this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. after his national security adviser quits, donald trump is urged to rethink his policy on president putin. i think eventually the trump administration will have to adapt their approach with russia as a result. and in response, the president takes to twitter to vent his frustration in a series of angry tweets. also this hour: unions announce that tata steelworkers have voted to accept changes to their pensions, in order to protectjobs. tara palmer tomkinson died because of a perforated ulcer, and did not have a brain tumour, according to her sister. in the next hour: fresh divisions in the church of england. protests outside a meeting of the general synod as they debate the issue of same sex marriage. and harrison ford lands himself in trouble after flying his plane onto the wrong runway, narrowly missing

a packed passenger jet. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. donald trump is coming under increasing pressure as questions continue about what he knew about the events surrounding the resignation of his national security adviser. there are calls for a formal investigation after claims that the trump team were in contact with russian intelligence officers during the election campaign. the kremlin has since dismissed the allegations. president trump has hit back tweeting this in the last hour, saying that the allegations are a cover—up for hillary clinton's campaign. he then has also effectively accused the intelligence agencies of collusion.

and finally he has branded the intelligence leaks as "un—american". all this as he welcomes the israeli prime minister benjamin neta nyahu to washington, with one white house official saying a peace deal between israel and the palestinians may not come in the form of a two—state solution. our correspondent is in washington. you can gauge the president's mood by the amount of tweet. yes. these work early morning, between 7am and atm, a flurry came, presumably as he walk up to the news reports in the media, particularly this one that accused the trump team of having contact with russian intelligence during the campaign. that seems to have really caused him to blow a

gasket and accuse the fbi and other parts of the intelligence community of what he calls interfering in politics, which is enormously serious an accusation. some will raise an eyebrow at that because the fbi were accused exactly of the same thing during the campaign when they announced the reopening of an investigation into hillary clinton's emails ten days before polling day. i was emails ten days before polling day. iwas in emails ten days before polling day. i was in new hampshire when that announcement came through and donald trump was delighted about that. some will question how consistent the service. the main thing is that the whole issue is broadening out much more broad than it was before which was a question of whether his national security adviser lied to the vice president. it is all about

russia, its influence, its connections, and there will be questions on capital hill —— pressure on capital hill to ask tougher questions. conspiracy theorists, doesn't the president have a point? isn't it strange we can read verbatim what is supposed to be private conversation? yes. the fbi it seems that the intelligence service do seem to be rating a lot at the moment. some people who have left those organisations have involved last year perhaps. they are handing over to some senior people in the new york times and the washington post, handing over stuff that really ought not to be handed overin that really ought not to be handed over in normal circumstances. that shows you there is a stand—off, that is the best way to put it, a war is the worst way to put it, between

donald trump and his own intelligence services. it is not the first time, it flared up during the campaign and it has done again now. the fbi, leading the investigation into russia's involvement in the election campaign, i wonder whether the leader will be feeling as secure in hisjob as he the leader will be feeling as secure in his job as he was a couple the leader will be feeling as secure in hisjob as he was a couple of days ago. we will be watching twitter. malcolm nance is a former us intelligence officer, and author of the book "the plot to hack america: how putin's cyberspies and wikileaks tried to steal the 2016 election". hejoins me on webcam from philadelphia. asa as a former intelligence officer, this period is fascinating. what do you make of this stream of tweet that we are seeing from the president about the intelligence community? to be honest i think

these tweets are quite unhinged. this process has been going on for well over a year. there have been a lot of questions about donald trump's focus on russia, his seeming obsequiousness towards russia. people within the intelligence community are skiing why he seems to place a premium on his loyalty towards vladimir putin and not to the people who serve him every day and serve the nation of the day keeping us safe. however this most recent flare—up and the information which came out of the new york times, including the information with the resignation of general flynn, seems to lead to a much more serious place. it started as serious and we are moving towards sinister. is there a russian influence through

russian intelligence in the former kgb spy master in the white house? we will talk more about russia and a moment but in terms of the president's point, one of many today, but the point that some details seem to be leaking from the intelligence community, however we define that, to various newspapers, is their truth there? do you have qualms about how and when information gets into the public domain? he is correct, information is leaking. the news media is getting data from the intelligence community, congress itself, congressional staff, or staff within the administration itself. this could even be coming from people within the white house. that is true. there is an interesting component i have been disturbed with in the united states over the last few days where people in the trump

