a big overspend for the nhs in england, latest figures i don't want to hold up what the british people want. a big overspend for the nhs in england, latest figures show it is hundreds of millions over budget. a big rise in council tax bills across england as local authorities try to tackle the social care crisis. most households could be charged 5% more from april. trouble for the new leader of ukip; two senior party officials in liverpool quit citing "crass insensitivity" over the hillsborough tragedy. in the next hour we'll look at the vice president reassurances to european allies. us vice president pence, speaking to european leaders said that washington is still committed to partnership and cooperation. whatever our differences, our two continents share the same heritage, values and above all, the same purpose, to promote peace and prosperity through freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

and what a night ahead for sutton united as they host a mighty fa cup match tonight against arsenal at their south london stadium. welcome to bbc news. the legislation designed to allow the government to start the process of brexit takes to the lords this afternoon. it's already been overwhelmingly backed by mps and in just under 30 minutes, peers will open their scrutiny of the bill to trigger article 50. many have already indicated they'll seek to amend the wording on issues such as the single market or allowing eu nationals to stay. theresa may said this morning she didn't want to see anyone holding up what the british people want. let's go live to westminster and speak to

oui’ go live to westminster and speak to our correspondent at the houses of parliament, layla nathoo. this is the first time we'll hear from the lords, the first time peers will have their say on the principle of brexit and the government's plans to trigger article 50. we have heard that theresa may herself is expected to sit in on the opening part of the debate. it's an ex—dreamily rare occurrence for the prime minister to sit in on a house of lords debate. it's perhaps a sign that she is wanting peers not to stand in the way or delay the process of triggering article 50. we have two days of debate in the house of lords before peers even get to the amendments. we have got 190 speakers lined up. almost a record number we think of peers expected to have their say. they'll be putting forward their arguments over the neck couple of days. i'm joined by the labour peer lord hain. thank you

very much forjoining us. you are trying to change the legislation to ask for britain to remain a member of the single market and to ensure an open border between northern ireland and the republic. what mandate do you have to put these amendments forward? well, i don't think people in voting to leave the european union wanted to sacrifice their jobs, european union wanted to sacrifice theirjobs, the european union wanted to sacrifice their jobs, the country's european union wanted to sacrifice theirjobs, the country's economy and our prosperity, they wanted to ta ke and our prosperity, they wanted to take back more control. that's the reason that the people who voted leave said, but actually they are going to lose more control because it could damage our trade, our business and employment and then catastrophically in the case of the irish border, the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, i speak as a former secretary of state for northern ireland, if that was subject to any security checks, controls limits on people freely, as they have been doing for years, crossing that border, then that could endanger the

whole of the peace process, ings specially for the nationalist and republican parties who signed up to it on the basis that they could keep their legitimate ambition subject to a referendum to have a united irised. critics will say you and your colleagues have no mandate to hold up the process of brexit, why should you be able to be tinkering around with it —— a united ireland. it's far more effective at spotting the flaws, in particular legislation coming from the house of commons. that's what's been done, a whole series of amendments have been changes in bills accepted by the house of commons, notably when four million people were able to keep their tax credits. so we don't have a direct mandate because we are not elected. for me myself, i was appointed by the labour party. two thirds of labour party supporters

voted to stay in the european union. the country's split down the middle. it's 52-48, that's the country's split down the middle. it's 52—48, that's not to disrespect the fact that leave won, but it is to say the prime minister should be bringing people together and keeping us bringing people together and keeping us in the single market, protecting oui’ us in the single market, protecting ourjobs and the economy as the way to do is it. the labour leader in the house of lords, lady smith said she doesn't expect an extended back—and—forth between the lords an commons so even if the government is defeated the commons are likely to overturn? say on the open border between the republic of ireland and northern ireland, that's common—sense. do northern ireland, that's common—sense. do we northern ireland, that's common—sense. do we really want the clock to be turned back to northern ireland's troubled past as almost certainly would happen if that border was in some way restricted, sealed or subject to security checks and delays? surely that's common—sense that the house of commons, if we pass it in the house of lords and i don't know whether we

will, though my amendments got cross party support, if we did the house of commons would have to listen very carefully. thank you very much. an indication there of what we can expect in the coming days from the house of lords. we won't get to the nitty—gritty of the amendments yet but later today and tomorrow we can expect some impassioned speeches in support and against the government's plans for brexit. thank you very much. nhs trusts in england have run up a deficit of £886 million from april to december 2016. the forecast for the full year deficit is estimated at between £750 and £850 million as trusts expect to claw back spending, the bbc understands. it's higher than anticipated. the number of people coming into the nhs, we need to treat them. the hospitals are working really hard to

