this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump says he will strengthen links with allies in the pacific region following north korea's missile launch. the commons speaker, john bercow, dismisses claims his impartiality has been compromised, after revealing he voted remain in the eu referendum. labour's deputy leader, tom watson, denies the party has been considering possible successors tojeremy corbyn. a group of retired bishops accuses the church of england leaders of suppressing the views of gay christians. also in the next hour: new zealand's stranded pilot whales find their way again. more than 200, stranded on a beach, are re—floated and head out to sea. la la land is in the running for a record—breaking haul at tonight's baftas, with 11 nominations. and in half an hour, we'll bring you the highlights from our inside out teams across the uk.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the united states and japan have condemned north korea for test firing a ballistic missile — the first such test since donald trump took office as us president. japan's prime minister shinzo abe said the launch was "intolerable", and president trump said the us stood behind japan, 100%. the missile flew for about 300 miles and landed in the sea ofjapan. rupert wingfield hayes has more. it's now thought the missile fired from north korea earlier this morning was one of these — a musudan intermediate range ballistic missile. it flew about 500 kilometres before splashing down in the sea ofjapan.

north korea's dictator, kimjong—un, had been promising to test fire a much longer range missiles capable of hitting the united states. that has not happened. instead, mr kim is almost certainly using the launch to crash this weekend party in florida. japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, has been spending it golfing with president trump. mr abe was very unamused by the intrusion. translation: north korea's most recent missile launch is absolutely intolerable. north korea must fully comply with the relevant united nations security council guidelines. then, in his response, president trump appeared to forget to condemn the north korean launch. thank you very much, mr prime minister. i just want everybody to understand and fully know that the united states of america stands behind japan,

its great ally, 100%. thank you. in south korea, the military made the normal noises. translation: our military is poised to respond immediately to any provocations from north korea that threaten the security of the republic of korea. missing from all of this so far, is china — the country that many think holds the key to stopping north korea. china's leaders say they do not want a north korea armed with nuclear missiles, but nor do they want the kim regime to collapse. with each new test, north korea comes a step closer to that goal of becoming a nuclear—missile—armed state. the prospect makes south korea and japan extremely nervous. but nobody seems to have any idea how to get north korea's nuclear genie back in the bottle.

rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. we will have the latest reaction from washington in a little while with our correspondent there. the commons speaker, john bercow, has insisted that his impartiality has not been compromised, after a video emerged of him declaring that he voted remain in the eu referendum. the parliament website states that "spea kers must be politically impartial." mr bercow is already facing calls to stand down, after saying last week that he would veto a parliamentary address by president donald trump. the latest comments, published in the sunday telegraph, were made at an address to students at reading university three days earlier. this may not be popular with some people in this audience, personally, i voted to remain. i thought it was better to stay in the european union than not, partly for economic reasons,

part of being within a trading bloc, and partly because we are in a big power bloc and because it is better to be part of a bigger power bloc in the world. earlier we spoke to the conservative mpjames duddridge, who has called for a motion of no confidence in speaker bercow. i'm incredibly surprised that the speaker now has expressed views on a number of issues — on brexit, on immigration, on state visits, on diplomacy. he is incapable of impartially chairing debates in the house of commons now and must go. but speaking to the bbc this morning, commons leader david liddington, defended mr bercow. i think had this been before the referendum, that yes, i would have had concerns. i mean, he said what he said, every member of parliament's responsible for what they say. what i can say is, i had more than six years for europe minister

under david cameron, and in that time i neverfound the speaker was shy of calling lots of people who were critical of the eu to ask me difficult questions. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent, susannah mendonca, and i asked her why impartiality is such an important issue for the speaker. if you actually look at the way it is written on the parliament website, it does say the speaker is supposed to remain separate from political issues, even in retirement. if you take that to the letter, he was talking about political issues. it is whether you considered to be any political issues or party political issues. on the european union, that was an issue that the conservative party we re issue that the conservative party were not united on. he is a conservative mp. he was not taking a party political line. certainly his