administration appeared to be saying that there is a measure of loyalty owed to donald trump. we serve and protect our nation with an of that swears us protect our nation with an of that swears us to protect and defend the constitution of the united states, not donald trump. we are a nation of laws, not men. that was seen 240 yea rs laws, not men. that was seen 240 years ago and therefore if we see a threat, if there is a threat and you have a chain of command where you cannot report up, it appears this leaking is the only way to get the information out. to daylight, this information out. to daylight, this information that could be had no way by the administration itself. do you still talk to former colleagues in that field of friends who work in the intelligence community? i am interested what their mood is. do they feel that their work is not

supported by this new administration? he made great play not long after the inauguration of going to meet some of them and saying i am on your side, you are going to be astonished. yes, i have many deep contacts within the intelligence community, people who are active and retired and i am on the board of the international spy museum in washington. the intelligence community is dismayed at this president. his visit to the cia, there were only 20 or 30 cia officers in front of him, everybody else was a contractor or security guard or his section that he brought. he stunned the cia with his behaviour in front of the wall of honour. the wall which represented the lost officers who have given their lives to defend the united states. he has a casual attitude towards intelligence. he seems to get intelligence from conspiracy theory websites like wikileaks.

these are anathema to that. he claims he is smarter and better than anyone in the intelligence community. these attitudes and behaviours are dangerous to this nation and do not represent any norm that has existed since the succession in 1816. he had better recalibrate his message at himself and this administration or we are going to be heading quickly to a constitutional crisis. it is the apparent links with russia that most concern you? absolutely. we do not know what the depth and breadth of debt donald trump may alter russia with regards to his real estate dealings. there is a lot of evidence out there but it would require the tax returns to show us who he is truly beholding to. he seems to have

this slavish devotion to vladimir putin that borders on pathological. we do not use words and phrases like this loosely in the intelligence community. we are trying to measure bias and temperate down but there is at least two pages of material drafted together from top—secret special sources presented to president trump commissioned by president trump commissioned by president 0bama revealing to hand the connections he had that could lead to blackmail. his first act was to attack the intelligence community and equate them to the nazis. this unhinged behaviour is not befitting any president of the united states and brings about suspicion as to why he seems to have a loyalty to russia, more than to his nation. thank you, a former us intelligence

officer joining thank you, a former us intelligence officerjoining us from philadelphia. tata steelworkers have voted to accept reforms to their pensions. agreements on changes to pensions have been seen as essential to future investment, including £1 billion at the port talbot plant in wales over ten years. a government spokesman said it was an "important step forward" and it was "now vital that all parties work together to deliver on the agreed proposals." let's go live to port talbot where our correspondent has the latest. was that the last hurdle before things were secured?” was that the last hurdle before things were secured? i think so in some respects. what has been holding up some respects. what has been holding up the deal was this pension situation. a huge pension deficit in the scheme and this changed towards a fixed defined contribution scheme was seen a fixed defined contribution scheme was seen as a fixed defined contribution scheme was seen as the best case scenario considering what else was available which was the scheme falling into the pension protection fund which was the worst case scenario. a few days before the ballot opened 17 days before the ballot opened 17 days ago there was some suggestion that the union members may not be

voting towards that that the union urged their members to do so. we can cross to the union. tell us why this was the last chance saloon. over time we have employed our experts, financial, pension and industrial, and this is the lesser of two evils. for the sake of the industry and the jobs and the terms and conditions this was the only alternative i am afraid. a cut on pensions but some sort ofjob afraid. a cut on pensions but some sort of job security? yes. the thought of tata walking away and somebody else coming in was not going to put other in a better situation. we have been for sale for a yearand situation. we have been for sale for a year and nobody has come forward with viable options that we had to ta ke with viable options that we had to take the advice we were given that this is the lesser of two evils and the way to secure the future of the steel industry for the uk. they had

some big proposals on the table, £1 billion investment and no compulsory redundancy over five years. are you confident that tata are going to stick to those pledges? that is the major concern. no, the workforce have made the sacrifice, tata have to live up to the commitment and the westminster government have to make sure they do. the workforce have made the sacrifice and tata have to treat the workforce with respect and i expect the government to hold them to their commitments. did you have shackles on because maybe you did not get the support from the government soon enough? yes. i expected the government to come out sooner. they were saying it behind closed doors but i expected something in writing. it is

