today, efforts to treat more patients in the community have neither saved money, nor taken pressure off hospitals. the scheme, called the better care fund, was meant to save the nhs £0.5 billion in its first year. the department of health insists it's too soon to judge the success of its plans. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. bringing together the care received in homes like this one and the wider nhs is more complicated than it seems. the aim is to prevent people from being admitted to hospital in the first place, but when they are, get them home quicker. some solutions are simple. this distinctive red bag contains patients' notes, and it travels with them to hospital, meaning less confusion over their treatment. we've been able to reduce length of stay for those care home residents who go into hospital by four days which is massive when you think how the system is so stretched at the moment. today's report says introducing joined up care has proved harder than the government anticipated. so far more than £5 billion of nhs and council money has failed to cut hospital admissions.

in 2015, the aim was to reduce emergency admissions to hospital in england by more than 100,000. but the following year admissions actually went up by more than 80,000, costing an extra £300 million. and the number of days lost because people were stuck in hospital was meant to be reduced by nearly 300,000, but in fact went up by 185,000. mps who looked at the plans two years ago say they warned then the scheme was flawed. they need to look at why this isn't working. what is it that's stopping the beds being available even when there is, at least in the short term, some money being thrown at the issue? despite today's criticisms of the efforts so far, most health experts believe integrating care is the right way to go. i think in future the key will be managing people more effectively in the community. that will require more resources, but it also requires the way services are organised so that elderly people, for example,

who have lots of different complex conditions, are more effectively managed in their own homes rather than having to be referred into hospital. the department of health in england says it's too soon to judge the impact of the better care fund. but today's report shows bringing together health and social care is a complex task that will take time. on friday on the bbc news channel, we'll be answering your questions and listening to your suggestions on how the nhs can tackle the looming financial shortfall and deal with the challenges that obese and ageing parts of the population are bringing to bear on it. we'll be getting experts to answer your questions and respond to any suggestions you may have. please get in touch by text us or send an e—mail or contact us via twitter using the hashtag bbc ask this. the entertainer, rolf harris, has been cleared of three

sex offences by a jury at southwark crown court. but the jury couldn't reach verdicts on four other charges. earlier our correspondent dan johnson told us what will happen now. well, now the prosecution against rolf harris has to decide what it wa nts to rolf harris has to decide what it wants to do. whether it wants to push for a retrial on the four outstanding counts. they've got a week to make the decision. so rolf harris has been taken back to prison because he's serving a sentence because he's serving a sentence because of previous convictions. so although he has been found not guilty, he can't walk free from court today. he will back in prison continuing his original sentence and awaiting the decision on whether he'll face a retrial or not. a woman has won an appeal to the supreme court after being denied payments from her late long—term partner's occupational pension.

a woman has won an appeal to the supreme court the appellant, from coleraine, northern ireland, challenged a ruling she is not automatically entitled to a "survivor's pension" as she would have been if the couple had been married. five supreme court justices unanimously ruled she is entitled to receive payments under the pension scheme. denise joins us now form belfast. it is good of you to talk to us on bbc news. is this decision from the supreme court sinking in with you now? not really. i have been so busy today with interviews and stuff. i think when i go home to my family and let the dust settle then it will. so it has been a long journey and it might take a wee while to let it absorb. yes, of course. a long

journey as you say. i think it would be interesting for viewers to hear about that because we should explain that you lived with your partner for more than ten years. so you were very much a couple and so your fight to get these pension rights, was it purely a financial imperative on your part? could you not live without those pension benefits or was there a bigger picture for you here? well, yes, although we lived together for ten years, we were together for ten years, we were together for ten years, we were together for 15. this was something that was a personaljourney because lendy and i discussed what our future. listeny told me this is what i would be entitled to and yes, the financial burden from the loss of his income coming into the household was immense. it was so emotional with not only losing lendy, but then the financial security and then to be told that you weren't going to get the pension that lendy had told

me that i was entitled to, well that was just another knock that i wasn't prepared to take. yes. just to explain to viewers who perhaps don't know what happened here, the point is had you and lenny been married, this would not have been an issue, you would have been entitled. although you weren't married, you had been to go for a long time. there was a form he was meant to fill in to say should the worst happen you would receive the been fits. when you were told he hadn't filled in that form, what on earth went through your mind at that point? well, i believed that the form at that stage had been filled in. i believed that lenny had put it m, in. i believed that lenny had put it in, whether the form got lost in the transit, things changed with the local government pension schemes as a result of that as well. i couldn't believe it. i thought this is something that you know that he has told me and you're thinking ok at

