this is bbc news, the headlines at lipm. a big victory for the conservatives at the copeland by—election — unseating labour after they held the seat for more than 80 years. this is an astounding victory for the conservative party but also for the conservative party but also for the people of copeland. but labour sees off a threat from ukip, and holds onto stoke. jeremy corbyn says the politics of hope overcame the politics of fear... people came out, worked, knocked on doors and delivered a message — it's a message about the economy, it's a message about jobs, it's a message about this country. it was disappointing, the conservative vote held up for it well and we didn't get that conservative tactical vote. i feel sorry for paul nuttal, he fought a ha rd sorry for paul nuttal, he fought a hard campaign. and in the next hour... leicester supporters react to the sacking of claudio ranieri. as the former manager poses for photos with fans, gary linekerjoins those criticising the decision — calling the dismissal ‘unforgiveable‘ .

personally, i think they should be building statues to him, not sacking. malaysian authorities say the half brother of north korea's leader was killed by a vx nerve agent which is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. and wanted, a squirrel patrol to help protect the native red squirrel from disappearing from the uk. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. it was — by any standards — a very good result for the conservatives — causing a major electoral upset by winning the long—held labour seat

of copeland in cumbria. their candidate beat labour by more than 2000 votes. it's the first time a governing party has gained a seat at a by—election since 1982... in the night's other by—election labour held stoke—on—trent central — holding off the challenge of the ukip leader paul nuttall. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says the party's win in stoke was "a decisive rejection of ukip‘s politics of division". but he says their "message was not enough to win through in copeland". 0ur political correspondent carole walker reports. teresa may was all smiles as she arrived in copeland to congratulate her party's newest mp, and she said it was an astonishing result. what we have seen from this victory is that this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every part of the country. cheering and that's the message, that we bring here to copeland, and that we will take across the country.

the tories say that winning here is a resounding endorsement of the prime minister's leadership and policies, it was a ground—breaking victory. harrison, trudy, the conservative party candidate. 13,748. cheering the conservatives are jubilant, their new mp increased the share of the vote, by 8%. what happened here tonight is a truly historic event, you would have to go back more than a century to find an example of a governing party taking a seat from the opposition party in an election like this. the defeated labour candidate left without saying a word, the result has piled on the anguish for labour mps who fear they are heading for defeat at the general election. there was some comfort for labour in

stoke central where labour saw off the threat from ukip to hold the seat. people came out, and gave a message about this country, jobs and the country, but above all it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. what about copeland mr corbyn? but it has not stopped the questions about mr corbyn‘s leadership. but it has not stopped the questions about mr corbyn's leadership. have you at any point this morning little southern mirror and ask yourself this problem, could the problem be me? no. why not? thank you for your question. the result in stoke was also a setback for ukip and its leader, paul nuttal‘s bid foundered after a campaign dogged by

controversy despite overwhelming support for brexit locally. this was number 72 on support for brexit locally. this was number72 on our support for brexit locally. this was number 72 on our hit list, a lot more to come from us, you're not going anywhere. so therefore, we move on. disappointing was the verdict of the former leader, before it hard for that campaign, lessons to learn. in terms of how we campaign and target and we will learn those lessons. by-elections do not necessarily reflect the national mood, but the tories hope that it points towards future opportunities in political territory once considered beyond their grasp. ian watson is in copeland. what are people saying? it wasn'tjust theresa may doing a victory lap in the constituency early on this

afternoon. i think that's the message is certainly worrying any labour mps because that message very clearly is that the conservative party on the surface at least, can appeal, two people write across—the—board, notjust appeal, two people write across—the—board, not just a privileged few. but i'm picked that a bit, she is saying she's really in contention to win over working—class voters who backed brexit, and they look far more united on europe, there are some labour mps who think 0k, she will be in trouble down the line, with negotiations, but it is not necessarily guaranteed, that the tide will shift back towards labour. it was seen as a very serious defeat. 0ne labour mp called it catastrophic for labour in a seat that they had held in one form or another since the 1930s and they looked to be talking to voters and there were three major problems, interlinked for the labour party. 0ne interlinked for the labour party.