important that tata loved by the values and support the industry and live to their commitment. it would have been nice to have had it earlier but i want them to look at the agreement that has been signed and hold tata to their commitments. we have had a statement from tata acknowledge the result of the ballot. we recognise it has been a difficult decision for employees and it shows they are doing everything to create a cyst in both future for the business. —— sustainable. the welsh government seeing the uk government should be doing more to cut energy costs. the headlines on bbc news: president trump says claims or contact between his team and the russians during the election campaign is nonsense. tata workers have voted to accept pension reforms. tara palmer tomkinson died

of a perforated ulcer and did not have a brain tumour, according to her sister. joe root speaks to the media for the first time as england test cricket campion and says he will ask former england skipper is for advice before taking charge officially injuly. greg laidlaw will miss the rest of the six nations with an ankle injury. manchester city women signed the usa captain and fifa world player of the year carli lloyd for the upcoming spring series. she is a world cup winner and double 0lympic champion. i will be back at 3:30pm. a woman has been arrested in connection with the death of the half—brother of north korea's leader kim jong—un. the authorities say they're hunting a number of other suspects

believed to be involved. in his suspected poisoning. south korea claims north korea is behind the killing, and says it shows the "brutal inhumane nature" of the regime there. kimjong—nam died at kuala lumpur airport, in malaysia, from where karishma vaswani now reports. is this one of the female assassins who carried out an audacious attack in the airport? authorities say a woman has been detained as part of the investigation into the alleged assassination of this man, kimjong—un. the strange half brother of the reclusive leader kim jong—nam. he fell out of favour in north korea and has been living in excile ever since. how he may have died is still unclear. the facts in this case are murky to say the least. there are a number of varying

accounts of what may have happened. what we do know is that between nine and ten o'clock in the morning on monday, a man believed to be kim jong—nam was attacked in this crowded and busy airport. police say he was accosted by at least one woman who covered his face with a cloth filled with some sort of burning chemical. after that, he walked over to the information counter to ask for help and was taken to a medical clinic one floor down. how could an attack of this nature take place in broad daylight in the middle of this airport? i asked a number of people who work here but no one was willing to comment. the police are the only one who can give you updates about the investigation. south korea insist that the man who died was kim jong—nam, brutally murdered on the north korean regime. translation: the government is certainlyjudging

that the murdered person is kim jong—nam. since the case is being investigated we should wait for details until the malaysian government makes an announcement. the focus of the investigation now moves to the hospital where the man believed to be kimjong—nam is being autopsied. his identity may not be discovered until after the results of the autopsy are released. that may not happen for another day. the sister of tara palmer tomkinson has revealed that she died from a perforated ulcer. last week tara was found dead in her chelsea flat at 45

yea rs old found dead in her chelsea flat at 45 years old and there was speculation about how she died. this afternoon ina about how she died. this afternoon in a series of tweets her sister, the author, said she wants to put the author, said she wants to put the record straight about some of those reports and makes reference to a coroner's report. according to heart the report states that her sister died of natural causes and in particular a perforated ulcer and peritonitis and did not, as had been widely reported, have a brain tumour. last year tara palmer tomkinson said she had been diagnosed with a non—malignant brain charmer. she was suffering from an autoimmune disease that causes tiredness. it was said last week she died peacefully in her sleep and thatis died peacefully in her sleep and that is what the family are saying. her sister said she had been in high spirits during her last few days.

she's edgy was happy and had been feeling good and was making plans for the future —— she said she was happy. they will be a private family funeral before the end of the month. a record number of people in the uk are now in work. official figures show nearly 32 million adults are in a job, 300,000 more than a year ago. unemployment also fell, in the three months to december. and there's been a fall of 19,000 in the number of workers from the eu, as our economics correspondent andy verity reports. this worcestershire based manufacturer of machine tools for the car industry has a problem. it wants to expand to meet demand for its precision parts, but it can't grow without the staff to do the work. it has been able to draw on a supply of skilled workers from the rest of the european union who make up a quarter of its workforce,

but now that supply is drying up. we are working with several recruiting agencies at the moment who have been trying to find me people for several months now. and the calibre of people that we require are just not out there. that is both indigenous population and overseas. the number of workers in the uk from the rest of the european union has been growing by hundreds of thousands per year, but to the right of this chart you can see how it stopped growing as quickly and in the last three months of 2016 the number dropped slightly. workers from poland, for instance, who were working in the uk, can buy less goods for what they earn than in their country of origin. so, you only get say, 90% of a washing machine for the same money for which you could buy an entire washing machine. that clearly creates a disincentive to come to the uk and work in the uk or to stay in uk. the official figures also break down where peoplejoining and leaving