supporters have made that point. they also say that he expressed he voted several months after the vote itself. his spokesperson compared it to how he voted in the strictly come dancing final. isn't that a flippant response to what some say is quite a serious allegation, that he has broken with the president that has been established for centuries and for a very good reason? and also because it comes on the back of comments he made on monday about donald trump, which a lot of people took issue with, where he was talking about sexism and racism. he basically vetoed donald trump appearing in parliament. there are questions over whether he should be doing that. whether he has the power to do that. there are serious questions to be answered. although he has his critics, he also has a lot of supporters in parliament. he

is summary who is very much seen as the voice of parliament. he has not seen as the voice of government. he is not is speaker gives them an easy ride. he chose as people to speak you often have challenging points of view. basmati chooses. that is something that laid —— david lidington used as an example of a good thing, thatjohn bercow doors. certainly the labour party have said they have full confidence in him. there is an early day motion calling for a motion of no—confidence in the speaker. so far it only one signatory, james duddridge, the person who has come up with it. it could pick up strength. but the feeling that we get, certainly the government is saying it is not something they want to get involved in. in terms of opposition parties, he has got a lot of support. the feeling we are getting is that it is unlikely to end the up with him

removed. he is expected to stand down within the next year anyway. he gave that commitment funny was elected. exactly. there are those who have been coming to his defence, john whittingdale, for example, saying how it is not helpful to express saying how it is not helpful to ex press a saying how it is not helpful to express a vote of no—confidence in the speaker and he hopes the speaker honour his pledge to stand down next year. labour's deputy leader, tom watson, says the party's leadership is "settled for this parliament". speaking to the bbc this morning, mr watson played down reports that labour is using focus groups to test out the popularity of alternative candidates tojeremy corbyn. he said that this was ”not the time” for another leadership election. we've had a tough 18 months. we had a damaging second leadership election, so we've got an uphill struggle ahead. the polls aren't great for us, but i'm determined now that we've got the leadership settled for this parliament that we can focus on developing a very positive,

clear message to the british people in a general election. tom watson, the labour deputy leader. let's returned to the ballistic missile test by north korea and get some reaction from washington. the test came as the japanese prime minister was in talks with president trump. david willets is in washington. give horse some sense of how the white house has reacted 7 sense of how the white house has reacted? there was the impression given late last night when the news conference happened that donald trump didn't think this was important enough to make much comment on. you are absolutely right. he made a very brief comment. about 2a words. basically giving 100% support to japan. but clearly, i think, taking some time to reflect

on this, and to try to work out, i suppose, where the united states goes from here. it is interesting that the north korean leader was the first to catch the attention of what was then president—elect donald trump on the ist of january this year. he said that north korea was in the last stage of preparations to fire a in the last stage of preparations to firea —— in the last stage of preparations to fire a —— and intercontinental ballistic missile, to which donald trump responded simply, it won't happen. but no of corsi is president. he is installed in the white house. he has to work out what to do about north korea. a question that has vexed many of his predecessors, going back all the way to george bush senior. they have tried talks, they have tried sanctions, neither of which i work. just the other day, james mattis, the us defence secretary, was in

south korea. it was his first port of call, actually, after being confirmed in office. he said in south korea that any use of nuclear weapons by the north would be met by what he called an effective and overwhelming response. what it amounts to is not terribly clear. some people here say the only option apart from a military strike, which would be very risky, that donald trump has, is to lean more on china in an attempt to use its leveraged as the main backer of north korea, to dissuade it from carrying out these sort of tests. we will wait and see. let me ask you about one other story that continues to dominate the coverage of president trump's first few weeks in office. that is his attempt to stop people travelling to the united states from seven countries he says are a