keep the costs down. indeed, compared with last year, there are 44 less fewer hospitals posting a deficit this year compared with last year. with us is our health editor hugh pym. do these sums come as a surprise? does it suggest it's out of control? well, it's beginning to suggest that it's certainly not under control in the way we were led to believe towards the end of last year. a lot of figures flying around, as you will have seen, but basically the key one is that for the full financial year, a total deficit of £580 million is predicted. they are now saying for the full year it will be £850 million so there is an immediate overspend there. you heard a bit of the explanation from nhs improvement just then. essentially they are saying more patients came through the doors than expected so that cost more for treatment also with delayed tra nsfers more for treatment also with delayed transfers back into the community, more beds being occupied by people

who are medically fit but couldn't get back home because of social care issues. that meant they couldn't carry out routine surgeries so a lot of operations were cancelled, terrible for the patients but also for hospital patients, because they get income for doing the operations so it adds up to a difficult picture for nhs finances in england. how much is this to do with the social ca re much is this to do with the social care overlap because we heard today that councils will start spending a lot more on social care, will that start to ease the burden and cut that overspend on the nhs?” start to ease the burden and cut that overspend on the nhs? i think in theory over the next two years that should happen. 0f in theory over the next two years that should happen. of course it depends what the government comes up with in the budget. is it enough to deal with years of cuts in social spending in england? i think the here and now is actually the department of health has a budget allocated by parliament, this time last year there was some scrambling around in the last couple of months to the financial year to make it add up, now to the financial year to make it add up, now we to the financial year to make it add up, now we know the hospital sector is in essence overspending by £250 million. that has to be found from

somewhere, elsewhere in the budget. the whole thing is pretty tight. i think ministers won't be terribly impressed to have got this news in their in—trays this morning. impressed to have got this news in their in-trays this morning. how much is this a problem with procurement because some of the chat, if you like, on social media, has been about how the nhs spends money on pretty simple elementary things that they overpay for. every organisation is probably guilty of that. is that somewhere the costs could be massively reduced? not necessarily massively but lord carter said you could save money by precisely that, by the year 2020. it all—times time so yes they could do more efficient procurement, agency bills paying for atcy staff has gotten out of control because there are not enough staff. the regulator saysin are not enough staff. the regulator says in the statement today that they have cut back on agency spending, that's something they have been able to control and that's been a positive, but the critics will say it just shows ultimately whatever efficiency you can come up with

right now is not enough money to deliver the care which the nhs ought really to be doing. thank you very much. nearly every local authority in england is planning to raise council taxes in the coming year, most of them by 5%, to help meet the rising cost of social care. but the local government association which represents councils has warned that deep cuts to other services will still have to be made because of the huge cost of looking after growing numbers of elderly and disabled people. here's our social affairs correspondent alison holt. yes, you be fine. this is social care in action. good girl. and i will be behind you. after several falls, 80 year old maureen edwards is being given support that will mean she regains some independence and rebuilds her confidence. it means she and her husband will be able to cope at home. according to today's survey, the sheer demand for this sort of care is the reason why most local authorities in england plan to raise council tax. that was wonderful. we've got the carers, they come in, get her up, wash her, dresser. wash her, dress her.

you know, it's helped no end. yeah, very good. i'm grateful for all that they've done for me, i really am. and... without them, i don't know what i would have done. the edwards live in surrey and it's the council's social workers who organise their support. the authority had discussed increasing its council tax by 15% to meet the growing care costs. now, like most local authorities, it's likely to rise byjust under 5%. staff here describe the demand as unrelenting. i've worked in adult social care for 20 years and i've never known the pressure that we've got now. and there's no simple solution to it. people getting older, people living longer and their needs are increasing with more complexity. councils pay for most social care and today's survey shows nearly all are struggling with the costs. there are 151 local authorities in england, 147 plan to raise

council tax specifically to help pay for social care. but councils warn that won't plug the funding gap and that could mean cuts to other council services. there has been a united voice of local government to say that they need to have more funding into social care and that the crisis in social care is immediate now. the funding for local government needs to be resolved immediately. and another step for me. the government says extra funding is being put into social care and that authorities will soon be able to keep all of the money they raise from council tax and business rates. two senior ukip officials have resigned in protest at their leader's handling of the hillsborough controversy. paul nuttall has been embroiled in a row over his website that incorrectly claimed he'd lost close friends in the tragedy. in a statement, the chair

of ukip's merseyside branch accuses mr nuttall of crass insensitivity. ukip's former regional chairman for merseyside was one of those who resigned. i spoke to him earlier. aaron banks comments were a disgrace. so it was aaron banks, not paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall? that was an error that paul nuttall made but it's aaron banks basically saying they were milking it, it wasn't a tragedy, it was an accident and it's 27 years that the families of the victims have actually tried to getjustice. was that your own decision or was there pressure on you from collea g u es there pressure on you from colleagues in merseyside? no. it's my own decision. i represent the people of this city for ukip and i think the comments from aaron banks have caused a lot of problems.

