hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. record numbers of patients in england spent longer than the target waiting time in a&e in december, figures leaked to the bbc suggest january was even worse. every patient stacked on a trolley in a corridor, not getting to the ward they need to be in, not getting the treatment they need is, for any of us, an individual system failure. the government denies abandoning the vulnerable after it stops a scheme allowing unaccompanied children into the uk. a new law designed to help protect people renting homes from rogue landlords is failing tenants, claim a group of mps. a report into safety failures, which forced 17 edinburgh schools to close, criticises the council for a lack of scrutiny over construction work. in a moment it will be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. as record numbers of patients are

kept waiting, we will speak to a junior doctor about the pressures the nhs faces. as one of donald trump's most controversial cabinet nominees, jeff sessions is sworn in as attorney general, we bring you the latest from washington. and what we re the latest from washington. and what were the first words ever spoken? scientists say orangutans may have the answer. that's all ahead on bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm mike bushell. mps have passed a motion of "no confidence" in the fa. wales look to be biggar, and up north, ahead of their big six nations match against england. and a year to go before the winter olympics start in south korea, we'll be meeting some of stars, who hope to make it a best ever winter games for team gb. thanks forjoining us,

first tonight then, mps in the house of commons have passed a motion of no confidence in the football association. there have been calls for english football's governing body, to reform itself for decades, but now they could face legislation, if they aren't seen to modernise from within. for more on this we can join our sports editor dan roan, who's outside wembley stadium. good evening dan. firstly, how much weight does this vote carry, and what sort of changes do they want, are we talking measures to help the england team? in terms of how much clout it carries, the answer is none,

officially. it's more of an embarrassment for the fa. after all, parliament today decided it had no confidence in the national sport's governing body. however when you consider there were only 20 mps in the chamber debating the motion of no—confidence in the governing body to reform itself, i think the bigger battle lies ahead. the government has already threatened the fa with tens of millions of pounds worth of funding cuts, if it doesn't start to reform itself. ithink funding cuts, if it doesn't start to reform itself. i think today was an important staging post, on what could be seen as the nuclear option. passing a bill in parliament to force its hand and tell it to reform. critics are unhappy with what they say is a lack of diversity and independence on the fa's main decision—making bodies, the council and the board. they are also concerned about the perceived dominance of the professional game,

in particular the premier league. they want changes. this all comes after yea rs of they want changes. this all comes after years of frustration with the fa and a perceived lack of progress. there has also been on field failure, with england, the sam alla rdyce failure, with england, the sam allardyce fiasco, off field scandals, for example the child sex abuse scandal in football. concerns about inequality in the game. the fa say its proud of its record. it's trying and is going to reform, and the chairman greg clark says he step down if he doesn't get his way. the sta kes down if he doesn't get his way. the stakes have been raised another notch by today's debate. the scottish fa are appealing against the fine they received for wearing poppies on their shirts against england last november. both teams wore the symbol to commemorate remembrance day during the england vs scotland world cup qualifier, on november 11th. the sfa say they have received the written reasons from fifa, and have told world football's governing body they intend to appeal against the £15,000 fine imposed.

it's been confirmed that the roof will be open for the big six nations match between england and wales on saturday. that suits england, who asked for that to be the case. our sports correspondent joe wilson has more. another training session to england, as they look to stretch this winning run in cardiff at the weekend. another change in starting line—up, jack clifford comes in to start in the back row. that area of the forward pack is where england are so inexperienced. in comparison to wales. 0n the wing, jack nowell will start this match. noel and clifford are expected to bring pace and directness to the england starting team. a key element of their preparation is that england shouldn't be daunted by that special cardiff atmosphere, where england

must indeed expect the unexpected. we are fully prepared to win. we are prepared for any shenanigans that might go on. we are looking forward to it. it's a great opportunity, we we re to it. it's a great opportunity, we were disappointed with how we played against france last week. it's a great opportunity to play in one of the great stadiums of the world. what are the shenanigans you are prepared for? they are cunning, the welsh, they always have been. they've got daffodils, they've got everything! who knows. cunning? meier! _iiie ....-..r- fl..u__._-7 but what wuh- 1517.47.77 but what wales wanted. good news for the welsh team ahead of their six nations match against england on saturday. george north has been named in that team for match in cardiff. the side are hoping that both he and fly half dan biggar will be fully fit.

north picked up a leg injury in wales‘ win over italy, although he did carry on playing. while biggar couldn't complete the game due to a rib problem. coach rob howley makes two changes with props rob evans and tomas francis taking over from nicky smith and samson lee. but as for north and biggar, it's still a bit of a waiting game. we've tried to prepared as best as we can, those two players will be given every opportunity to be fit. i think that's they are two experienced players, they are important players for us. george in the right channels and down through his experience and leadership. we will give them every opportunity to be fit. scotland were the other winners, on the tournament's opening weekend... and their captain greig laidlaw, says his team, have learned, how to handle pressure since coach vern cotter took over. two wins out of two, when they play france this weekend...