the workforce were born. the number of workers... born in the uk dropped by 120,000 and the number of workers who weren't born in the uk increased by 43,000. many people would argue that we can't carry on with the immigration numbers that we have had in recent years. the effect of that must be that we get better at retraining our own workers, reskilling our own workers and bringing into the employment market groups that were previously not unemployed but inactive. for more than a decade the economy has grown used to large inflows of migrant labour which has created jobs owing to money the immigrants spend and allowed companies to find skilled workers where otherwise they would struggle. for many businesses who the conduct and for the growth migrant workers, a big adjustment is underway. further strike action is to take place on southern railway next week, part of a long—running

staffing dispute. members of the rmt will strike for 24 hours on february 22nd. both sides have blamed each other following the collapse of talks. southern has accused the rmt of an "obstinate refusal" to engage in meaningful discussions. the union says it was invited to acas under false pretences and so the talks quickly collapsed. a statement has come through from the parent company of southern railway which says we are disappointed that the rmt is going to heap further misery and disruption on the travelling public. we aim to run as full a service as we can. that is from southern's pa rent we can. that is from southern's parent company. these strikers on wednesday the 26 and february. —— 22nd. the prime minister theresa may is visiting cumbria, ahead of next week's by—election in copeland, which is, at the moment, held by labour.

it was triggered by the resignation ofjamie reid who is taking a job in the nuclear industry. 0ur political correspondent tom bateman is there and we can speak to him now. the nuclear industry is critical in this campaign. absolutely. not least because of the 10,000 jobs or so that many people from this area have at sellafield and because of plans to build a brand—new nuclear power station down the road at myreside. we have had some uncertainty about that this week. some doubts about whether it will stick with the construction of that plant. theresa may came and visited a school and spoke to some children and met the headmaster and the local conservative candidate. it is rare for a sitting prime minister to visit the constituency for a by—election that has been vacated by the opposite party. i think what you have here is the constituency that

has been held by labourfor as long as anybody can remember, since the early mid 1930 was the last time there was anything other than a labourmpfor there was anything other than a labour mp for this part of the world. jeremy corbyn desperately trying to hold onto their seat. it becomes a test of his leadership in terms of his electoral appeal. interesting chatting to voters because while there has been discussion about the nuclear industry and jobs which the conservatives say the party will protect and accuse labour of not supporting the industry in the past, what people are saying is they are worried about the health service and the roads and local train services and infrastructure, something labour says the conservatives have failed the area on. it is going to be a tough fight. we will get the result a week on friday. and the parliamentary by—election in copeland takes place on the 23rd of february. there's a full list of the candidates on the screen and it's also available on the bbc

news website. the hollywood actor harrison ford has been involved in a near—miss while flying his plane in california. he mistakenly landed on a taxiway where an american airlines jet was waiting to take off. us authorities say an investigation is underway. simon mccoy has this report and a warning, there's some flash photography coming up. it's not the hollywood star's first flying mishap. two years ago, the 74—year—old was seriously injured when his world war ii plane crashed on a los angeles golf course, when it lost power shortly after take—off. in the latest incident, harrison ford, who collects vintage planes, was just coming in to land atjohn wayne airport, to the east of los angeles. without naming him, the federal aviation administration confirmed that a pilot of a single—engined plane had been cleared to land and he had been correctly read back the clearance. but it appears the actor got a bit confused, and, instead of landing on the designated runway,

he touched down on a parallel taxiway. just before landing, ford is reported to have asked air—traffic controllers, "was that airliner meant to be underneath me?" the boeing 737 that was meant to be there had 110 passengers on board and took off safely a few minutes later. an faa investigation is now underway, and it could result in the suspension of ford's pilot licence. my my goodness, are there two of them? 0ne my goodness, are there two of them? one is enough! we have a lot of cloud across the uk and have seen some lovely sunshine, almost spring—like in the north—east of scotland. this is the rainfall on the satellite. you can see heavy rain pushing across south—east england into the midlands and edging eastwards a cross england into the midlands and edging eastwards across lincolnshire and east anglia. 0ver eastwards across lincolnshire and east anglia. over the next few hours. then out into the north sea

of two of the way leaving behind one or two showers, most of the rain coming into scotland with the wind. further south, very much, and quieter conditions, colder than last night. across southern parts later, maybe patchy fog that could linger throughout first day morning but it should brighten up eventually and we will see sunny spells and apart from 12—mac showers that will be drier. most of the brain in scotland coming in the west in the morning and later in the west in the morning and later in the day we will see rain in northern ireland. these are above average temperatures for the time of year. if you get the sunshine with the lighter winds it should feel quite pleasant. more hello. this is bbc news. it hasjust gone it has just gone half past three. the headlines... tata steel union members have backed a plan from the company to move from a final salary pension