0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. what reaction from ukip over this? remarkably little. they have said nothing publicly, they don't want to go on the record. privately, they are suggesting that two men quit because of a backlash in liverpool following the false statements put up following the false statements put up on mr nuttall‘s website and they are saying mr nuttall understands their decision, bears them no animosity. he himself has faced similar criticism from people in liverpool. the difficulty though is, this is cumulative. it's one thing after another with mr nuttall with the by—election campaign. you go back to the controversy over whether he really did play professional football and really did have a phd, most recently whether he was offered a board on a training company in the north—west and now this. this is continual drip—dripping of question marks about his credibility frankly which you sense is probably denting his prospects in the by—election.

more than that, probably denting his standing as leader. that seems to me what is so striking about these resignations, these two have not gone meek and mild, more in sorrow and anger. they have suggested that mr banks and mr nuttall are not fit to lead the party. these chaps have come out all guns blazing. they may be wondering if they are go are going to be any more? there haven't been any more so far. when i spoke to the personal handlers for the media for the two this morning he suggested there would be more from ukip officials. my guess is that they've been on the phone to mr nuttall saying, you must be barking

mad, stop this because it's noticeable in that interview too, mr hetherington trying to play it down, marked contrast to the language that he was putting out in that press release this morning. ijust have the sense that, you know, mr nuttall is struggling, not just the sense that, you know, mr nuttall is struggling, notjust in the by—election, but as leader. you just feel with ukip, ever since nigel farage stepped aside, they have had a leadership issue. again and again the lead, have struggled to command confidence to give the party stability and naseems the case with mr nuttall too. —— and that seems the case. peers are to begin debating the bill for brexit. the government doesn't have a majority in the lords. new figures show that nhs trusts in england ran up deficits of nearly £900 million in the nine months to the end of december despite extra funding from the government. nearly all english local authorities

are raising council tax to pay for social care but warn of deep cuts to other services. the five sports that appeal to uk sport after funding cuts and pa ralympics appeal to uk sport after funding cuts and paralympics have been u nsuccessful. cuts and paralympics have been unsuccessful. uk sport says badminton weightlifting fencing archery and weightlifting failed to supply evidence for medal—winning potential. sutton, the lowest ranked tea m fa ce potential. sutton, the lowest ranked team face arsenal tonight. lincoln city await the winners in the quarters. and ben stokes has become the most expensive foreign player in the most expensive foreign player in the history of the indian premier league, bought for £1.7 million by the punar super giants. more from me later. iraqi forces are continuing their advance into mosul,

iraq's 2nd biggest city after launching a major attack yesterday to remove islamic state fighters from their last major stronghold in the country. the progress of the operation has been slowed because of huge improvised explosive devices that the is militants have placed along the route. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman nick millard are the only television journalists on the frontline with iraqi forces. they're now on the outskirts of western mosul, the only part of the city still held by so called islamic state. in record time, iraq's federal police have made it to within sight of mosul city. that's the south east of the city you can see there. and the river tigris just in the foreground. it really was a very fast assault to get here. and now, behind me, perhaps if we move the camera over there, you mightjust be able to pick out the helicopter, the gunship which is launching an attack against the town of abu saif. that's a very important town, because all that lies between the federal police and mosul is that town, and it's

a is stronghold. all morning we've watched these helicopters attacking the town. the iraqi police have fired their own home—made rockets deep inside that town. it's very important for them. just two miles, 3km or so... gunfire we can hear the helicopters firing again, can't quite see it. but we can hear it firing. just beyond that town, two miles or so, is mosul‘s airport. that airport is mostly of symbolic value because the islamic state long ago destroyed the runways and terminal buildings. but taking that would be very important because it would be a symbolic victory. and after that, they would be in mosul. the us vice president, mike pence has described america's commitment to the european union

as steadfast and enduring, after his first official meeting with the president of the european council. donald trump is also defending his comments regarding sweden. presidential visits to brussels rarely stirred much interest in the past, but these are different times. donald trump has lauded brexit and belittled the eu, the relationship has become awkward. the greetings, at times, seemed strained. but the white house has billed this as a reassurance tour and after his initial talks, that is exactly what mike pence offered. today is my privilege on behalf of president trump to express the strong commitment of the united states to continued cooperation and partnership with the european union. whatever our differences, our two continents share the same heritage, the same values. and above all the same purpose. alongside him a man who described trump's america as a potential threat.

he wants actions as well as words. after such a positive declaration, both europeans and americans must simply practice what they preach. but it's the president who calls the shots and he uses europe as a model for all that is wrong in the world. even if he has to make up his own facts to fit the argument. you look at what's happening last night in sweden — sweden! who would believe this? sweden! they took in large numbers and they are having problems like they never thought possible. there was no such incident in sweden. the country has taken in large numbers of refugees and hasn't suffered any terrorist attacks as a result. but the policy's not without its swedish critics. i think we were caught off—guard. the president said later he was referring to this fox news report, claiming that violence has risen in sweden along with refugee numbers. that claim, too, is questionable. but mr trump's backers insist his points are valid. people seize upon it

