today at 5. .. a heterosexual couple have lost their legal case to be allowed a civil partnership. they're only available to same—sex couples, but it was a narrow defeat for charles keidan and rebecca steinfeld. marriage we recognise as a meaningful and valuable institution for many people, but not for us. we see ourselves as partners in life and want to be partners in law and many thousands feel exactly the same way. it was a close—run thing at the court of appeal, and some believe it'sjust a matter of time before the law is changed. we'll have the latest. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... nearly two thirds of hospital services could be scaled back across england under local proposals, the bbc understands. government finances show their biggest january surplus for 17 years — £91; billion. police continuing excavating two properties in swindon, one of which is the former home of christopher halliwell, who's serving a life sentence for the murder of two young women. just been kicked off the plane. not

going to new york. a muslim teacher from swansea says he still does not know why he was denied entry to the united states. and after these pictures are beamed around the world, sutton united's reserve goalkeeper resigns, for a possible breach of betting rules. it's five o'clock. our top story... we have breaking news before we get into the headlines. a british man who had been detained

at once and obey but was released, has blown himself up in a suicide attack outside the iraqi city of mosul. let's talk to our security correspondent. frank, fill us in on the details? we understand that his real name was ronnie fidler. he was imprisoned at guantanamo are a from 2002 to 200k. imprisoned at guantanamo are a from 2002 to 2004. he imprisoned at guantanamo are a from 2002 to 200k. he was arrested in 2001, by the americans suspected of collaborating with the the taliban. after his release, there was no real news about him, but in 2014, ten yea rs news about him, but in 2014, ten years after his release, it crossed over the borderfrom years after his release, it crossed over the border from turkey into syria and join the so—called islamic state. there is an official immigration paper published by them showing him crossing into their territory as it was then. it is quite unusual, not unheard of, for

britons to become suicide bombers for islamic state in this way, but he is the man in the photograph. he changed his name some years ago from ronald fidler, which was his —— to an islamic name and then he got a fighting name. that is the name that is has announced his death under. he was 50, which is pretty old for most fighters out there. they tend to be in their late teens to late 20s. he was probably called grandad by some of the fighters. frank, thank you. any more on this breaking story we will bring you. a heterosexual couple have lost their attempt to be allowed to have a civil partnership. rebecca steinfeld and charles keidan had argued that being prevented from entering into one is discriminatory. todayjudges at the court of appeal said that there was a potential

human rights breach, but the government should have more time to decide on the future of civil partnerships — which were created in 2004 for same—sex couples. our legal affairs correspondent clive coleman reports. emerging from court, charles keidan and rebecca steinfeld, a heterosexual couple fighting for the right to enter a civil partnership. all three of the judges agreed we're being treated differently because of our sexual orientation and that this impacts our private and family life. all three rejected the argument that we could just get married. all three emphasised that the government cannot maintain the status quo for much longer. a civil partnership defined in the 2004 act that created them as a relationship between two people of the same sex so they are not available to heterosexual couples. in december 2014, charles and rebecca were stopped from registering their notice of intention to form a civil partnership

by their local registry office. same—sex marriage came into force in march 2014. sir eltonjohn and david furnish were among the first to tie the knot. since then, civil partners have been able to convert their civil partnership into a marriage, and some 13% have done so. charles and rebecca argued that the ban on heterosexual couples becoming civil partners breached their right to a family life and discriminated against them. the government won but only by a whisker. all three judges found that the ban on heterosexual couples entering into civil partnerships was potentially in breach of their human rights and discriminatory. but two of the judges found that the different treatment of same—sex and opposite sex couples was justified by the government's policy on civil partnerships which is to wait and see how many same—sex couples want to enter into one, rather than to get married.

the government has welcomed the court's ruling and says it will carefully consider it. but campaigners are impatient. the government has to wake up and smell the coffee. there is a growing feeling this needs to happen. there is a growing appreciation backed up by the court today that this is an inequality that cannot go on. there are more than three million heterosexual cohabiting couples in the uk who, campaigners say, want the option of a civil partnership which conveys and protects virtually all of the same rights as married. —— the same rights as marriage. this important issue of social policy is not going away. some hospital services could be cut or scaled back in nearly two thirds of england, in order to save money and to try to improve efficiency — according to a bbc analysis of plans in 44 areas. proposed changes range from full closures, to centralising services on fewer sites. our health correspondent