terrorist risk. reports today that the white house official —— aidan white —— a white house official said it was an abuse of power. it is supposed to be but checks and balances. yes, it is. it is, if you like, parfor the balances. yes, it is. it is, if you like, par for the course balances. yes, it is. it is, if you like, parfor the course here. donald trump had criticised several of thejudges donald trump had criticised several of the judges involved donald trump had criticised several of thejudges involved in donald trump had criticised several of the judges involved in this whole affair, calling one of them a so—called judge, on twitter. affair, calling one of them a so—calledjudge, on twitter. it affair, calling one of them a so—called judge, on twitter. it is the sort of language this administration is not afraid or averse to use. i have to say, there are those here who think in this particular context it doesn't greatly help their case. meanwhile, there are further suggestions this morning here that the president may be looking to issue a new, a modified, rewritten executive order, possibly as early as tomorrow. that

is regarding the travel ban. the feeling is that it is going to take so long, potentially, to fight this through the courts, with the guarantee, as such, it will be successful. the only way really to do it is to rewrite the executive order, addressing the concerns that have been expressed byjudges. intriguing prospect. thank you. medical teams have been called to hamburg airport, after reports that a corrosive substance was released inside one of the buildings. firefighters are still trying to identify the substance, which left 50 people requiring hospital treatment for eye irritation, breathing difficulties and nausea. the source was traced to a security check area, where passenger luggage is scanned by staff. the airport was closed for a short time but flights have now resumed. 14 retired bishops have written an open letter to church of england leaders, accusing them of failing to fully reflect the views of gay christians, in an official report on the church's position on homosexuality. last month, the church announced it did not support gay marriage. it said there would be no change to

its doctrine. the decision will be debated at the general synod later this week. helena lee reports. last month, the church of england decided its position on the divisive issue of sexuality. it followed three years of so—called shared conversations, and stated that "marriage should only be between a man and a woman." the church said all potential clergy, gay and straight, should be asked about their sexual conduct and their lifestyle. but 14 retired bishops have today expressed their concern that the views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members have been ignored. in an unusual move, they have written an open letter to the church of england, a group led by the former bishop of worcester. they entered those negotiations knowing that they would have to reveal themselves, in a circumstance that might carry a price in terms of their life and their career, their ministry, what was offered to them, how they were regarded.

and they nonetheless did that. and they feel that what has come out here is a betrayal in the specific sense that their voice is not heard. the church of england said the shared conversations were not changing people's views, but recognising jesus in people with whom the participants disagreed. the divisive debate over sexuality will continue, when the church's governing general synod will meet next week in london. the headlines on bbc news: north korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan. the launch is the first since president trump took office. the speaker of the house of commons, john bercow, is facing renewed criticism after a video has emerged of him declaring that he voted remain in the eu referendum. labour's deputy leader, tom watson, has said the party's leadership is "settled for this parliament".

things have quietened down a bit since the drama yesterday on the by since the drama yesterday on the rugby pitch. still lots to talk about. now let's get the latest from the bbc sports centre. good afternoon. we'll bring you six nations news in a moment, but there was something of a surprise result in the early premier league kick—off. chelsea could have gone 12 points clear at the top of the table, but a fantastic free kick from robbie brady earned a point for burnley, as they drew i—i with the league leaders. tim hague reports. time to up —— eye up the opposition for antonio conte. this was one of chelsea's toughest tests. burnley brilliant at home. the problem for them is chelsea are quite the travellers. six minutes in and their remarkable run at the top looked to be continuing. pedro ready, willing

and able. but burnley have seven wins ina and able. but burnley have seven wins in a row at turf moor. they also have a new record signing, robbie brady. money well spent, it looks like. they could have gone ahead, too, but for thibaut courtois. the goalkeeper glowing in the lancashire chill. john terry continues to watch from the sidelines like the rest of us. it was frustrating viewing in the second half. azpilicueta went close for chelsea. burnley get them very little to work with, orjust simply work them over instead. i—i little to work with, orjust simply work them over instead. 1—1 is finished. while the chelsea charge rolls on, no wonder he eyed up the opposition. this was a tough test. tim hague, bbc news. it is one point. for sure, we might bea it is one point. for sure, we might be a bit disappointed because we tried to win the game. we started very well, scored the goal, created chances to score the second goal.