and you see these articles, and when i pulled it up on google, it's like, well, donald trump was really right. there was the neo—nazis going to the refugee camps and there's been a lot of corruption and rape going on. that's not the message mr pence is pushing, but president trump's voice is louder and europe is unsettled. 0n the streets outside his meetings, these protesters are sending a message of their own, that the values of the trump administration are not welcome in europe. that's a debate which is getting even more personal in london as members of parliament consider an online petition signed by almost 2 million people suggesting that donald trump's state visit to the uk would cause embarrassment to the queen. richard lister, bbc news. 0ur correspondent, naomi grimley is in brussels. 0ur correspondent gavin lee is in brussels for us. is it your sense

that donald trump and mike pence are on the same page on nato's commitments? mike pence would like us commitments? mike pence would like us to think that is the case. there was a press conference to which mike pence said absolutely, he was directed to come to brussels by donald trump to say that the us stands shoulder—to—shoulder with the eu, that there is a steadfast and resolute commitment, there was an elephant in the room though. 0n the one hand you think, hang on a minute, everything is all the same, yet at the same time it was very different and the other donald, donald tusk of the european council said, we immediated this meeting, he said, we immediated this meeting, he said at the start, because there have been new and surprising comments coming from the us administration and these words are welcome, what seemed to be soothing and bridge—building words from mike pence. just go back a few weeks, in he times, donald trump described the eu as he times, donald trump described the euasa he times, donald trump described the eu as a vehicle for germany. he said that brexit was super, great and he said if other kin tris go that way,

that would be a good thing —— countries. donald tusk is saying we are on the same side, this is the message donald trump wants to give. was he asked about sweden in any press questions? well, he hasn't allowed any press conference questionsjust allowed any press conference questions just yet. allowed any press conference questionsjust yet. he allowed any press conference questions just yet. he gave a brief statement, in an hour, in the nato headquarters in brussels, he'll allow for questions then and you bet you that he'll be asked about the swedish question, let alone from the swedish question, let alone from the swedish ambassador to the eu, the swedish ambassador to the eu, the swedish embassy in the us tweeting saying they would like to be able to offer more advice about life in sweden. it's 6. a0 in washington at the moment, donald trump is up already at the moment and reading about sweden. he said give the public a break, the fake media trying to say things are working out beautiful — not. his take is that he's getting a backlash for the

comments of this apparent incident in sweden the other night which turned out to be something on the tv on fox news and he's making clear that he believes there is a problem since migration came with the immigrants perhaps 200,000 or so, in sweden the past couple of years. thank you very much. police and protesters have clashed in the ukrainian capital kiev, ahead of a ceasefire between russian—backed rebels and government forces that comes into effect today. ultranationalists gathered ultra nationalists gathered to support a blockade between the separatists east and the rest of the ukraine. amazon said it will create 5,000 new full—timejobs ukraine. amazon said it will create 5,000 new full—time jobs in the ukraine. amazon said it will create 5,000 new full—timejobs in the uk this year, taking their uk workforce to 2a,000. the firm said it was looking for a range of staff including software developers and warehouse staff. there'll be jobs at the head office in london, as well as in edinburgh customer service centre and three new warehouses.

business secretary greg clark will come to the commons to answer an urgent question from labour on the proposed take—over urgent question from labour on the proposed ta ke—over by urgent question from labour on the proposed take—over by peugeot of the european operation which is branded va wx european operation which is branded vawx ham hall in the uk. —— vauxhall in the uk. it has been announced that theresa may is to meet the head of peugeot to discuss the proposed deal. footage has emerged of the moment the north korean leader's half brother was attacked at kuala lumpur airport in malaysia. a woman appears to cover his head with a cloth for a few seconds before walking away. kim jong—nam is seen telling police what's happened. he collapsed shortly after and died. north korea's questioned the identification of the man who died and has demanded the body. cctv footage at kuala lumpur international airport. a figure in a light suit with a bag slung over his shoulder walks through the hall. it's believed this

man is kimjong—nam. the next pictures are less clear. but the man is grabbed from behind by a woman in a white top. she appears to push a cloth into his face. the footage then shows them separating. the man is seen talking to airport staff apparently explaining what happened. and seems to be led to police where he again explains and gesticulates, before he is accompanied to the airport's medical clinic. police believe kim jong—nam, the half brother of north korea's leader kimjong—un, was poisoned at the airport a week ago. the mysterious circumstances, the investigation and speculation that north korea was behind the killing, has led to growing diplomatic tensions. malaysia has recalled its envoy to north korea, while the pyongyang ambassador at kuala lumpur said at a news conference the investigation could not be trusted. it's been seven days since the incident, but there is no clear evidence on because of the death and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the malaysia police, even though its result would be obtained.