sophie hutchinson has the details. protests outside horton hospital in oxfordshire just a few months ago where there are concerns about bed closures and cuts to stroke and critical care. and it's not the only place. right across england, proposals for big changes are afoot in the nhs. the bbc has analysed 44 of the transformation and sustainability plans. two thirds include either hospital closures or moving treatments to a different site. more than a third involve cuts to the number of hospitals providing non—emergency treatments and around one third plan to reduce the number of hospitals offering emergency care. the plans include proposed closures to hospital bed which has been criticised. to shut 2596 of beds is

unrealistic at the moment with the current crisis. we know that when hospitals are full, they become less safe. so we have to make sure that any bed reconfiguration has to be done with patient safety as a priority. but the ambition of taking ca re priority. but the ambition of taking care out of hospital and moving it into patients' homes has been praised by experts as the best way of delivering essential reforms to the nhs but they say it cannot be done without extra funding. ideally, it would be an earmarked funds for new investments to improve out of hospital services and to shore up aduu hospital services and to shore up adult social care which is really in crisis at the moment. if those additionalfunds are crisis at the moment. if those additional funds are not forthcoming, the government needs to be honest about the consequences for patients and what the offer to the public will be. leaving downing street today, the health secretary was asked to comments... but decided

not to. in a statement, the department of health said, these nhs plans, developed by local doctors, hospitals and councils, will head patients get better care by developing the nhs forward five—year plan. delivering the nhs —— transforming mental health as well. the challenge for the nhs in england is the timescale given to deliver these large—scale is the timescale given to deliver these la rge—scale improvements is the timescale given to deliver these large—scale improvements and during a period of unprecedented low increases the nhs budgets. with me is our health correspondent, nick triggle. they want to save money but they won on in the early know the exact detail of the plans, because they

are set up by local trusts? yes, england has been split into 44 areas and a jared has come england has been split into 44 areas and ajared has come up england has been split into 44 areas and a jared has come up with their proposals. this is part of the national five—year plan for the nhs which estimate £22 billion of savings. the idea is that moving ca re savings. the idea is that moving care out of hospitals makes it cheaper to provide it in the community. there are a growing number of patients with long—term conditions which, if they are kept well in the community, is better for them and for the nhs purse. but we are ultimately talking about cutting back bed numbers. we know, over the last couple of weeks and months of the winter, how important it is to have as many beds as possible in hospitals and nand? yes, indeed. that is one of the things the kings fund think tank is warning about. they are talking about the scale of the changes, the reduction in bed

numbers. these proposals are going to be happening quite quickly or they are attempting to push it through quite quickly. the second area of concern is the lack of capacity in the community. gps are busy, council run care teams are busy, council run care teams are busy, district nursing staff have been cut. they say that there are not the staffing and resources in the to take on the workload from hospitals. but have these proposals being drawn up locally, divorced from the general situation of the nhs? was aged drawn up some time ago so that they think the cutting back the beds will not be a problem? local trusts were given ambitious targets they have proposed ambitious changes. but this winter has caused concern. these plans were being drawn upa concern. these plans were being drawn up a year ago... well, they

would run of a year ago? the process lasted a year ago. somewhat drawn up before the winter, before christmas. now there is vetting and public consultation. these are the first d raft consultation. these are the first draft and i suspect some of them may change. thank you for coming in, nick. you can find out what the nhs plans are in your area in england by going to bbc.co.uk/health. government finances were £9.4 billion in surplus injanuary, according to the office for national statistics. the first month of the year traditionally sees a surplus, because of the high level of income tax receipts — but this is the biggest january surplus for 17 years. our economics editor kamal ahmed is with me. hgppy happy days are here again? well we are usually talking about budget black holes for the government and

we can legitimately talk about some green shoots here. only one month's figures. the economy is performing better since the referendum and many predicted. that means that tax receipts are higher, not only from individuals and self—assessment but also from businesses. if the economy is performing better, businesses tend to perform better and they pay more tax and that all feeds in to the government offers which means that the government for this month at least has been earning more than it has been spending. to put some perspective around this, by the time we get to march the government for the whole year is likely to have borrowed £60 billion more than it has spent. there's a problem with the deficit which to britain's nearly £2 trillion debt by 2020. the

treasury has been very clear, it has more wiggle room on things like the issue of business rates which we have been reporting on, maybe on the nhs and social care which we have also been reporting on. but the treasury people i have spoken to say that it treasury people i have spoken to say thatitis treasury people i have spoken to say that it is not a time for big giveaways. the main target is still to balance the books, meaning that it spends as much as it owns. also, of course the brexit risks to the economy has not been evident yet, maybe the treasury believes there will be an economic cost to brexit after article 50 is triggered and restart the process of leaving the european union. so the surplus will not be given away in the next budget, it will probably be kept in a reserve funds to deal with the effects of brexit? possibly. the treasury believes that there could be some economic edwin is connected to brexit. what kind of trade deal