to a less generous scheme. it includes a £1 billion... us politicians are calling for an investigation into the trump administration's links with russia. former national security adviser michael flynn quit yesterday over claims he discussed us sanctions with russia before donald trump took office. a woman is being held in connection with the death of north korean leader's half—brother in malaysia. police said she was arrested at kuala lumpur airport where kim jong—nam died following his suspected poisoning. tara palmer—tomkinson died of natural causes and "did not have a brain tumour", according to her sister. santa montefiore posted a series of tweets thanking people for their support but said she had wanted to "clarify" a few things. the church of england's ruling body is meeting to discuss of same sex marriage. the general synod will vote on a recent report, which said that marriage in church should only be between a man and a woman. sport, the bbc sports centre, rugby.

hello, simon. we will start with football to throw you. manchester city women have signed carli lloyd, today. she has scored 96 goals. including a 30 minute hat—trick in the 2015 world cup final. she joins for the spring series which begins in april and says she will be here for the champions league and fa cup campaigns as well as it is another challenge for me think that's the biggest thing i'm always looking to improve my game. i'm always looking the next big thing. to be able to come over here, train with some of the well‘s best players, be at the world's best facility, playing champions league, hopefully win an fa cup and win the spring series.

there is so many goals that i want to accomplish. bayern munich boss carlo ancelotti believes arsene wenger should be immune from criticism. arsenal face ancelotti's side in the last sixteen of the champions league this evening, with constant speculation surrounding weger‘s future. arsenal have been knocked out at this stage in each of the last six years but ancelotti says the frenchman has given the club their identity wenger has the experience to know that our in ourjob it is normal to be criticised. so, i think that for this reason he has no problem. he will build a strong identity in this club. --- will build a strong identity in this club. ——— he has builta will build a strong identity in this club. ——— he has built a strong density. he has built a good style of football, so i have a lot of respect for hisjob of football, so i have a lot of respect for his job at arsenal. we have the experience, we play against bayern munich. every year the same

target is to win the champions league. when you look at our record, they are always basically in the la st they are always basically in the last four. so, it is a massive challenge, but thing we're capable of dealing with it. joe root has been speaking to the media for the first time since he was named yesterday as england's new test captain. root says he will ask former england skippers for advice before taking charge for the first time in july. it is very exciting. it is a busy year, but with that comes a lot of opportunities and i have been gifted a very talented team filled with a mixture of experience, raw talent, and a group of guys which are very ready to take on more responsibility and become clump of the two beat. so, i'm very excited about everything. i hope that people are home excited about what we have got coming as well. scotland captain greig laidlaw will miss the rest of the six nations with an ankle injury.

the gloucester scrum half was replaced in the first half of sunday's defeat against france in paris. earlier i spoke to our rugby union reporter chrisjones, about how big a blow will this be to scotland's championship which started so well with a win over ireland. he was instrumental in the win over ireland. it is a significant setback, he's out for the rest of the championship. he has an ankle ligament injury. the board will have to be filled at scrum—half. ——— the void. his composure, his experience, his leadership and his outstanding goal—kicking will be sorely missed by the scots. and snooker‘s welsh 0pen continues today at the motorpoint arena in cardiff.

neil robertson, who was beaten by ronnie 0'sullivan in last years final, has compiled a break 143, the highest of the tournament. robertson leads his second round match against lee walker by 3 frames to 2. you can follow it all on bbc two wales and your red button. that's all sport for now. the court of appeal has been hearing a case involving a severely disabled man born from incestuous rape. the criminal injuries compensation authority, the body that manages a scheme to compensate victims of violent crime, is trying to stop a 29—year—old man who is severely disabled from making a claim. his mother was abused by her own father from the age of 11. with me is our legal correspondent clive coleman — who was at the royal courts of justice earlier. a very distressing case. very distressing and sad. at the heart of this case is a man called white, who was born after his mother was raped by her father, was born after his mother was raped by herfather, his was born after his mother was raped by her father, his grandfather he was born with disabilities he has epilepsy, he has problems with his