but malaysia's prime minister has defended the investigation and the work of police and doctors. we have no reason why we want to do something that would paint the north koreans in a bad light. we will be objective and we expect them to understand that we apply the rule of law. malaysia authorities have said that autopsy results could be ready by the middle of the week and that they will release kim jong—nam's body to his next of kin. his son is reported to be travelling to kuala lumpur. daniel boetcher, bbc news. now a look at the weather. there is some wet and windy weather on its way this week but for many, it's been an incredibly mild start

to the new working week and temperatures are on the up. if you have got the sunshine especially. 18 degrees in st james' have got the sunshine especially. 18 degrees in stjames' park as we speak. this area to the north producing light outbreaks of rain. poor visibility driven along by the westerly winds pushing in a lot of cloud here as well. sunny skies into scotland, not quite as mild here but temperatures are respectable for the time of year. we should see seven to nine. through the night tonight, the cloud continues to drift south and we will see some outbreaks of rain towards dawn. moving into north wales, the midlands east anglia and southern england, here it stays mild. further north, clearerskies, a touch on the fresher side and a scattering of showers. through tomorrow, early sunshine will be replaced by wet and windy weather into the north—west at the same time that the cloudy dull and damp weather eases and we still see temperatures widely into double digits. highs of 7—13.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may has urged the house of lords not to try to block the government's brexit bill. the upper chamber begins debating the bill this afternoon, with some opposition peers expected to demand amendments. nhs trusts in england have racked up a deficit of nearly 900 million pounds in the first nine months of this financial year, despite extra funding from the government. struggling with the rising cost of social care — councils warn of service cuts even after expected tax increases of up to 5% across a majority of local authorities in england. two ukip officials in merseyside have resigned from the party, claiming leader paul nuttall and donor arron banks showed "crass insensitivity" about the hillsborough disaster. all five sports that appealed

against their funding cuts to uk time for the sport is to discuss. have been unsuccessful. archery, weightlifting, wheelchair rugby, fencing and badminton had their appeals rejected. badminton received almost £6 million in the last 0lympic cycle and actually achieved their medal target at the rio games. they say they are staggered by the decision. a little earlier i spoke to the olympic silver medallist and former world champion gail emms. iamon i am on the board, i know we did the best case for appeal. i cannot speak

for uk sport, i'm speaking as a badminton player who knows that the funding is so important as a player to get in that their shape, the best contention to go for a medal. we're talking about sports that have medal potential for tokyo. we have not been able to stretch our resource as much as those who have some medal potential, not strong medal potential. the opportunity the sports had was to indicate and give us sports had was to indicate and give us evidence they had strong or probable medal potential in tokyo. none of them did. difficult predominantly for the sports athletes concern. the outcome of no investment has an impact on their ambitions for tokyo and beyond. let's get more from richard conway. badminton seem to have the strongest case, but uk sport would not budge. yes, there

isa uk sport would not budge. yes, there is a case of grievance from uk badminton saying they are staggered this £6 million in total being withdrawn. that is despite hitting that bronze medal in rio 2016. chris langridge and marcus ellis achieving that target. they are on course for a medal at eight year 2020. —— for a medal at tokyo. but uk sport have said it is not a case of probable medals it is a case of probable medals. badminton say they have met their targets, trying to get on the podium, despite that not good enough the money will be missing. unless of course there can be a successful appealfrom this. course there can be a successful appeal from this. a couple of other funding decisions, table tennis,

paralympic goal ball did not get any money. you talk about possible paths for the five sports stripped of money going forward. what possible route can they take? one last chance, they can go to sport resolutions, the last chance saloon. if they want to get funding back. big decisions, it will cost time and money to do that. fencing has lost out, £a.2 million in funding in total. they say they will probably doa total. they say they will probably do a crowd sourcing funding drive to try and get some money to support the elite end of the sport. sport uk say they will consider their next steps. it is for all the sports to decide if they want to take this

forward , decide if they want to take this forward, at the moment they are not getting funding for tokyo. that is it for now, much more reaction to the funding decisions made by uk sport through the rest of the afternoon. animal rights activists are calling for an increase to prison sentences for people convicted of cruelty towards animals. the current maximum custodial sentence for the worst cases of animal cruelty in england and wales is six months, but campaigners want this increased tenfold to five years, describing current sentences as "shocking and laughable". with me is eduardo goncalves, chief executive of the league against cruel sports. the one word it is not is laughable. a lot of people will be surprised by the small sentences available? that is right. dogfighting is a major issue in britain. 0ne is right. dogfighting is a major issue in britain. one reason is that the sentences do not provide any kind of deterrent. we know there are

international crime gangs involving dogfighting, plying their trade in britain because they know they can get away with it. we should look at the american model, the fbi making dogfighting a grade a felony. they can investigate the people, links to other crimes. what is the problem? 0ne other crimes. what is the problem? one or two other crimes. what is the problem? 0ne ortwoa other crimes. what is the problem? one or two a week? quite a spread of dogfighting. you have organised professional gangs, people aspiring to be professional gangsters. 0thers using dogs in fights in parks, car parks. something happening around the country. we're not sure how much is going on, it is very prevalent, seems to be happening more and more, on our crimewatch line on this. animal cruelty is not a trivial issue, it is each other what other aspects of animal cruelty