—— economic head winds. there is evidence that consumer confidence have softened, retail sales have softened and if consumer confidence changes or becomes more negative, that has a huge impact on the performance of the uk economy. and if we don't get the sort of tariff free trade deal that theresa may wa nts free trade deal that theresa may wants with the rest of europe, europe is our biggest trading partner, then that could mean that as this investment could slow and the economy itself could slow. so they feel there are some headwinds ahead. but since the referendum, the performance of the economy means that public finances are in better shape than many believed they would be. and this month at least, the news is better than many believed. yeses expected. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines... a man detonated a car bomb in mosul

in iraq has been identified as a british is by the pool was once detained bay, ronald at fiddler, who took an islamic name after converting to islam. aiket recessional couple have been denied the right to have a civil partnership that they have —— a heterosexual couple. but they have said that they will fight on. in sport, sutton united's reserve goalkeeper has resigned after the fa said there might have been a breach of their betting rules. the keeper eight a pasty in the second half after there was a bet that he would be seen using a pie. pep guardiola has ever failed to reach the semifinals of the champions league

in his managerial career. manchester city face monaco tonight. the king george winner thistle crack will not be in next month's cheltenham festival. more on all the stories around half—past. police have begun excavation work at two properties in swindon in wiltshire, one of which is the former home of christopher halliwell, who's serving a life sentence for the murder of two young women. halliwell, who's 53, murdered becky godden in 2003 and sian o'callaghan in 2011. our correspondent duncan kennedy is in swindon. the police have covered the two back gardens with tents and tarpaulins. at times you can hear them drilling into concrete. halliwell lived here between 90 and 2000. police removed wheelie bins from the properties. it was not clear what was in them. several plastic bags were taken away

as well. christopher halliwell is a convicted double murderer. he killed sian o'callaghan in 2011 and becky godden in 2003. eight years between them, when he could have had more victims. that is why some neighbours are concerned. when i heard last night something is going on, it was shocking. a bit closer comfort. it is, really. for instance team's have been here all day. they are working in the back garden behind tarpaulins and tents —— the forensic team has been year all day. christopher halliwell has been described as calculating and devious. police believe he could have killed more women. becky godden's father has been critical of what the police

%.7.n becaseofr— , .. beret which delayed' , 1:1" 7; % which delayed becky's 112 g which delayed becky's k 12 % which delayed becky's k is j% made which delayed becky's k is getting caught. it'sjust reliving the nightmare. i mean, sleepless nights, five or six years, now. i have aged so much. do you find yourself thinking of becky... ? yeah, all the time. police say that they are now acting on new information and this latest operation could last up to five days. some of the other stories making bbc news at 5... the bodies of more than 80 migrants — including children — have washed up on the shores of libya. it is believed they were trying to cross the mediterranean to italy in a rubber boat. rescuers from the libyan red crescent say they are expecting to recover more bodies, because of the size of the boat. an israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded palestinian attacker has jailed for 18 months for manslaughter. when he was on the ground injured after stabbing a soldier.

the case has divided israel — the prime minister binyamin netanyahu led calls for the soldier to be pardoned. police in barcelona have arrested a man after shooting at a truck loaded with butane gas canisters that was speeding the wrong way along a busy road. they opened fire on the vehicle as it headed towards the city's harbour this morning. the chancellor, philip hammond, has assured conservative mps that he's listening to concerns about the impact of the revaluation of business rates in england and wales. more than a quarter of companies are facing higher bills — some are facing rises of more than 100%. our reporter ashleyjohn baptiste explains how baptiste explains how the changes will work. business rates, what companies large and small have to pay. like council tax will companies. that charge on

their property is decided on the value of the value of their land. the government has decided that the rates should be re—evaluated and they did not do it last time so it has been seven years since the last valuation. that means some companies are bracing themselves for a whopper ofa are bracing themselves for a whopper of a rise while others they the rates play the deal —— remain the same. so a large warehouse in the middle of the countryside may pay less tha n middle of the countryside may pay less than a cafe in london. that is why we are here. alex is the manager and owner and fears his rates could double. we have been here for34 yea rs. double. we have been here for34 years. it was my father's, he bought it when i was four. it is only one of four businesses left. we'll be paying £22,000, he 100% increase. if you go further back, for yourfour

yea rs you go further back, for yourfour years ago, we were only paying about £7,000. 50 the years ago, we were only paying about £7,000. so the rates have probably quadrupled. ministers have been lobbied to water down or scrap the increases. the government says that most people will see their rates on hold or decreased. the government believes 520,000 ratepayers will see their bills increase as a result of their bills increase as a result of the devaluation. 920,000 will see their bills fall and 420,000 will see no change. but despite these assurances, opposition is not dying down. the changes kick in on the 1st of april. one point of contention amongst smaller businesses has been how some of the big retailers, especially those who's primary business is online, will be less affected or even better off, when the changes are made in april. for instance... amazon's rates will increase by only 0.95%.