even though it's 18 years, since they last won in paris. when you travel away to france, the first instance in the game, the first instance in the game, the first thing you do in the game is very important psychologically for them as it is for us. we need to stay in the game, play in the right areas and not muck about for the first 20 minutes then we'll put them under pressure and upset their crowd a little bit. donnacha ryan and cian healy have been drafted into the ireland pack for their game against italy in rome on saturday. healy takes over from jack mcgrath while lock ryan replaces iain henderson, who's got a tight hamstring. johnny sexton is still suffering with his calf muscle so paddy jackson remains at fly—half. the super league starts tonight. the first game of the new season sees leeds rhinos at st helens. and there's a new team, leigh centurions, they are the first team to win automatic promotion

for ten years. tanya arnold has more. 0na on a chilly february morning, the 12 clu bs on a chilly february morning, the 12 clubs gathered to launch this season ‘s super league at the home of the newcomers, leigh. commentator: the ball is kept alive again. would you believe it! they were promoted last season believe it! they were promoted last season and are back in the top flight season and are back in the top flight for the first time since 2005. they intend to enjoy it. who knows. leicester city in the previous year, you never know. it'll be good for super leacock, a fresh face in here. we like to play rugby -- it'll be face in here. we like to play rugby —— it'll be good for super league. we wa nt —— it'll be good for super league. we want to put the town back on the map and some smiles on some faces. we can start the season as champions after beating warrington in last

year ‘s grand final. they face salford on saturday before taking on the nrl champions in the world club challenge. we wanted to get the friendlies out the way. it's been on a slow burn at the back of everyone's mind. it's something we've not achieved for a long time. we want to get our hands on that one as well. a nice opening match of the season as well. a nice opening match of the season sees two the game ‘s biggest rivals lock horns. commentator: that's a proper smash and grab! was there a wry smile from you when you saw the opening fixture against leeds? by other games you always wa nt to leeds? by other games you always want to play in. they are the big games. we went focused too much on them, we'll just worry about ourselves. hopefully we'll do what we wa nt ourselves. hopefully we'll do what we want to do and come away with the two points. it'll be a great one for

us. two points. it'll be a great one for us. the long road to old trafford sta rts us. the long road to old trafford starts in st helens. in eight months‘ time, the 2017 champions will be crowned. and you can find live commentary of st helens against leeds rhinos tonight on radio 5 live from 8pm. british sprinter james ellington says he‘s determined to race at the highest level again, despite being involved in a serious motorcycle accident last month. he‘ll undergo surgery at the princess grace hospital in london tomorrow, and faces three months in a wheelchair. it‘s the first time he‘s spoken in public since the crash, which happened on a sightseeing trip during a training camp in spainjust over three weeks ago. i was coming down a mountain, i saw headlights coming towards us in our lane. i think nigel tried to swerve,

there was nowhere else to go into there was nowhere else to go into the big name. as we swerved the car went back into the lane and took us out. the crazy thing is, i didn‘t get knocked out. at the time i wa nted get knocked out. at the time i wanted to be knocked out, because when i was on the floor and there was blood everywhere, and my leg was in pieces, my head was split open. i lost six pints of blood. i was laying there thinking, what the hell is going on? it was like a nightmare. we wish him well with his surgery tomorrow in hospital in london. great britain have beaten latvia to make it two wins out of two in their fed cup round robin group. both heather watson and johanna konta won their singles matches in straight sets. so britain had an unbeatable 2—0 lead heading into the doubles rubber, which they‘ve also won. the final pool c fixture is against turkey tomorrow. a year today, and the winter olympics kick off in south korea. team gb have high hopes that they will have their best ever winter games, beating the four medals they won in sochi three years ago. david mcdaid has been finding out how the preparations are shaping up. in pyeongchang, preparations are

into the home straight. south korea is ploughing more than £8 billion into their first winter olympics, and great britain are aiming to send around 60 athletes. overall the impressions are really good. the stadiums look great, the villages went quite at the same stage of construction, about 55% i would say. the build quality looks fantastic. i think our athletes are in for a treat. but south koreans may not be so confused. political corruption scandals that have led organisers to express concerns over public apathy towards the games. at least one athlete who is already one world cup gold in pyeongchang isn‘t worried about poor attendances. gold in pyeongchang isn‘t worried about poor attendanceslj gold in pyeongchang isn‘t worried about poor attendances. i didn't think so. i think especially with the short track, koreans love the

short track. i think a lot of this stuff has sold out quite fast. it is one of their national sports. kind of like football or rugby would be here. after a best equalling four medals at the sochi games, uk sport had more than doubled their investment in winter sports to more than £27 million. but with increased money, is that increased pressure to deliver? i try not to think that it brings more pressure. itjust allows us brings more pressure. itjust allows us to have more of the things we need to succeed. i think it takes a bit of the pressure off, because there‘s other things you don‘t have to worry about because they are in place. he worries the gb athletes, until at least they step on the start line is in one—year‘s time. two of team gb were in here earlier, and told us preparations were going well across the sports. i really think it‘s achievable, especially from the freestyle ski

side of things. if you look to skiing now with dave riley he‘s getting some great results. the freestyle snowboarding, there are two or three athletes getting podium results over this winter, which has been awesome. you‘ve got james would see who just won the x games. i really think it‘s achievable. see who just won the x games. i really think it's achievable. you see everyone coming through and doing so well. obviously you've been with them through the beginning of it all and through the last olympics as well. it's really