and then this free kick, yeah. i think that we tried to win the game. chelsea are still ten points clear at the top of the table. leicester city are slippery —— slipping worryingly close to the relegation zone. the saturn in‘s game against swa nsea zone. the saturn in‘s game against swansea is vital for both teams. —— this afternoon's. claudio ranieri has described as the most important game of their season. scottish cup holders hibernian will face a fifth round replay before they can book a place in the quarterfinals of the competition. they were held to a goalless draw by edinburgh rivals hearts. in a match where chances were few and far between, it wasn't until the second half that the best opportunity fell to bjornjohnsen. unfortunately, for him and the hearts fans, marciano was equal to the effort in the hibernian goal. it is now 2—1 to rangers against

greenock morton in the scottish cup. in paris, scotland are playing france in the six nations. after an early french penalty, scotland took the lead when stuart hogg crossed for the first try of the game. a penalty and a tripod france in front at the break. —— and a tripod france in front. they held onto that lead until tim swinson scored the second scottish drive. it is now 16—16. 55 minutes have been played. we had a thrilling end to the game yesterday between england and wales. it looks like the same between france and scotla nd like the same between france and scotland today. ireland's women lead the way in the six nations standings after they beat italy in l'aquila. the first half was a low scoring affair, with both going into the break having shared a penalty each. but in the second half, ireland finally found some form and they dominated proceedings, running in a total of four tries.

this effort, right at the end of the game, the best of the bunch by hannah tyrell to give them a 27—3 victor, although they had left it late to get the bonus point with that try. away from the six nations, there was an extraordinary game at the top of the premiership where leaders wasps drew 35—all with exeter. the sides had been level at half time before exeter had jonny hill sent off. despite that, they took the lead with this try from 0lly woodburn. but wasps drew level once again, thanks to this score from joe simpson. that was the tenth try of the match. the result leaves wasps five points clear at the top. that's all sport for now. british athletics indoor team trials. you can keep up to date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. i'll have more in the next hour. thank you very much. there has been

a lot more action in sport this week and then there has been on south island of new zealand. more than 200 pilot whales stranded on a remote beach in new zealand, have now been helped back out to sea with the help of a high tide. they were part of a second pod of whales which had beached themselves at farewell spit on the country's south island. conservation officials say there's a chance the surviving whales may still turn back to the beach. just to warn you, you might find some of the scenes in this report by virginia langerberg distressing. weary volunteers form a human chain to help guide the remaining few whales out to sea with the help of a high tide. justjoy, just complete happiness that they're in the water floating. and they look like they are going out, so we're obviously making sure that they don't come back. this time, rescuers are buoyed by the success of saving most of this pod. it's been a pretty full—on couple

of days, to be honest. 0n the remote coastline of golden bay, it had been a exhausting case of deja—vu, after a second pod of about 200 pilot whales had become stranded just days after a group of more than 400 whales had accidentally beached themselves. the incident was new zealand's la rgest—known whale stranding since 1985 and the third largest on record. of the pod which became stranded on thursday, around 300 died before rescuers could reach them. while, in the latest pod to get stuck on farewell spit, 20 whales in a bad condition needed to be put down to stop those refloated from coming back to shore. i'm pretty unhappy myself, but that is the job and it needs to be done, just to stop those other ones coming in. conservationists aren't certain why beaching happens. one theory is that the shallow waters confuse the whales.

golden bay's shoreline, now a mass whale graveyard, as officials try to determine the best way to dispose of the carcasses. the surviving whales have been tagged, and we can only hope won't get stuck again in the murky waters of farewell spit, which is proving to be one of new zealand's greatest hazards for the pilot whale. virginia langerberg, bbc news. some breaking news. an update on the story we have been reporting earlier about the closure earlier today of hamburg airport following reports that people were suffering breathing difficulties, nausea, because of some non—substance that had been released into the air. it is thought to be in the passenger check—in area. we have had an update from the website of one of the leading newspapers in germany. the forest