online fashion retailer boohoo.com will see their rates cut by 13%... and fashion giant asos.com — their rates will stay exactly the same. joining me is paul gardner, owner of a small family—run business, now in its fourth generation. it's good to see you. thanks for joining us. i see you are surrounded by all your produce. tell me, how will the rate affect your business when they come into force in april? well, they will affected an awful lot. my rateable value is 18000 and it is going up to £40,000. overfive yea rs, it is going up to £40,000. overfive years, it will be a massive increase. can you afford that? i don't think so. not the way that has gone up. rents go up and i expect rates to go up but not by that

dramatic amount. a huge jump, more than double. if you can't afford it, does that mean that after four generations, you will have to shut up generations, you will have to shut up shop? well, i don't like saying that, but i don't go will be much alternative unless i go onto the internet that that is not something i want to do. i want to carry on a long time here and i want my family to follow in my footsteps. the way thatis to follow in my footsteps. the way that is looking, it is very unlikely. you will try to keep the business going and it will be difficult, you are suggesting. is there any way around this, what about the appeal system ? there any way around this, what about the appeal system?” there any way around this, what about the appeal system? i think i have dealt with appeal systems before but not got very far down the line. i went to ten downing st fairly recently and i met with the small—business minister and we gave a letter for theresa may to read.

and it has been acknowledged, but we have not heard any good news from it. that is as far as it has gone, there is no news of business rates being cut or any help for us. there's nothing i can do except wait for the rates to turn up in the letterbox. your pleas have been ignored, you are suggesting, the government will argue that they have to reassess the rateable value of all these properties and that includes the property that your business is in. and the fact is that they have gone up markedly over the last seven years? well, the east end has also done awful lot and a lot of big businesses have moved into the area and consequently, they are paying some pretty high rents. i do know is that is quite so good for the east end because it will take all the heart and heritage and the tradition of the east end away, i

think. but because those people have moved in, it has made it very awkward for little businesses. do you think businesses like yours, onceis you think businesses like yours, once is limited in size, there should be some kind of special rule —— businesses that are limited in size, there should be some kind of special dispensation to help you to continue trading? we would like that, but i don't know... i know a lot of people at street level and they are very worried about what will happen in the next few years. the first year might not be so bad, but it will slowly builds so in five yea rs' but it will slowly builds so in five years' time, then i would think that quite a significant amount of small business will go out of business. with rents increasing as well. so you will try to soldier on and keep this thing going despite this huge rise, £18,000 to £40,000? yes. i

don't have to pay... that is my ratea ble don't have to pay... that is my rateable value, but my rates will be doubling. i pay around 190 a week, but that could be £400 or £500 a week for a little business, that is quite dramatic. we have got a little something called the east end trade guild which is a guild that unites the small businesses together and we are getting a petition on east end trades twitter account to try to get 10,000 people to sign in and maybe go to ten downing st if we can. but u nless go to ten downing st if we can. but unless there is something done... i know big businesses are around, but for small businesses in particular, i think this part of london will be dramatically affected. indeed. thank you for talking to us, paul, and

good luck in your endeavours to deal with those increase business rates which will be coming in for a lot of businesses in april. much more coming up on the bbc news at five but now the weather. quite a gloomy end. heavy bursts of rain towards the hills in the west. elsewhere, there is rainjust about anywhere. through the night, the heaviest of it pushes southwards. down to the north woodlands. it says the country into. —— the north midlands. it splits the country into two parts. there are some signage and around and in the far north of the country, caithness and orkney could see quite martyr riches. well

the south—west england, says cloudy. with mist and helpful and rain and drizzle at times. temperatures in double figures. chile in the sunshine in the north. storm doris is on its way and more on that later. this is bbc news at five — the headlines. a man who detonated a suicide car bomb in mosul in iraq two days ago has been identified as a british is fighter who was once detained in guantanamo bay. ronald fiddler, aged 50, and originally from manchester, took the name of abu—zakariya al—britani after converting to islam. a heterosexual couple have lost their legal case to be allowed a civil partnership. they're only available to same sex couples, but it was a narrow defeat for charles keidan and rebecca steinfeld. nearly two thirds of hospital services could be scaled back across england under new proposals to save money. government finances recorded a £9.4 billion surplus in last month,