are of concern. we have wildlife crime. we had the hunting act, just celebrating the 12th anniversary. many people wanted to remain in place. people are flouting it. it is a cruel sport. people would bulk of that. there are people involved in the activity. i don't want to go over the arguments again. the country way of life, the argument people have used in the past. they say it serves a purpose in the countryside. one of the things that criminologists will tell you, animal cruelty is a gateway crime, often linked to other forms of serious

crime. 0ne linked to other forms of serious crime. one third of people convicted of child abuse crimes, or half the people convicted of rape, have a history of animal cruelty. you are saying there is a link? absolutely a link, criminologists have made this point time and again. we had an interesting conversation with the new york police department, they said by concentrating more on animal cruelty, they were able to get more people involved guns drugs crime, rather than going after guns and drugs busts. 0ne rather than going after guns and drugs busts. one of the reasons we need to consider this, the time needs to fit the crime. good for you to come in. two of the world's biggest search engines, google and bing, have pledged to make it harder for internet users in britain to find pirated material such as music and films. they've signed up to a voluntary code of practice, which involves demoting offending websites in their search results. the entertainment industry reached the agreement with the tech giants after talks brokered by the government. the initiative will run in parallel with existing anti—piracy measures. this week voters in stoke—on—trent

central will go to the polls to choose their new mp. the by—election was called after labour's tristram hunt quit politics to take up a position running london's victoria and albert museum. the poll is being seen as a key electoral test for the labour leaderjeremy corbyn, whose party faces a strong challenge from ukip in the constituency. 0ur political correspondent, adam fleming reports from stoke. voters in stoke—on—trent need a new mp after their previous member of parliament resigned to run a museum. a decision the very senior labour figure ijust met on the train up here described as very selfish because it has pitched labour into a battle with ukip to hold on here. it's the city where wedgewood founded his pottery empire. archive: the spinner coaxes shape and beauty from the spinning mass clay. since the industry's heyday, many manufacturing jobs have gone and a once rock—solid labour seat looks more fragile.

ukip's leader and candidate also feels he's in with a fighting chance because a big majority of people here voted to leave the eu. the people are fantastic. unfortunately many feel that they've been left behind. by the political establishment. i think what they need is a national voice, someone who can stand up in the house of commons and be listened to. and i believe i'm that man to put stoke—on—trent on the political map. but he's been on the ropes over allegations he made false claims about the hillsborough disaster, and whether he lived here when he entered the contest. labour's man is trying to paint his rival as an opportunist. i live just outside the city in a pit village called silverdale. i've been here for 13 years. it's where my family are and it's where my daughter was born. and i consider myself to be very local. although he's faced trouble, too, saying sorry for old tweets deemed to be sexist and insulting to people who supported brexit. the prime minister did what the

other westminster parties this, try to stop this becoming a two horse race? the only candidate who will be a strong voice for stoke—macro central strong supporter supporting mad plans for brexit is the conservative candidate. the green party's campaign is about securing employment for people who want betterjobs in the area and also about defending the nhs. health is a priority for the lib dems, as well, not least because their candidate is sometimes absent from the campaign trail because he's performing heart surgery. the nhs has been in crisis, particularly over the winter, and we feel labour are not providing the opposition we need to be providing to this government now. but the focus is on whether ukip can finally land a knockout blow in a labour seat. something they've never done before. adam fleming, bbc news, stoke—on—trent. the by—election takes place on

thursday. this is a full list of the candidates taking part. the home office has said some asylum claims from child refugees in france could be reviewed following growing pressure from campaigners and mps. last week the government scrapped their commitment to accept thousands of unaccompanied children already at camps in europe. two mps, including the chair of the home affairs committee yvette cooper, are visiting dunkirk and calais today where some unaccompanied minors are living in the hope of getting to the uk. i think these are terrible conditions that you have got people living in. britain and france did some really good work to clear the camp in calais, to get children and families with kids into safe, secure accommodation and yet it all seems to have now fallen apart and you have a place like this and it is getting worse all over again. that is what is so troubling. some of the children of this year with theirfamilies but others are unaccompanied. you have spoken to them.

what have they got to say? some of the unaccompanied teenagers have got no family here at all. you have got 13—year—olds sleeping in a big hut with 80 other adults. they are talking about how unsafe they feel. you can see the risks they are exposed to from trafficking, exploitation, prostitution and yet we have got children in these conditions. you're going to have an emergency evidence session on this on wednesday. what is the purpose behind that? the government have said they have cancelled the dubs scheme but also stopped the fast track scheme for people who have got family in britain as well. they say that this is in order to prevent trafficking.