least i'll ok financially, but then you're told no, you can't. it was just like rubbing salt into your wounds that, you know, and it was so, so difficult at that stage and this was just an extra burden that i was going to have to now take on. yes. and at such an incredibly difficult time, of course. i mean that goes without saying and you have our condolences for an extremely difficult journey. have our condolences for an extremely difficultjourney. what about the future now? what do you think about the fact this this ruling from the highest court could impact positively on so many couples like you? impact positively on so many couples like you ? couples impact positively on so many couples like you? couples who live together, but aren't married? it is a very, very positive impact. i'm sure lenny would be very pleased that this, there is a positive in such a drastic painful circumstances. that other people are going to benefit. that there will be families with children that it's going to lessen

their pain. you can never take that, you can never ever take away the pain that people are going to suffer losing such a loved one, but maybe to soften that financial burden and imean to soften that financial burden and i mean this is a fund that people have paid into this scheme. myself and lenny both paid into that scheme like otherfamilies and lenny both paid into that scheme like other families would have paid into that scheme. if they weren't going to receive the money that they paid into the scheme, that money is just going to be lost to fuel the funds of other members that the member did not know. denise brewster thank you very much indeed for agreeing to talk to us. thank you. bye—bye. the bill giving theresa may the power to start the process of leaving the eu reaches its final stages later today. debate is underway in the house of commons, with the last

vote expected around 8 o'clock this evening. it could cause more divisions in the labour party. its mps have been told to back the bill. let's go to ben brown, who's outside the houses of parliament. there he is, ben. yes, simon, thank you very much indeed. the debate continuing. we've had three days of debate and voting this week. this is the final day of the commons scrutinising the european union notification of withdrawal bill as it is known. as you say we'll get the key vote at 8pm, but before that, a string of amendments will be voted on. one of the amendments we think will be on whether there should be a unilateral decision by the uk government to grant eu nationals living in the united kingdom the right to stay. let's get this report from carole walker. have you seen off the rebels, prime minister? the prime minister hopes that by tonight she will be a significant step closer to beginning the formal brexit negotiations.

last night the government comfortably won a series of votes on the bill to trigger article 50. the ayes to the right, 293. there are more votes later but ministers hope the legislation will complete all its commons stages tonight. good morning. for once the labour leader wants to support the government. he has ordered all his mps to vote for the bill. but that has already led to three resignations from his shadow cabinet, and there could be more. the shadow business secretary clive lewis said he has yet to decide how he will vote. it's a really tough call and i think lots of mps are really having a tough time at the moment on this one. one final thought, if you defy the whip tonight, will you resign your position in the shadow cabinet? i think if you defy the whip, you do resign. questions to the prime minister. in the commons, the prime minister was challenged by the snp leader who said she did not have support in scotland to press ahead with the brexit negotiations. so given that the scottish parliament has voted overwhelmingly against her approach, and all bar one mp representing a scottish constituency in this house of commons has voted

against her approach, she does not have an agreed uk—wide approach. theresa may insisted she would negotiate for the whole of the uk. the supreme court was very clear that the scottish parliament does not have a veto on the triggering of article 50. the bill that is going through the house obviously is giving the power to the government to trigger article 50. the bill also has to be considered by the lords but ministers are confident they will get it through parliament in time to start the formal brexit negotiations by the end of march as planned. of course that will be just the start of the much bigger battle with other european leaders over the terms of our departure from the eu. well, let's pick up on some of those points. i'm joined by

well, let's pick up on some of those points. i'mjoined by nicky well, let's pick up on some of those points. i'm joined by nicky morgan, a remain campaignerand points. i'm joined by nicky morgan, a remain campaigner and stephen gete ns a remain campaigner and stephen getens from the snp, the europe spokesman. nicky morgan, first of all you believe you've got a concession from the government on what happens when this comes back to parliament and when theresa may has negotiated a deal and puts that to mps. explain what that concession is. we think that yesterday the government did give clarity about the fact that confirmation there will be a final vote and when that final vote will be before any agreement is signed and before it gets debated on and voted on by the european parliament. and that is very important. it's important to have that clarified on the record in the house of commons. i would have liked the government to go further and say that we were going to get a vote in any event, even there is no agreement because i think that constituents expect their mps to have their say on this huge change for our country in all circumstances. i think if the government keeps parliament involved, they will take us with them, not everyone is going to