the biggest january surplus for 17 years. police are continuing excavations at two properties in swindon — one of them is a former home of christopher halliwell — who is serving a life sentence for murdering sian o'callaghan and becky godden. time for a look at the sports news now. good afternoon. pep guardiola says critics of the club will kill them if they do not reach the quarterfinals of the champions league. they are without captain vincent kompa ny to league. they are without captain vincent kompany to face monaco tonight. alec ross there now to join andy swiss. many think that city can win this type of the manager has been picking up the opposition tonight. welcome to a rather soggy night at the etihad stadium. a big

night at the etihad stadium. a big night for pep guardiola, he has this incredible record in the champions league, he has neverfailed to get beyond the last 16. he will hope that record stays intact tonight. but monaco will provide a very stern opposition. there are top of the french league, they have this incredible goal—scoring record, 76 in 26 matches. almost an average of three goals per match. they are the top scorers across europe's top division and pep guardiola knows that his team face a tough test tonight. they are intelligent, physically strong, they arrive in the box and they are the most successful team in europe in terms of scoring goals. so it is a tough draw. we look forward to playing them. they really are team. —— a good team. city are without some key

players tonight. they are without vincent kompa ny players tonight. they are without vincent kompany and gabrielle jesus after a fracture. so all eyes on sergio aguero after a difficult few weeks for him. monaco will look to radamel falcao for their goals. he had a pretty grim season at manchester united a few years ago. he will hope to make a better impression on his return to the city. many thanks. sutton united have accepted the resignation of reserve goalkeeper wayne shaw who was filmed eating a pie during last night's match with arsenal. he's now being investigated for potentially breaching betting rules. patrick gearey has been following the story. i understand it was over 2000 bets

on this particular betting situation. we have to find out if any of those involved me or ian baird orany of any of those involved me or ian baird or any of the players. the implications of it are wide reaching. we did not realise it had been staged for a bet. and u nfortu nately been staged for a bet. and unfortunately as you know from fa rules in particular, we are not able to even consider that. i think wayne made a bad error ofjudgment. and u nfortu nately made a bad error ofjudgment. and unfortunately is paying a heavy price for it. the sutton manager speaking there. there has also been a high—profile departure in the championship this afternoon. blackburn rovers manager owen coyle has left the club by ‘mutual consent‘. he has been in charge for eight months and his side have only won 11 of their 37 games. blackburn are second from bottom in the table, three points from safety and they say the search for a new manager is already underway. cheltenham gold cup favourite thistlecrack has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a slight tendon tear.

it means he'll miss the cheltenham festival next month. that's all sport for now. you can keep up to date with all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc. co. uk/sport — and i'll have more in sportsday at half past six. thank you. the first minister of wales has written to foreign secretary boris johnson wales has written to foreign secretary borisjohnson over the case of a teacher from swansea denied entry into the united states. juhel miah was travelling with students from neath when he was escorted from a us—bound flight in iceland which he recorded in a video diary. sangita myska reports. sangita my teacher rts.

sangita my teacher was supposed to be from reykjavik to new be travelling from reykjavik to new york with his students. be travelling from reykjavik to new york with his studentslj be travelling from reykjavik to new york with his students. i have just been informed i have to go to the us embassy tomorrow. he was forced to spend another night in iceland, his stu d e nts spend another night in iceland, his students and other staff allowed to continue on theirjourney to the us. had jack which 7' n had 1m whim is ,, ,, had s then which is - had s then which is i to i had i then which is i to g there. then he headed to the embassy}- . there. then he headed to the embassy the there. then he headed to the the lass}; the there. then he headed to the the 25—year—old who = there. then he headed to the the 25—year—old who teaches morning. the 25—year—old who teaches in wales was met with this. just got to the us embassy and they denied me access and they have given me a card numbers. they're not working. he now back at his school having effectively been banned from

entering the united states. it has been five days since he returned but he has not been given an explanation by the american authorities as to why. as soon as she said i was denied access to new york i asked on what grounds because i had my visa and every document needed. they could not give me an explanation. i asked the question more than once and they did not give me an explanation. it is believed the treatment is linked to the temporary ban on travel by citizens of seven muslim majority countries. it was not their protests around the world and returned by the us court. but when first instituted the foreign secretary told the commons that british citizens would be exempt. we have an exemption for uk passport holders. today boris johnson received a letter from the welsh secretary carwyn jones alluding received a letter from the welsh secretary carwynjones alluding to that exemption. from the current available to me it appears that both the uk government travel advice and

the uk government travel advice and the uk government travel advice and the uk agreement with the us government which she referred to in the house of commons have been disregarded in this instance. in the meantime repeated requests for an explanation as to why he was barred from entering the us continued to be met tonight with silence from both the us embassy in london and american administration in washington. mps have warned of a worsening shortage of teachers in english schools, particularly in maths and science. the education select committee has called on the government to find ways of making teaching more attractive, to stop people leaving the profession. frankie mccamley reports. maths class for these children, with mr walton. but professionals like him are increasingly hard to come by. that's according to a group of mps who says school teacher shortages in england are getting worse. i'm into my fourth year of teaching now. i know some people have dropped out now. i think that's mainly due to workload and pressure, and things like that.