my concern looking around here is that actually this is play back into the hands of the traffickers and this is making the problem worse. that is what we want to find out with the emergency evidence session as well. do you feel that the government have notjustified or given evidence of why they are stopping this scheme? the government has to stop dubs scheme, only working for six months. they have given no give evidence. they have said that by stopping it that will prevent trafficking but i think if you look around here, my fear is that some of these children, teenagers, are being driven straight back into the arms of the traffickers. exploitation, prostitution rings, that is what is real danger is. isn't the danger that the government sees it as you once again making france a magnet for people who want to come across channel? the danger is that without proper secure systems, without having britain and france working together on proper, managed systems to help these lone child refugees, instead what happens is they end up in the arms of traffickers and it is the traffickers that are driving them into very dangerous situations, often leaping onto lorries, taking risks

and that is bad for everybody. yvette cooper speaking there. we are expecting the nato secretary and mike parents to be taking —— mike pence to be taking questions, we will go to that shortly. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news: peers are to begin debating the bill paving the way for the start of brexit. the legislation passed the commons with no amendments, but the government doesn't have a majority in the lords. new figures show that nhs trusts in england ran up deficits of nearly nine hundred million pounds in the nine months to the end from the government.

nearly all english local authorities are raising council tax to pay for social care — but warn of deep cuts to other services. business minister greg clark will be called to parliament later today. the labour party will ask him a question regarding peugeot's proposed takeover of vauxhall car and van plants. unions are concerned the takeover will lead to the closure of at least one british plant. the biggest merger deal in corporate history is not happening — after the american food giant kraft—heinz said it was dropping its bid to buy rival — unilever. unilever is well known for products like marmite, lipton tea and dove soap. it rejected a £115 billion pound bid from kraft on friday. now kraft has said its agreed to scrap the plan. the head of the unite union will meet bmw executives today to try and stop industrial action over planned changes to the company's pension scheme.

len mccluskey said uk workers' pensions were at risk of being "diminished". bmw produces mini, bmw and rolls—royce brands in the uk. the american food and drinks company, kraft heinz, has withdrawn its bid to takeover unilever. it would've been one of the biggest deals in corporate history, merging the owners of heinz, and philadephia cheese with unilever‘s marmite, and pg tips. after some behind the scenes negotiations at unilever this weekend, the £115 billion pound bid has been dropped. so went on behind the scenes? joining me now isjulian wild, food group director at rollits solicitors is this surprising? surprising they are withdrawing 55 hours after

announcing this potential deal. certainly surprising. where did it go wrong? some of the bigger shareholders like warren buffett had concerns. british politicians expressing concerns over a foreign company taking of a british company so soon after we voted to leave the european union. certainly a factor. these deals are weeks, if not months in the making. no doubt there have been discussions between craft times and unilever going on behind the scenes. “— and unilever going on behind the scenes. —— warren buffett must‘ve known there would have been opposition to this. they cannot have been surprised by the strength of reaction when announced. surprisingly tout earlier than attended. this is what is your experience when it comes to large

ta keovers experience when it comes to large takeovers and governments? this country has a laissez faire attitude to takeovers. we are a fairly relaxed regime for international ta keovers, relaxed regime for international takeovers, more so than other countries like france and germany. this government were under pressure because of brexit to avoid big overseas companies coming in and acquiring uk companies. with consequentjob acquiring uk companies. with consequent job losses, acquiring uk companies. with consequentjob losses, factory closures, that sort of thing. thank you. here's a look at some other stories we're following today. uk house builder bovis homes says 2017 will be the year they reset the business. its had a challenging 12 months. its setting aside £7m to improve customer relations. the money will be spent on repair work aswell. customers are paid compensation when repairs have taken longer. the owners of dulux paint are investing over £10mln into a new research facility in the north east. gateshead will be home to a new campus that'll promote skills and development.

now, dulux is known for its paint pots — but it also produces specialist coatings for mining and energy companies. the new facility will be able to create extreme environments, similar to the north pole or a fire on an oil rig, to test out new products. and exports of single malt scotch whisky topped £1billion for the first time in 2016. exports account for around 93% of production. single malts are doing well as a luxury product, and so that's what's been driving most of its growth. quick look at markets — unilever were leading the pack on friday after news of that takeover bid from kraft was made public. share were up around 11%. well today it's a very different story —now we know that deal is not going to happen, unilever shares have reversed those gains. could the uk soon boldly be going where it's never been before? detailed plans to create the country's first spaceports are being unveiled today. they could see commercial satellites being launched within three years, and even lead to the start of space tourism. ministers want to grab a share of an industry that's potentially

worth billions of pounds. john maguire reports. from glasgow prestwick airport, destinations include barcelona, malta and rome. but soon there will be another one: space. the government target is to see the first launch from the uk by 2020. for a burgeoning and already very successful space industry, worth £250 million, this is a crucial piece in the jigsaw, and could be in place soon. to start with, it will actually be a rocket slung under an aircraft, for the first few years, so it won't be that different from watching an ordinary aircraft take off. but obviously, in the fullness of time, we would expect that to be a proper rocket taking off, with wings that can be deployed and able to land again. to be classified as a spaceport, sites will need to be licensed. they won't need to undergo major works, but will have to be able to refuel rockets.