ee, them, not everyone is going to agree, but i think the government's backbenchers will support the government over the next couple of yea rs. government over the next couple of years. you went to downing street with other mps and you were given that concession as you characterise it by the prime minister? yes and that was the words that david jones read out, the minister, at start of the debate yesterday afternoon. he made an intervention, an interruption on the shadow brexit spokesman to clarify the wording and that was wording that was discussed in downing street. why do you think theresa may wanted to make, if it is a concession, why do you think she wa nted a concession, why do you think she wanted to do that? well, i think the prime minister has been very clear that she does want parliament to be involved and i think she has been clear that she wants parliament to have a say before the european parliament. it must be right, now that's why the supreme court case happened, which is that parliament sovereignty means parliament must be involved in this important process and not just when involved in this important process and notjust when it's all done and dusted, but i think there will be more pressing on that as we go and particularly i suspect there will be more discussion on this in the house

of lords. stephen gethins, the supreme court said that scotland doesn't get a veto? well, it's extraordinary, isn't it? we have been told this will be a union of equals and we have a decision in the parliament that will have an enormous impact. that they're going to get no say whatsoever. it is disrespectful to the devolution process. but she's right, isn't she? that's what the supreme court said? well, actually, no, the supreme court said if you have a sole motion, the uk parliament has never legislated on an issue that's the responsibility of the scottish parliament, the agriculture, fisheries and energy, areas that we share with the eu without the permission of the devolved administration. this will be unique. the decision that's taken tonight will have a significant impact on each and everyone of us across the uk and a very significant impact on

the scottish parliament's responsibilities. to to avoid that scrutiny strikes me they don't have the courage of their convictions and they are unsure about what happens. we have seen the prime minister running away from scrutiny that would be normal where we deciding any other issue. nicky morgan this agreement that you and others have got from the prime minister to have this vote on whatever deal she gets, but people are saying it is a take it or leave it deal really. if you don't like what she has negotiated, what's the alternative? well, we think that's why we want the debate and the vote to happen early enough in the process that we can really look at what has been agreed. what is on aufrl. and i think some of the language yesterday used by the minister, take it or leave it, or we're off doesn't help. the prime minister has talked about bringing people together, the need for unity and look, there are lots of people like me who campaigned to remainment we didn't win that argument. we are going to leave the european union.

but i would say let's do it in a way that people have an opportunity to have their input on behalf of their constituents and that's really, really important. not just constituents and that's really, really important. notjust say constituents and that's really, really important. not just say take it or leave it, we're off. these are the rules because that's not going to work. but if you don't like her deal and you say go back and negotiate another kind of deal, she won't listen to that? it will be difficult. that's why involving parliament in the course of the next two years parliament in the course of the next two yea rs is parliament in the course of the next two years is critical and one of the things we debated this week was regular updates to parliament. it is really important that people know what's being negotiated. not that we wa nt to what's being negotiated. not that we want to tie their hands, but parliament should be involved so when we get to the final end there is no great surprises. thank you very much. as we were saying, we're expecting the key vote on the european union bill at around 8pm this evening. simon and jane, back to you. studio: ben, thank you very much. the inquests into the murder of 30 british holidaymakers in tunisia two

years ago has heard that armed police guards in the area were in a position to stop the attack but didn't respond as they should have done while tourists were being shot dead. richard galpin reports. we have to be aligned in everything we do... this is fraser ellacott, speaking in a video for staff at the holiday company tui. today he appeared at the inquest. at the time of the attack two years ago, he was a senior manager, and was responsible for the health and safety of tui's customers, including in tunisia. the islamist extremist who killed 38 people went unchallenged for more than half an hour and was easily able to get inside the hotel he targeted. gates were left open, and there wasn't even a control room to monitor the cctv cameras which were actually working. this morning mr ellacott faced a barrage of questions about why tui had not carried out security checks at the hotels it uses in tunisia, particularly as there was an earlier

attack in the capital tunis by islamist gunmen targeting foreign tourists. that was three months before the shooting spree at the beach resort. mr ellacott insisted it was not tui's responsibility, it was such a specialist issue security that he said it was the responsibility of the hotels, the local police and the government. yet the barrister representing the families of those killed pointed out that a security expert had e—mailed another tui manager, warning of a potential campaign of violence by so—called islamic state in tunisia after the earlier attack in the capital. and the barrister said tui had checked security at hotels after the sousse attack. it has also been revealed that the ministry of tourism had called for a comprehensive tightening of security several months before the attack at the imperial hotel near sousse. if there had been proper security in place, it is likely many lives would have been saved.