site and with his hearing. ——— a man called y. a while ago a judge made an order that he could bring a claim under the criminal injuries compensation scheme which compensates victims of violent crime. what was novel was that of course at the time that the crime was committed, the rape, he wasn't a person. he wasn't conceived at that point. that is what was appealed today by the criminal injuries compensation authority. whilst expressing their immense empathy and sympathy with y with disabilities that he is labouring under. it was acknowledged by all parties in court that the where as a result of the incestuous rape. in fact, the chances of there being disabilities would normally be 2%, but if you have the mutated genes of a mother and father then that rises to 50%. everyone agreed that that was as a result of incestuous rape. the

disabilities suffered where incurred because of that. the real issue in court today was whether he had a right to seek compensation when he was in effect, at the time of the crime. the qc who appeared on the behalf of the authorities today said there was a conceptual problem, in effect that birth being seen as an injury. really, he was saying that the scheme has to do apply to people and until you are the person you don't really have a right to bring a claim under the scheme. 0n don't really have a right to bring a claim under the scheme. on behalf of y, the scheme doesn't actually mention any thing to that respect it doesn't say you have to be a person at the time of the crime being committed. which is why there was the case of the beetle alcohol

poisoning which was raised in this case. poisoning which was raised in this case. ““— poisoning which was raised in this case. ——— beetle alcohol poisoning. that was a while ago. it was argued in that case that a woman who drank excessively jawing pregnancy which led to disabilities, a crime was being committed against the child while the child was in the womb. but, the law is clear that a foetus is not a person recognised in law. it was a desperately sad case. there's more division in the church of england today — with claims that it has ‘betrayed' gay and lesbian christians in its stance over gay marriage. as its ruling body debates the issue — members of the general synod will vote on a bishops' report which says only a man and a woman should marry in church — and services should not be held to bless the relationships of same—sex couples. 0ur religious affairs correspondent martin bashir has more. they sing a hymn amazing grace,

sung by protesters this morning and almost certainly required this afternoon as the general synod prepares to debate the bishops' report on same—sex marriage. a report that says marriage in church should "remain the lifelong union between a man and a woman." after engaging in three years of shared conversations, many lesbian and gay christians are angered that church doctrine is not falling into line with the law of the land which legalised same—sex marriage in 2014. we are talking about the national church being massively out of step with people. this is notjust saying we have to follow what society is saying but saying where people perceive love in relationships between one another, can the church of england simply not recognise that god is present

in those relationships? bishops present acknowledged their own struggles with church doctrine on same—sex marriage. i would mislead you if i said i was not conflicted about what this report says. i am not alone amongst the wider church. 0ur our own history in dealing with these matters also explain, why people on all sides on the debate rarely find themselves satisfied. today's debate will conclude at 7pm with a vote. members of synod will be invited to affirm or reject the report. if they choose the latter, then questions about the unity of the church of england and the global anglican communion are likely to surface once again. just to talk a little bit more about

a story we touched on in the last hour. this is james mattis. he is in brussels at nato, today. the afp news agency gives us brussels at nato, today. the afp news agency gives us some information about subsequent comments. james mattis has been talking about the us are moderating its commitment to nato. this is a blessed spending is boosted. subsequent comments that are emerging. mattis apparently saying that no longer can the american taxpayer carrie at this proportion it's taxpayer carrie at this proportion its share of the defence of western values. james mattis tried to reassure members of nato, particularly given some of the disparaging comment that donald trump has made over the us election campaign, but these comments about

payment of quite interesting. a news conference is going on at the moment. naples. we have established comprehensive packages in support of georgia and ukraine. we continue a significant present in the western balkans to ensure stability in that region. we work more closely with the european union than ever before. we also agree that nato has untapped potential when it comes to training local forces and building potential when it comes to training localforces and building local capacity. we have experience tried and tested capabilities, staying power, and the network of 41 partners around the world who are ready to help and work together with others. so, we discussed how we can better use nato for the future. all

this effort must be underpinned by adequate resources and fair burden sharing. in 2014 we decided to stop the cut is in defence spending, gradually increase and move towards spending 2% of gdp on defence within a decade. 0ur progress so far has been good. in 2015 we stop the cuts, in 2016 22 allies increased their defence budget. this is significant. the figures we published yesterday showed a healthy increase of 3.8% in real terms across europe and canada when it comes to defence spending. this means 10 billion euros, dollars

more for defence. step—by—step we are moving in the right direction. but there is still a very long way to go. you know that the picture is mixed. some allies have started to increase and some are still struggling with any increase of their defence budget. 0nly five allies meet our guideline of spending 2% of gdp on defence, so we discussed how we can sustain positive momentum and speed up national efforts to meet our commitments. for instant, through national plans and milestones to ensure steady progress. this is a discussion that we starting today and expect the discussion to continue and also be an issue addressed by heads of state and