the vast majority of take—offs will be horizontal, rather than vertical. the carrier aircraft will climb to around a0,000 feet, so above the weather, above traditional air traffic... inside the rocket will be small satellites. for the businesses involved, this is the chance of a lifetime. we find ourselves with this fantastic opportunity. nobody in the us is doing this, nobody in europe is doing it, nobody around the world is doing this, and the uk can capture this enormous economic potential, and get way ahead of the market. and lift—off of the falcon 9 to the space station. once the exclusive playground of the superpowers, space is more accessible than ever, and the government wants the uk to take a bigger slice of the pie. now, the economic benefits of hosting a spaceport are very enticing. at the aerospace park over there, they already employ about 3,000 people, and it is believed that they could take

on another 2,000 in this area if a spaceport comes to prestwick. the economics benefits uk—wide of housing this next generation of aerospace travel, well, they are even more significant. and, here in 0xfordshire, they are developing the next generation of aerospace engines, capable of flying at five times the speed of sound in the atmosphere, and of space flight. the air—breathing sabre rocket engines would revolutionise travel. london to sydney in just a few hours. space the final frontier no more. it could really open up opportunities. it could really transform aerospace. there has been a significant gap since the last big development and this one. but this is potentially the closest we are going to get to the whittle jet engine moment in our lifetime. but first, the commercial spaceports would launch satellites,

and could bring zero—gravity flights to the uk. then, ultimately, even space tourism. the opportunities are huge, and not even the sky is the limit. angelina jolie has spoken for the first time about her separation from brad pitt. the hollywood actor and director has been speaking exclusively to the bbc about her new film, set in cambodia under the khmer rouge. angelina jolie, a un refugee agency special envoy, first visited the region in 2000. she later adopted maddox, her oldest son, from cambodia. she spoke to our reporter, yalda hakim. i'm here because 17 years ago i came to this country and fell in love with its people and learned about its history and in doing so realised how little i actually knew in my early 20s about the world so this country for me has been... was my awakening and my son changed my life. do you think that in many ways

you have come full circle? you know, your humanitarian work started here, you became a mother here, that perhaps this is some sort of crossroads for you and it's come back here? yeah. i will always... i will always be very grateful to this country and i hope... i hope i have given back as much as it has given me. i don't think i ever could give back as much as this country has given me. i understand this is a very sensitive issue. we know that an incident occurred which led to your separation, we also know you have not said anything about this but would you like to say something? uh... 0nly that... i don't want to say very much about that except to say it was a very difficult time and... and we are a family and we will

always be a family and we will get through this time and hopefully be a stronger family for it. we are still waiting for the debate to start in the house of lords. mps still —— peers still waiting to get under way. we're still waiting for mike pence in munich, i bet you both will start at the same time. happening just as louise lear begins to tell us just as louise lear begins to tell us about the weather. i shall move sea mlessly us about the weather. i shall move seamlessly on, if someone tells me to shut up. let me tell you about

the glorious weather we have out there. lovely in cambridge. east anglia, parts of the south east seen the best of the sunshine, 18 degrees. in fields like spring is a cock, step and a jump away. still some cloud in the west, drizzle, pretty disappointing. mild, but rather grey and murky looking. westerly winds continuing to drive cloud this some sherry outbreaks across the north—west of england. that will drift eastlands, some rain drifting into wales in southern england as we go through the night. further north, slightly cooler, 8-10d. a further north, slightly cooler, 8—10d. a scattering of showers, maybe a touch of frost in localised areas. into tuesday, some wet

weather around, and it looks as if weather around, and it looks as if we will start off dry and bright, outbreaks of rain into the north and west. there will be cloudy conditions to the south, cloud and outbreaks of rain first thing in the morning. that will steadily he's away. as we get through the day, the rain will shift southwards, to the north and west we see outbreaks of rain developing and becoming more widespread into the extreme north—west of scotland. heavy rain, gale force and gusts of winds. staying mild, even with the cloud and rain, 12—13d. cloudy, drying up in eastern areas by the end of the day. into wednesday, significant low— pressure day. into wednesday, significant low—pressure strengthening the winds, severe gales into the far north of scotland for a time. damaging gusts of wind, scattering of showers. cold day, any showers

falling as snow on higher ground. the week whether from producing cloud and outbreaks of rain in the south, but still a milderfeel. the milderair south, but still a milderfeel. the milder air will not last going into wednesday, cold air seeping south across the country. feeling noticeably different. despite the 1st of march being a hop, skip and a jump 1st of march being a hop, skip and a jump away, not done with winter yet. this is bbc news, i'm emily maitlis. the headlines at three. members of the house of lords have begun debating the legislation giving theresa may the authority to trigger brexit talks. this is the scene live.

it comes as the prime minister warns peers not to delay the process. properly there'll be debate and scrutiny in the house of lords and i don't want to see anybody hold up what the british people want. a big overspend for the nhs in england as latest figures show it is hundreds of millions over budget. a big rise in council tax bills across england as local authorities try to tackle the social care crisis. most households could be charged 5% more from april. trouble for the new leader of ukip as two senior party officials in liverpool quit, citing "crass insensitivity" over the hillsborough tragedy. in the next hour, the us vice president arrives in brussels to try to reassure european allies. mike pence insists washington is still committed to