richard is there. that's a damning indictment of the way security services performed? absolutely, simon. we have had extraordinary evidence today, the total failure of the tunisian security forces to intervene to stop the attack. there isa intervene to stop the attack. there is a list which has come from an investigation by a tunisian judge and the summary of that report was read out today and in it he said the tourist police who were armed, they panicked and effectively ran away. they were only minutes away from the scene of the attack, but ran away in the opposite direction claiming that they needed more body armour and in fa ct, they needed more body armour and in fact, their commanders said they had enough. they could have gone in to actually stop this attack. like

wise, the national guard. they didn't intervene. they stayed on the outside until the gunman had finished the attack inside the hotel. like wise, the coastguard. they were there as well. they could have intervened. they had weapons, but one of them fainted and the other coastguard inside the boat stripped off his uniform and then mingled with the on—lookers. he was worried he would be singled out as a military officerment like wise, the mounted police, two of them, only a couple of kilometres away. they took 30 minutes to get there and a p pa re ntly 30 minutes to get there and apparently the cctv footage proves that policemen on a quadbike had deliberately slowed down so they never arrived in time. eventually, simon, it took 35 minutes before any officers arrived on the scene and by that time, of course, it was too late. 38 people were killed including 30 british tourists and one commander described this as

nothing, but simple cowardice carried out by members of the tunisian security services. we ought to mention the noise and the demostration behind you is to do with another case being heard and that's the case of marine a. that's right. it has been very noisy throughout. there is this inquiry into marine a going on. a lot of supporters of marine a who have been out here all day supporting him and support from a lot of drivers, taxi drivers as they've gone past. richard, thank you very much. richard, thank you very much. richard galpin there. now the weather. hello to you. more cloud today and it feels a lot colder across the eastern half of the uk. that's because we've more cloud. now, that cloud is heading its way gradually westwards, but just to show you cloud is heading its way gradually westwards, butjust to show you the cloud is bringing with it

wintriness. this was in aviemore. sunshine across the western highlands, but the sunshine has come out in aviemore. there is sunshine spells to come across the north—west of scotla nd spells to come across the north—west of scotland and northern ireland and west and the west of england, but that area of cloud is a weak weather front and behind it, the cold airment you can appreciate as the cold air continues to filter westwards in the next 2a hours, the risk of the showers coming increases at lower levels by the end of tomorrow and through tomorrow night. you can see a few showers as we head through the night continuing to pester eastern areas. therefore, the risk of ice is quite high in these areas. further west, it risk of ice is quite high in these areas. furtherwest, it is risk of ice is quite high in these areas. further west, it is a cold night, perhaps not as cold for northern ireland which means not as much sunshine, but the best of the sunshine will be in the west tomorrow and the east maybe slightly less grey, but there will be a wintry mix within the showers and it will feel cold. louise will have more for you through the afternoon. serve

hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy and jane hill. the headlines at 3:30pm: —— hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy and jane hill. the headlines at 3:30pm: labour leaderjeremy corbyn has accused ministers of a sweetheart deal — ensuring surrey county councillors dropped the referendum on whether to raise council tax. rolf harris is cleared of three historic sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. mps will vote tonight on giving the prime minister the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu, triggering a brexit milestone. give some of your blood. just had it. that was just a smear! and alan simpson — one half of the writing duo behind classic sitcoms including steptoe and son — has died at the age of 87. in a moment:

—— week at it before the best line, it may have been just a pint to you! time to catch up with the sport at the bbc sports centre. great britain's fed cup team have made a brilliant start to life under the captaincy of anne keothavong. jocelyn rae and laura robson won the doubles against portugal, after straight set wins for heather watson and johanna konta in the singles had given gb an unassailable lead in their europe/africa group 1 tie. they face latvia tomorrow and turkey on friday. fantastic doubles. i know they have not played much together, but watching them you would never have thought that, and again they took charge and did what they had to do, so, yes, a clean sheet. what more could i ask for? leicester city are at home to derby county in their fa fourth—round replay tonight. leicester are only a point off the premier league's relegation zone after their 3—09 defeat against manchester united at the weekend. derby forward david nugent has retuned from injury and could be involved against his former club.