government when they meet in brussels may. 0ur government when they meet in brussels may. our aim is to give our ambition for further burden sharing ambition for further burden sharing a strong boost when we meet in brussels in may. with that guy ready to ta ke brussels in may. with that guy ready to take your questions. wall street journal. secretary mattis said that america will meet its responsibilities but if your nature and do not worth the america moderate its commitment to the alliance each of your capital is needs to show support for common defence. do you interpret that as a threat? do you see that as america making it support conditional and how do you read that language? secretary mattis expressed a very strong commitment to nato. and the

transatlantic bond and the importance of strengthening it. that was very welcome importance of strengthening it. that was very welcome and in the meeting. all the other ministers expressed the same commitment to the transatlantic and, because we all understand that we are safer and stronger together. a strong nato is good for europe and good for the united states and canada. especially in times of palm oil and uncertainty. bash in times of turmoil. we need a strong transatlantic partnership and a strong nato. that was the message from secretary mattis. he also underlined the importance of fair burden sharing and that those countries which are not meeting the target of 2%, that they have increased their defence spending.

and about all those who had the floor during the meeting expressed strong support to the same commitment and many of those countries spending less than 2% expressed ambitions, plans, commitments to narrow really start to increase defence spending. and we have seen the first steps. we saw a significant increase in 2016. now we are discussing how we can make sure that continues because we have a long way to go. this has been my top priority since i became... i raised theissue priority since i became... i raised the issue of burden sharing in all my meetings in all the capitals, i continue to do so and i look forward to working with mattis to discuss burden sharing. on the budget every

issue,is burden sharing. on the budget every issue, is there any argument for the european allies to exhilarate their io—year pledge at warsaw to reach the 2% goal is awesome on other supplementary arrangement be agreed? and when you say national milestones are you referring specifically to nap traditional military spender jamal stone? ——— national military milestones? we have started to move. in 2015 we stop the courts and in 2016 we started to increase. so we have already started to implement what we decide in 2015. the big question is how we can make sure we continue and make sure we maintain the momentum. that is why i welcome ideas like national plans. some allies already have these, very clear commitments, road maps, how to

move. . . clear commitments, road maps, how to move... we will leave that news conference, the now but it will continue in brussels. we will speak to our correspondence at brussels after four o'clock. interesting that the first question was exactly about one of those questions ——— comments from the us defence secretary. a long pause before he answered but then he said thatjames long pause before he answered but then he said that james mattis expressed strong commitment to nato and talked about the general importance of burden sharing. but analysis from our defence correspondence after four o'clock. bashful analysis. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news... president trump says claims of contact between his team and the russians during his election campaign is nonsense. unions announce that tata steelworkers have voted to accept changes to their pensions, in order to safeguard jobs. tara palmer tomkinson died because of a perforated ulcer, and did not have a brain tumour,

according to her sister. in the business news... unemployment in the uk stays at its lowest level for more than a decade at 4.8% according to the office for national statistics. the number of people out of work fell in the three months to december. it's down by 7,000 so it stands at 1.6 million almost three quarters of people are in work as the rate edged up to a record high. however — nearly a third of the population of britain is living on an "inadequate" income. that's according to research by thejoseph rowntree foundation. between 2014—15, the foundation said that 19 million people were living on less than the minimum income standard. it said the problem was that household costs have been rising, while incomes have stagnated. the bank of england has said that the new £5 note will not be withdrawn. there have been concerns about traces animal fat found on the notes.

vegans and some religious groups had voiced concerns, as the note contains a small amount of tallow, which is from animal waste products. a petition to ban the note reached 100,000 signatures. we like to work in the uk, we have low unemployment, high levels of employment and we put in lots of hours. the trouble is that when we're at work we are terribly unproductive; we produce less per hour than our main economic rivals. the difference is pretty dramatic, we produce on average 30% less per hour than workers in germany, the us and france. well to talk about this is a little more is ann frank, chief executive, chartered management institute. why is it that we are so much less productive than our main economic rivals? most people when they think about productivity think about investment in infrastructure or