the education select committee is calling for a long—term plan to recruit more teachers and a bigger emphasis to be placed on retaining them, warning many are leaving. reasons include a lack of job satisfaction, curriculum changes, and workload. research has found teachers in england worked nearly 20% more than they do in other similar countries. an average of nearly 50 hours of week. 20 of those are spent here in the classroom teaching. mps say secondary schools are hardest hit in subjects like physics, maths and computing. what we've got to get across is just how important teachers are to our society and our economy. they need to feel valued and trusted. the department for education says it's investing in teacher recruitment and development, to make sure the best in the profession stay put. a former speaker of the house of lords has claimed that many peers

contribute ‘absolutely nothing‘ to parliament — despite claiming their full £300 daily allowance. baroness d‘souza made the comments in a bbc interview for a documentary. a house of lords spokesman said the chamber is ‘active and effective‘, and peers can be suspended if they claim allowances without doing any work. our political correspondent tom bateman reports. they are the peers of the realm, appointed by the monarch on the prime minister‘s advice. unelected but often experienced politicians. tv cameras have for the first time been allowed to film freely in committees and behind—the—scenes of the lords. most peers don‘t get a salary but can claim an attendance allowance of £300 a day. this system is, not for the first time, facing questions. there is a core of peers who work incredibly hard, who do that work, and there are — sad to say — many, many, many peers who contribute absolutely nothing but who claim the full allowance.

baroness d‘souza claimed an unnamed member kept a taxi running outside the lords whilst signing in to collect the allowance. officials here at the house of lords are pushing back hard against the idea of freeloading peers. they say there is a robust code of conduct which is independently overseen. the trouble for them is that even the merest hint of an expenses abuse will play into that long sense of a demise of trust in politicians. lord‘s officials point out that a member was suspended in a previous case, but without names they can‘t investigate this new claim of allowance abuse. i never thought i‘d get expert at putting stockings or tights on... this rare access to peers behind the frills is a clear attempt to show the purpose of the lords in modern political life. many want it to be seen as a crucial working part of the constitution, advising on and improving laws. we take all of the nonsense, rubbish, legislation — and some of it is rubbish —

that comes down from the other end of the building in the comments. —— commons. we work on it, line by line, clause by clause, and we improve it. parliament‘s traditions come dressed in a rich sense of history. peers want people to see why they are relevant to modern life, too. a bit tight at the moment, as you can see. but fresh claims about the abuse of allowances will do little to help their cause. tom bateman, bbc news, westminster. eight years after it was criticised by health inspectors for not having enough beds, operating theatres or trained staff, birmingham children‘s hospital has become the first of its kind to be rated outstanding. the specialist hospital has been praised for turning its fortunes around. our health correspondent jane dreaper reports. a mother‘s tender touch. connor‘s just seven months old, and recovering in intensive care from a liver transplant. home is 50 miles away, so connor‘s older brother, james, has changed school.

give him a kiss. it is a tough time for the whole family, but they are still supported by the staff in birmingham. we have nearly lost him several times over the last six weeks of being here. we have come really close. without them, we would not have a child who is laying in this bed. while he is quite poorly, we have got him and he is here. we have every faith we will get to take him home. that is the only ask as a parent of a sick child. this is the play and admissions centre, designed to distract and relax young patients before their treatment. inspectors have been impressed with the hospital‘s caring approach. this hospital has come a long way since it was criticised by inspectors eight years ago. back then, a report found a shortage of beds and poor training and care. paying much closer attention to the views of patients and staff and acting on their ideas has helped

change the culture in birmingham and encouraged better teamwork. eight years ago we were in an organisation that certainly was not listening to our staff, not listening to what children, young people and families were saying, and was in a really difficult place. through focusing on those areas of patient engagement, staff engagement, we have now got to a position where we are outstanding. some of the children in outpatients need repeated appointments. so it‘s vital they feel comfortable. i was with a doctor a couple of weeks ago and it wasn‘t scary or anything, it was very relaxed. he actually helped me. i felt confident. is it scary when you come here, or do you feel ok about it? i feel ok about it. the emotional support given to bereaved parents has also been praised in today‘s report. and they will now be able to use