claudio ranieri is set to make changes to his leicester side whose priority is to avoid dropping down to the championship. i have to protect some players who are not very good and they need more recovery and more rest, and also i want to see and to give an opportunity to the other players, because the other players, they have a good quality and are worth a lot of money. that match is live on bbc1 from 7.30pm and there's commentary on bbc radio five live as well. football association chairman greg clarke says he will quit if the organisation can't win government support for its reform plans. a motion of no confidence in the fa will be debated in the house of commons tomorrow after five former fa executives said the governing body had failed to "self—reform." the commons culture, media and sport select committee will look at whether reform is impossible within the fa's structure, and new laws may be proposed. the funeral of baroness rachael heyhoe flint is taking place

in wolverhampton today. the former england women's cricket captain died last week at the age of 77. she polayed in the first ever women's match at lord's, against australia, back in 1976, and was inducted into the icc hall of fame in 2010. and i'll leave you with possibly the worst start to a men's super—g ski race in history. this is the the kazakhstan skier taras pimenov — looks good so far... epic face plan to fail. that is the equivalent of teeing off at the belfry and smashing it into the woods at the left... this is at the skiing world championships at st moritz, with pimenov finishing 50th out of 51. he didn't even finish last, there

was an israeli skier who finished sist. was an israeli skier who finished 51st. how can you finish worse than that! i am sure you could show them. laughter the independent police complaints commission says there is "evidence" that "a large number of documents were shredded" in may 2014 relating to a metropolitan police unit that investigates domestic extremism and disorder. with me is our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw. this is only emerging in the last hour or so. what details are emerging, what do we know? going back a few years, you will remember that in march 2014 the government set up an inquiry inquiry into undercover policing and that was in response to concerns about the way some units used undercover officers, how they were behaving. there were allegations that undercover officers had had relationships with people they were targeting, fathered children in some circumstances, so

assuming identities of dead children, and so on, saw an undercover police inquiry was set up in march 2014 and the metropolitan police commissioner publicly stated he had asked his force is not to shred any more documents, because there had been claims that there had been a massive shredding of documents relating to the stephen lawrence case. two months later, we now learn from the ipcc, may 2014, they say that there is evidence that a large number of documents have been shredded by the metropolitan police relating to the national domestic extremism and disorder intelligence unit, a bit of a mouthful, the amalgamation of three organisations carrying out a lot of covert work looking into public order, protest groups and that kind of thing. so these are serious allegations that the independent police complaints commission has now confirmed it is investigating, and

they say there appears to be evidence for the shredding of documents. has the met said anything in response to this? what are we hearing from the force? we have had a statement from the undercover policing inquiry, and he has said he is aware of instances whereby an officer may have circumvented or sought to circumvent steps taken to preserve material. he goes on to say," after the circulation of... to officers and staff to..." this is a serious matter, that he has confirmed there are no allegations around this and it is subject to investigation. it has to be said that if proven this would be a very serious matter. to deliberately destroy documents that would be of

releva nce to destroy documents that would be of relevance to a public inquiry, it would be very serious of course. what we do not know and what ipcc makes clear is why these documents we re makes clear is why these documents were destroyed, if they were, whether copies were made. it may be there is a mistake, and copies were made with document and it was only paper records destroyed. we will have to wait and see. all right, danny shaw, thank you very much for now. the united nations is warning that yemen is facing a "catastrophic" famine, with more than three million people facing acute malnourishment. it's launched an appeal for £1 billion. for more than two years there's been fighting between government forces and houthi rebels. in yemen after two years of war some 12 million people face the threat of famine. nearly 3.3 million people — including 2.1 million children — are acutely malnourished. at least 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting. the former head of mission in yemen for medecins sans frontieres and now operational manager for yemen, will turner, joins us from amersterdam. how has it got to this, because we

have been reporting on yemen for some time? that is right, and u nfortu nately some time? that is right, and unfortunately the situation has not got any better over the course of this conflict. civilians are paying a very heavy price in this conflict. in all aspects of life the living conditions are poor, the access to health care is critical, the health ca re system health care is critical, the health care system is on the point of collapse, and people are getting caught up directly through the active fighting going on around the country with air strikes, shelling, snipers, landmines, and then of course the indirect consequences whereby the social infrastructure is collapsing and people's need to survive is becoming all the more important, especially when access to health care is so critical, and