service say a cartridge of peppers spray was found in a rubbish bin at the airport. it appears the spray had gone off and had been sucked into the air conditioning system and dispersed through the building, which is why people were suffering the effects of nausea, as i say, eye irritation and so on, breathing difficulties. a number of people had to be treated. four dozen people we re to be treated. four dozen people were treated. the airport was briefly closed. the fire brigade saying there have been a number of insta nces saying there have been a number of instances recently of people in and around hamburg letting off pepper spray. it is readily available. it has been happening in schools etc with people misbehaving. they are not treating this as a terrorist situation. pepper spray abandoned in a rubbish bin that caused the closure of hamburg airport briefly. hollywood's finest will be out in force in london this evening for the annual british academy film awards. modern day musical la la land leads the field with 11 nominations. we have been talking all afternoon

about my colleague, jane hill, who is down there. we have been talking about what you're going to wear. we can see what you are wearing now! will the star up things this evening? i do hope that everybody flying in from hollywood is prepared for this. they are coming from far sunnier climes. but they are all due here tonight. ryan gosling, meryl streep, emma stone... all due on the red carpet. eagle eyed viewers who follow this every year will notice we have a different venue. we are at the royal albert hall in london. let's see how that works. 0ne the royal albert hall in london. let's see how that works. one of the lovely things about the baftas every year is the huge number of members of the public to turn out for it, no

matter the weather. there are, i would say, at least thousand members of the public. they will have a cracking view of everyone as they arrive. and sign autographs and give interviews etc. some of them were telling me that you have to queue for a special wristband the day before to get access to it as a member of the public. people may know how incredibly cold it was in london yesterday. some of them were saying to me they queued for 18 hours to get that wristband. that's dedication. let's remind ourselves of which films are in the running for the awards. this report from will gompertz. welcome to la la land. the musical homage to hollywood, which leads the way with 11 bafta nominations. including one for the director, damien chazelle, and its two leads, emma stone as a wannabe actress and ryan gosling as an aspiring jazz pianist. andrew garfield finds himself among the best actor contenders for his role

as an heroic pacifist in hacksaw ridge. but he'll have to see off the hotly tipped casey affleck, who is nominated for his portrayal of a broken man in manchester by the sea. she sings off key meryl streep is in the frame once again, this time for her performance as the delusional florence fosterjenkins, for which she has a best actress nomination. it is a hotly contested category, with natalie portman the one to beat for playing the title role injackie, a biopic which tracks jackie kennedy's reaction to her husband's assassination. it's not easy for me to admit that i've been standing in the same place for 18 years! well i've been standing with you! i've been right here with you, troy! fences, the august wilson play about america in the 1950s, adapted and directed by denzel washington, sees his co—star viola davis get a best supporting actress nod. nicole kidman will compete with her for that bafta, having been nominated for her role as a compassionate mother in lion,

with dev patel playing her adopted son, for which he gets a supporting actor short listing. and who is you? nobody. i found him yesterday. as does mahershala ali, for his sensitive performance as a drug dealer with a heart in moonlight. it is likely, though, to be la la land's year, on a night which could have an added dimension of the possibility of politically poignant acceptance speeches. we'll have to see. what we do know is stephen fry will host proceedings once again, the duke and duchess of cambridge will be in attendance and mel brooks will be honoured with a bafta fellowship. with me here for the next couple of hours, film critic jason with me here for the next couple of hours, film criticjason solomons and fashion writer lorraine candy from the sunday times. a quick thought about whether we may get any surprises tonight, jason? will it

all be about lala land?|j surprises tonight, jason? will it all be about lala land? i love it so it wouldn't upset me. we could have a surprise. moonlight seems to me to be the one that could trip lala land up. it is charming. it has a bit more heft to add. —— it. lala land was great fun but what does it mean? it is quite la focused. will it go with the bafta voters? there are chances. i'd be surprised but that's what awards are all about. lorraine, what should we be looking out for on the red carpet, apart from thermal, frankly, tonight? well, it is the highlight for fashion from thermal, frankly, tonight? well, it is the highlight for fashion for the year. very exciting. a lot of yellow and pink and we have seen it already at some of the award ceremonies. there