technology, the truth is that the biggest factor in productivity is people. the reason for the productivity gap in britain is really down to the need for better leadership and management. that accou nts leadership and management. that accounts for half the productivity gap according to experts. is that the key to improvement? gap according to experts. is that the key to improvement7m gap according to experts. is that the key to improvement? if you think about britain is a service economy just think about your daily experiences. if you go to a restau ra nt experiences. if you go to a restaurant and no beseeching with the service is bad get your order wrong or. . . the service is bad get your order wrong or... you are less likely to eat at that restaurant. this is where the people factor comes in. it is about managing people well and getting the best out of them and that boost productivity. could it be that boost productivity. could it be that we are working too many hours and therefore an average we are less productive? that is part of it and we have the always on culture with e—mails at all hours of the day and night. that contributes to this but

fundamentally it is about people that worked being better bosses, line managers and these are skills that we can learn and actually although you hear a lot about investing in technology and technical skills i think the government's apprenticeship programme must also address investment in management and leadership skills. ok, what can individual workers do to be more productive at work. there are five simple behaviours that all workers would like to see from the line manager. the first is that line managers share their thinking so open and transparent and build trust this is the most important thing, probably. second, that actually bosses admit mistakes when they have made them and cecil. the third thing is encouraging workers to in point and share problems and solutions. lastly, lived the values don'tjust have the values on the wall behave ina way have the values on the wall behave in a way that actually puts the human aspect into every day

behaviours at work. what about better wages? surely that will incentivise people to work harder. it is funny people always say better wages but if you give people the choice between having more autonomy and more respect that work on getting more money most people would choose to have more autonomy, more respect than they will to have more money. that is the importance of it. thank you very much. ann francke. quick look at markets. the ftse 100. quick look at markets. the ftse100. royal bank of scotland is up, because of comments made by the chair of the federal reserve who set the interest rates will probably go up the interest rates will probably go up in the night estates. i will be backin up in the night estates. i will be back in an hour. see you then. some news coming in the family of a

tenure boy who died after being injured in topshop.10—year tenure boy who died after being injured in topshop. 10—year old. they say our house feels empty with out him. he loved family holidays with swimming being his favourite pastime. he was always the first one in any pool. it didn't matter how cold it was who would jump in and try to get anyone to join him. what was the saddest part is he won't be able to fulfil his potential he was looking forward to driving a car, becoming a teacher and visiting distant countries such as china. it is hard to come friend that he will never do these things. the families have asked for privacy as they grieve privately. so, that is the statement from the family. the

minister for which statement from the family. the ministerfor which means statement from the family. the minister for which means it statement from the family. the ministerfor which means it is time to pause. we will catch up with the weather which comes from nick miller. hello. some buzz of had a really male bay some sunshine. ——— some of us. com pletely completely different story in staffordshire. a weather front stretching from south—east england with a midlands to north—west england, some of the rain is heavy. it will push its way north eastwards so should clear away from eastern parts of england. a few heavy showers following two parts of wales and the south—west. sub words... 0vernight, dry weather after midnight. with the exception of western areas of scotland. wet windy in derry. big picture as we start the day

tomorrow. low pressure just off northern scotland. close enough to produce some wet weather especially in the west. gale force winds in places. should get off to dry start in eastern scotland and northern ireland are large part of england and wales. this is eight o'clock in the morning. the further south you are, the greater the possibility of getting fog patches at the beginning of the day. where they have occurred they could last a good part of the morning before gradually clearing. there may be the odd stray shower around in england and wales. sunny spells, few bright moments in scotland. still showers. showers should ease along with the wind into the afternoon. wet weather into northern ireland. sunshine and light winds across southern parts of the uk, double figures. the rain will clear northern ireland on thursday evening. friday may start with fog patches, could be slow to clear best

of the sunshine on fridays in southern and eastern areas. a bit late in the day before any others get any late in the day before any others getany rain. late in the day before any others get any rain. mild, temperatures average at this time of the year. some going into double figures. now it could be very mile into the start of next week. not a huge amount of sunshine it has to be said. along with mild weather some cloud some sunny breaks over the weekend. at times, some outbreaks of rain affecting the northern half of the uk, but it will not be a wash—out weekend anywhere. that is your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines at 4pm. president donald trump lashes out at the us intelligence community and the media after new reports of contacts between members of his team and russia.

president trump will shortly meet israeli leader benjamin netanyahu — after a white house official suggested america may no longer be committed to a two state solution in the middle east. the us defence secretary has warned nato allies that washington will moderates its commitments to need to u nless moderates its commitments to need to unless they boost their spending. unions announce that tata steelworkers have voted to accept changes to their pensions, in order to safeguard jobs. a woman is arrested in malaysia in connection with the alleged poisoning of the north