people are not able to even earn enough to pay for basic living needs. will, what that suggest is however much money is raised, and this is a huge appeal for more than £1 billion, the difficulty will be making a difference once you have got the money, getting the aid, getting water, to those that need it? well, that is true to some extent, but it is possible to deliver assistance. it is not easy in yemen. there is an act of conflict, but the country is accessible. there are ways to get aid into the country and there is need for a massive scale up in humanitarian assistance. if we look at health care, this is one of the most affected sectors, and there is simply not enough supplies, civil servants, government health care workers, they have not been paid salaries since august. basic things

such as fuel to run generators is not there, and there can be more done. msf is working across many areas including some of the most affected, but that does need to be achieved, a rapid scale of humanitarian assistance. will turner, thank you very much for your time. as part of nhs week, we are speaking to experts across the country to get a feeling for how the health service is working where you are. there are lots of pressures on the nhs to save money, and one method to achieve this is to have webcam consultations. one hospital has been using this method for a few years — airedale general hospital in keighley — and it's about to be rolled out nationally. we have been hearing more about how it works from our health correspondent

jamie coulson. yes, we can speak to doctor helen livingston, a consultant in palliative care. how important is it to be able to offer this as a service to those approaching the end of their life? think it is vitally important to support people. one of the big things people speak about is being able to be cared for in the place they need to be and what that does is enable that. experienced health care professionals on the end of the telephone to understand their illness and can support them at home. get someone on a computer can pick upa home. get someone on a computer can pick up a telephone 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, they can get someone who knows their case? yes, 20 four sevenths service, who knows their case? yes, 20 four seve nths service, so who knows their case? yes, 20 four sevenths service, so the experienced health care professionals have access to their health care records

-- 24/7 access to their health care records — — 24/7 service. access to their health care records —— 24/7 service. they can support the patient. often it is carers who also need support at home to be able to keep people at all because the majority of people want to be at home. so this is notjust a physical service, then, it is actually an emotional support you are offering? absolutely, yes. ithink emotional support you are offering? absolutely, yes. i think that is one of the key things in being able to enable people to stay at home at that point in their lives, they need the carers to feel confident. what the carers to feel confident. what the nurses here do is help them with that, help them feel confident. that they can manage and that they have a plan. three federal appeal judges in california have been hearing arguments for and against reinstating president trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven mainly muslim countries. a short time ago, president trump made a speech, where he urged the court to reinstate the travel restrictions. i don't ever want to call a court biased so i will not do that, and we have not had a decision yet, but the courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for ourjustice

system if they would be able to read the statement and do what is right, and that has to do with the security of our country, which is so important. right now we are at risk because of what happened. a little earlier we spoke with our washington correspondent kim ghattas, who gave us her insight into president trump's comments. what president trump was saying there is that he believes that the executive order issued in essence be reinstated. if we take our viewers back just reinstated. if we take our viewers backjust a reinstated. if we take our viewers back just a few reinstated. if we take our viewers backjust a few days, president trump is —— issued the executive order in essence shutting out people from seven predominantly muslim countries out of the usa. that executive order which caused a lot of chaos at airports and in countries around the world, with people trying to get into the usa with valid visas, green cards, dual

citizens, that executive order was then suspended when a federaljudge in the state of washington ruled that it should not apply, that it was not constitutional, so it was suspended, temporarily, and of course the justice suspended, temporarily, and of course thejustice department is appealing, and that has now gone up toa appealing, and that has now gone up to a second level of the judicial branch, and yesterday at the circuit court of appeals in san francisco, threejudges heard the court of appeals in san francisco, three judges heard the cases and the arguments made by both sides, by the attorney general representing washington state and by the justice department. the justice washington state and by the justice department. thejustice department we re department. thejustice department were saying that the executive order was based on national security concerns, that it should be reinstated, that the ban should be reinstated, that the ban should be reinstated, and the washington state attorney general argued it was unconstitutional, mostly because they see it discriminate against