this new room when they are going through the worst of times. rachel helped raise thousands of pounds for this unit after the death of her older daughter through kidney cancer. when you're giving used bike that sometimes you feel you cannot breathe, you need fresh air, to absorb information that is being told to you. and there was not that opportunity within the existing building at birmingham at that time. just to be ourselves as a family and be together. the staff here believe they can improve care even further, but today is a huge moment in showing how this hospital has turned a corner. jane dreaper, bbc news, birmingham. more on breaking news that a british man who had been detained at

guantanamo bay but subsequently released has blown himself up in a suicide attack outside the iraqi city of mosul. ronald fiddler was aged 50 and originally from manchester. tassagh is from the quilliam foundation. what do we know of this man who became a muslim convert? he went to afghanistan just after the september the 11th bombing and he was arrested in 2002. he was released a couple of years later along with a handful of other british inmates. but obviously he joined another group in syria about two or three years ago. he crossed over to syria. and he carried out

this suicide attack. i'm really sorry, the line is not very good and we are going to have to end it there. we might try to re—establish that line. apologies to viewers and to yourself. just trying to get more information on the british man who was detained in guantanamo bay and then released and now we understand has blown himself up in a suicide attack just outside the has blown himself up in a suicide attackjust outside the iraqi city of mosul. that in the last couple of days. of course iraqi security forces and the americans and coalition fighting islamic state in iraq have been trying to retake the second city mosul for the past few weeks. and that news coming to us in the last couple of hours or so of that british man involved in so—called islamic state in iraq. this is bbc news at

five — the headlines. a man who detonated a suicide car bomb in mosul in iraq two days ago has been identified as a british is fighter who was once detained in guantanamo bay. ronald fiddler, aged 50, and originally from manchester, took the name of abu—zakariya al—britani after converting to islam. a heterosexual couple have lost their case at the court of appeal, to be allowed a civil partnership, but they‘ve pledged to continue their campaign. nearly two thirds of hospital services could be scaled back across england under proposals outlined by 44 health districts. an update on the market numbers for you — here‘s how london and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. george papaconstantinou was the man at the centre of the greek economic

and financial crisis that hit the country eight years ago. when he became finance minister in october 2009 — he uncovered the true extent of greece‘s fiscal troubles and created a support mechanism for the country, including negotiating the 110 billion euro loan agreement with the eu and the imf. in the process though he also became what he describes as the perfect scapegoat for all the troubles of the country — ending up in a trial by a special court for his handling of the so—called lagarde list. in a moment i will be speaking with george papaconstantinou — but first lets have a look back to 2010 when he met with imf officials to secure a bailout. it is an important day today. it is not an easy day but a day in which we have the commitment of the greek government to do whatever it takes to bring the economy back to a sustainable path. and the commitment

of the eurozone members to do whatever it takes to safeguard it. greece is now in it‘s third bailout — so what lessons have been learnt? george pa paconsta ntinou is here with me now. thank you for coming in. you catalogued the tumult of the last few years and your involvement in that in your book, and you have a copy of it there. game over. you negotiated the bailout with the eu and the imf in return for pretty stringent austerity measures. you at the time were described as most hated man in greece and to this day some greeks have neverforgiven hated man in greece and to this day some greeks have never forgiven you for it. this is true but it is not just a personal story, ijust happened to be the man who had to ta ke happened to be the man who had to take those tough decisions. it could have been someone else in my place. and hopefully they would have taken the same decisions. they were tough but necessary. what is sad is seven or eight eight years after the fact

we‘re still there, greece is in its third bailout. another 86 billion in 2015 and no end in sight. and these days we are still caught up in yet more negotiations. brinkmanship on all sides and the economy has lost 2596 all sides and the economy has lost 25% of its output. it has been an extremely painful path and very difficult for greek citizens. you say hopefully other people would have made the same decisions but the point is they did not. the previous government knew what the state of finances where, just help impoverished greece was overall and they did not blow the whistle. you did. the financial times suggests even to this day there are some people who believe that that day reckoning was affordable. but you could have avoided it. i wish it was the case. the fact was the markets

knew very well that the country was running a deficit doubled the one it was officially declaring. debt was very high, so there was no way to continue this charade. greece was living beyond its means. the day of reckoning had to come. and u nfortu nately reckoning had to come. and unfortunately greece found itself in a difficult position in the eurozone where markets were getting increasingly worried about rising levels of debt after the policies then. we where the canary in the coal mine, the first one there and others followed. after us it was portugal, ireland, we just others followed. after us it was portugal, ireland, wejust happen to be the first. and we got the whole brunt of the eurozone that was unprepared for the situation they thought they would never have to face. some believe greek accession to the eu was premature in the early 19805 and the country actually should not have been allowed in because the finances had been