muslims. and we expect the court will rule possibly sometime this week, and whoever ends up losing the argument, whether that is the justice department or washington state, it is likely this will then go to the supreme court. for another appeal. but what president trump was saying there was in essence litigating this in public, which you would assume the judges on the court of appeals are not going to be too happy about. he also tweeted this morning to say that in essence this should go his way, that they should wind this court case, otherwise no one in the usa is safe or secure, and he will be criticised for that as well —— win this court case. he is in essence pitting the people against the courts, and deflecting responsibility for any future potential terrorist attack. that was the latest from washington, dc. we

will have all the business news shortly but firstly a reminder of today's headlines. labour has accused ministers of offering a sweetheart deal to a conservative run council, to persuade it to drop a referendum about raising council tax in order to pay for social care. a major brexit milestone — nps vote tonight on giving the prime minister authority to start the formal process of leaving the european union —— mps. rolf harris is cleared of three historical sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. in the business news this afternoon... laying solid foundations — the house builder redrow has announced their half—year profit up 35% to £140m, and they bumped their dividend payment by 50%.

in a moment we'll hear from the boss. it's also a good day for commodities — that's things like copper and iron ore — their prices are on the up — rio tinto is the world's second biggest producer of iron ore and they have just returned to profit after a 12% jump in earnings. they are also increasing their dividend. and a woman who lost her long—term partner has won a legal battle that could improve the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector. denise brewster was denied payments from her late partner's occupational pension, because he didn't to fill out a form. she argued that she was the victim of "serious discrimination". reactions to the government's housing white paper have been mixed, but on the stock market, house builder shares have been doing pretty well. today redrow reported earnings. they published half—year results showing revenue up 23% and they completed nearly 2500 homes in the last six months. their ceo john tutte is upbeat about the housing white paper. lets except we do not have enough

homes in the country. the market... needs to be some changes to improve delivery of housing, and i think the paper tries to address a whole raft of measures, really, to bring collectively about an improvement in the number of homes that we build. it is good news there will be more pressure on local authorities to get houses in place, because 60% are not have plans in place, so to put them under pressure to do that will be good. and the measures proposed trying to speed up the planning system by putting some more resources into planning departments, having fewer conditions on planning progressions, all good news and

should help us bring things forward and assist with growth. walt disney's chief executive has warned that a trade war between the us and china would be bad for business. the entertainment company's boss told cnbc he was also critical of an executive order signed by mrtrump barring migrants and refugees from several muslim countries. the company reported a surprise drop in sales despite a strong performance from its theme parks and movie divisions. swedish car—maker volvo has reported a jump in it's 2016 earnings and is forecasting higher sales. the chinese owner geely is developing new models, aiming to secure a place in the premium auto market. and australia's prime minister malcom turnbull has expressed his concern over the pay of the boss of australia post. its chief executive earned £3.4 million last year — ten times the salary of the prime minister. quick look at the markets. the ftse 100 is in negative territory at the moment but rio tinto shares are leading the pack there, after the firm said it would pay larger expected dividend. that is it for

me. i will be back with more business news in about an hour's time. thank you. see you a little bit later. the comedy scriptwriter alan simpson who co—wrote steptoe and son with his partner, ray galton, has died. he was 87 and had been suffering from lung disease. alan simpson and ray galton worked together for more than 20 years. their work will also be remembered for hancock's half hour — and in particular the blood donor: david sillito looks back at his life. the partners networld recovering

from tb in hospital. they eventually got the attention of the comic tony hancock. we decided what we would like to do with him would be a half—hour, what is now called a sitcom, but in those days... we just call them, you know, half—hour storylines. nobody had done it. after tony hancock in a one—off comedy playhouse about rag and bone men. it was the birth of steptoe and son. in the 60s it was so popular the bbc were contacted by the then labour leader harold wilson. he was worried voters would not turn out if it was on before the polls closed. harold thought we would not get a turnout of labour voters... he wanted it out at half past eight?

yes, you wanted it out after nine o'clock or cancelled. was at home with scripts might have lasted a musical their lifetime... a petty trade recession when they are in power, thus avoiding any unpleasant memories... the partnership apart from one venture in the 90s was essentially over in the late 70s. but their brand of comedy, rooted in class and thoughts of ambition, was, in its day, all conquering. i'll be 110 by the time you've finished! alan simpson, a pioneer of the british sitcom. alan simpson, who has died at the age of 87. this is known as one of the most stunning free shows on earth, murmuration, and this is cumbria, where you can see the tens of thousands of

starlings performing their nightly ritual. dave guest has more. it's an aerial ballet with a cast of thousands, a mass of starlings flying in mesmerising harmony. the dictionary tells us this is called a murmuration. it also tells us the words been in use for hundreds of years, but why murmuration? nobody really knows the reason why it's called a murmuration. it's an interesting word, because they don't really murmur. it's a very old word. short answer — no one knows why it's called that. why do they form these patterns that move together in harmony? again, nobody really knows. there is some suggestion that they come together at dusk in a big group because it protects them from predation from the likes of buzzards or kestrels, but why they do this amazing aerial ballet before they settle down for the night, no one knows. and why this spot? why would they pick this spot? well, obviously, it's a stunning landscape — why wouldn't anyone want to spend the night here? and so, an audience gathers at sunbiggin tarn in cumbria for one of the greatest free shows on earth.

this, one of several murmuration viewings hosted by the friends of the lake district, who own this stunning stretch of land midway between kendal and penrith. i'm a reporter for my school magazine. you are a reporter? yes. sort of. like me. yeah! so you are going to report on this? yeah, i'm going to write it up on a computer. are you going to be taking some pictures and film as well? well, yes, hopefully if my mum's remembered her phone. the thing is, i have to try and capture it on my camera over there and if i miss anything, can i borrow your shots? yeah. and so, as dusk gathers, so, too, do the stars of the show. and they don't disappoint. absolutely beautiful, the noise and the commotion. they are just stunning, the sky turns black and it is just amazing. well, i have seen them

before in other places, but nothing like as big a show as here. well, someone estimated there were around 60,000 or so starlings out there. i'll take their word for it. i'm not sure how you would count them. then, as darkness falls, so, too, do the starlings, and it's curtain down on another perfect performance. dave guest, bbc news, at sunbiggin tarn in cumbria. absolutely stunning! time for a look at the weather. lets get all the latest details. the cold has started to arrive. there has been no real west east split with the weather today. fringes of scotland here, wheels and the south—west have seen the best today but the cloud has been spilling from east and here it has

been quite cold —— wales and the south—west. it will turn increasingly colder and any showers we we start to get which will push further inland could be wintry in flavour as well. this will be the story as we move out of wednesday into thursday with this cold easterly flow developing through scandinavia around that area of high pressure, sitting with us, and it will stay like that for the next few days. that means going through this evening, there will be a scattering of showers fairly light and isolated. some of those showers further inland, there could be a little sleet and snow in there, but we are more concerned with ice first thing on untreated roads, stretching down the eastern scotland towards lincolnshire. elsewhere there will bea lincolnshire. elsewhere there will be a light frost around, little more cloud, with temperatures holding up at three orfour degrees, cloud, with temperatures holding up at three or four degrees, but a start across the country, a lot of cloud generally. perhaps the western fringes nibbling away the little sunshine into the afternoon but across that east coast we are likely to see that nagging easterly breeze

feeding and off the north sea. yes, some of them close to the coast, rain and sleet, but further inland we could see some snow showers starting to develop, and it will feel quite raw out there, two or three degrees, rather disappointing. you will certainly need extra layers if you're out and about generally across the country, high is likely to peak at 67 degrees in the channel isles. into friday night, we could see the showers just drifting further inland —— six or 7 degrees. if that happens there will be more significant snow humility. not too concerned but there is likely to be a light dusting in one or two places first thing on friday morning across higher ground. chilly again on friday. those temperatures just a few degrees above freezing and the easterly wind making it feel rather chilly. out of friday and into the start of the weekend, the wind direction changes very slowly. there will be a subtle improvement in the

story, perhaps something a little less cold, perhaps the best way of putting it, rather than warm. four or5 putting it, rather than warm. four or 5 degrees, perhaps even sit in the london area by sunday afternoon, and it should steam largely dry. —— even six in the london area. this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 4pm: labour accuses ministers of offering a "sweetheart deal" to a conservative council to drop a referendum on more council tax for social care. rolf harris is cleared of three historical sex offence allegations. a jury fails to reach a verdict on four other charges. a major brexit milestone — mps vote tonight on giving the prime minister the authority to start the formal process of leaving the eu. i'm ben brown live from westminster with reaction and analysis building up to that brexit vote at 8pm tonight. a retired teacher who abused a string of children in thailand

is given 13 life sentences. i'mjane i'm jane hill. in the next hour, warnings of a catastrophic famine looming in yemen.