sketchy for a long time. that is true. i think for greece growth has been positive despite all the pain. i wish we had been better prepared before we came into the eurozone in 2000 and i wish we had done the kind of necessary transformation after we came in. the fact was greece could borrow at the same rate as germany on the market and the markets blindly offered funds to countries with very different risk profile is assuming that in the eurozone eve ryo ne assuming that in the eurozone everyone was the same. but we were not. but the great tragedy as it became along with the crisis in other countries in the eurozone, that for some people in this country helps them realise that perhaps the eu was not for the uk and helped propel the country towards the vote to leave. i wonder if it was the eurozone troubles. one part of it.

my eurozone troubles. one part of it. my sense is that the uk participating in the eu was never wholehearted. there was a sense of distance and not just wholehearted. there was a sense of distance and notjust did —— not just geographic but a distance from the rest of the eu. it was not an enthusiastic thing to be part of. so it is possible that the eurozone troubles also played a role. but i think of something much deeper. i happen to think the decision to exit is not in the interests of the uk or of the eu. but the decision has been taken. when the decision was taken last summer we had sterling falling pretty precipitously in the months afterwards and is still at a pretty low level com pa red afterwards and is still at a pretty low level compared to before the referendum result. that made a lot of british companies quite attractive and cheap in the eyes of some foreign conglomerates. recently

we had attempts by heinz and craft in the us to take over your leave. do you see perhaps other british companies with sterling being so low, do you see perhaps british companies being ripe for picking by otherforeign companies being ripe for picking by other foreign competitors krejci mark i think it is possible. despite a pushback against globalisation that we are seeing lately it is an increasingly global economic environment and companies are looking at the kind of economies of scale. so in an environment where sterling is cheap, british companies could become the target of ta keovers. could become the target of takeovers. what you think the future is the eu, donald trump things other countries might be leaving as well. do you think the eu is now as robust as it has ever been? in situations like that there are two options. to go into the direction of the demise

and people leaving one after one but the other is to get your act together and circle the wagons. i think we are in the second case. i think we are in the second case. i think once the elections are over in european countries, the netherlands, the french elections, german elections, assuming they do not have any huge surprises i think there will be a determined attempt to bring the rest of the european union together. with common policies on defence, security other things. and to further strengthen the european monetary union which is still incomplete. good to have. thank you. that is all for now. time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. this week we have a journey through the seasons. we began with spring as temperatures got to 18 degrees on monday. we finish with snow as the

winter chill returns and temperatures quite widely dropping. in between a stormy spell on the way for some of them details of that in a minute. and tonight it could turn quite wild across northern parts of scotland. this area of low pressure is responsible. bringing a strong wind across the uk. that area zabret cloudy, misty conditions to the south of the country, with temperatures not dropping below double figures to the colder air further north. temperatures well down into single figures again. that we have sunshine at times on wednesday but also strong wind, up to 80 miles an hour across orkney & shetland. bringing also some sleet and snow. not a bad day in the far north but wales, the midlands and

southern england comparatively mild but quite damp with outbreaks of rain. as we finish wednesday the rain. as we finish wednesday the rain begins to work laws again and that links in to these stormy spell of weather that i mentioned. emerging from behind me is the fourth named storm of the season, storm doris, said to bring strong wind and heavy snow. starting with the wind, a met office amber warning, be prepared. potentialfor disruption to travel or even power supplies across parts of northern england, north wales at the north midlands on thursday. this is where we see the strongest of the winds. especially during the second half of the day. we also have snow, across the day. we also have snow, across the hills of northern england and scotland, up to five, ten centimetres on higher ground and even on lower levels during morning rush hour. but for the uk as a whole

we start off with quite a bit of brain around, becoming confined to the east of scotland and the wind remains strong for everyone into the afternoon. a few showers to the south and west but it turns colder. the court of appeal rules against a heterosexual couple who want to enter into a civil partnership, at present restricted to same—sex couples. charles keidan and rebecca steinfeld want legal recognition of their relationship, without getting married. there is so much in the ruling, together with our supporters incredible support, gives us reason to be positive and keep going. the couple say they hope to take their case to the supreme court. also tonight: plans to reform nhs care could mean hospital services cut or scaled back in the majority of areas in england. a british islamic state fighter who died in a bomb attack in iraq was — the bbc understands —

a former detainee at guantanamo bay a former detainee at guantanamo bay. a cash bonanza for the treasury — strong tax receipts leave