one of them, perhaps the biggest one, is trust. even whenjeremy corbyn was saying that voters want to hear from corbyn was saying that voters want to hearfrom him. four example new nuclear capacity, sellafield is the biggest employer, people don't trust to deliver. he ran a very strong campaign but they weren't sure if he could stop the downgrading of hospital services. secondly, could stop the downgrading of hospitalservices. secondly, is only the ship came up in the doorsteps, don't take my word for it, listen to the labour mps, who was saying that the labour mps, who was saying that theissue the labour mps, who was saying that the issue of his leadership came up on prompted. also another problem for it, jeremy corbyn is trying to occu py for it, jeremy corbyn is trying to occupy space as an insurgent, yet voters here were saying that labour has been in charge for 80 years and he is seen as part of the establishment and not the solution and all of these together add up to cirrus problems for the labour party because if there is a national swing which is similar,

rather than gain seats, they can lose up to 50 seats. many labour mps are worried about the prospects, but no, that it is next to impossible to dislodgejeremy no, that it is next to impossible to dislodge jeremy corbyn no, that it is next to impossible to dislodgejeremy corbyn because they tried that last year and they failed, and if, he was told very clearly, asked if he was part of the problem and he said no. if he is asked to stay on, labour mps certainly think there was a problem for them, they do not know what to do about it or how to resolve it. are assistant political editor norman smith has been on stoke—on—trent, where the labour leader has been attending to celebrate his party ‘s victory in that by—election, this is what norman told us. jeremy corbyn has just paid a pretty short victory to celebrate last night labour victory, didn't we want to take questions

about that other contest in copeland which was another grim resolve for labour. i'm joined by the neighbouring mp for this stoke seat, ruth smith. i suppose you are going to say this is a good result for labour but even here in stoke, the labour but even here in stoke, the labour vote slipped 7 labour but even here in stoke, the labour vote slipped? it slipped marginally, let us member what we are fighting against. ukip campaign spent a huge amount of money, had a really flash campaign but they could only increase their share of the vote by 2%. the tories but at 13 different pieces of literature and their share of the vote also only we nt their share of the vote also only went out marginally. given the weather and it was a by—election debris on the day of the worst storms in the last sears, i'm delighted that i get to welcome, him because the next labour member of parliament and not only that, we defeated ukip, he tried to make this about the referendum last year and we made it about the future and we want. me put it to you, here we are

seven want. me put it to you, here we are seve n yea rs want. me put it to you, here we are seven years into a conservative government, after years of austerity and real difficulties in the nhs and social care. you are the main opposition party aspiring to government. you should be miles ahead in seats like this?” government. you should be miles ahead in seats like this? i agree that there is something not quite right, we should be far away ahead than we are. the polls after flexing well for us. what is the problem? we are not resonating well get. we need to have lots of discussions about what is happening. my constituency needs this labour government. so whatever we have got to do now collectively together, to deliver for the labour party so that we can deliver for the country, that is what we have got to do. is it an issue, or is it an issue, about the personality ofjeremy corbyn and how people see him? i think it is about being clear, i think we have a right

to be heard so when we have got that, then we will be able to convince them that we are the only party for them and actually that is what we did for this constituency. 0urcampaign had what we did for this constituency. 0ur campaign had tangible plans for the future of our city, i'm delighted that i will be able to deliver it with a new labour member of parliament and honestly i'm really ha p py of parliament and honestly i'm really happy to see paul nuttal on his way out of our city. how long do you think you have got to turn things around. the clock is ticking ona things around. the clock is ticking on a turnaround in labour's fortunes for 2020? politics is changing faster than i can rent brit in my lifetime, in the last 18 months we have seen donald trump and the brexit vote, neither of which we anticipated. politics moves faster thanit anticipated. politics moves faster than it did before in my opinion. we have got time to rebuild, we just need to have a candid conversation asa need to have a candid conversation as a party about how we can deliver for the people that we want to represent so that we can have a

positive future. calling for labour to have a candid conversation about what actually happened in the by—election last night. what actually happened in the by-election last night. norman, thank you very much. if you'd like more information on the by—election results, there is plenty more reaction and analysis for you on the bbc website. the former leicester and england footballer, gary lineker, has described the club's sacking of claudio ranieri — nine months after he led them to the premier league title — as "inexplicable, unforgivable and gut—wrenchingly sad." the italian was dismissed last night after a string of poor results, that has left the side just one point — one place — above the relegation zone. 0ur sports correspondent joe wilson reports. and your manager, claudio ranieri! he was the smile, the face and the manager of the most extraordinary sporting success

anyone in leicester had ever seen, well quite possibly anyone anywhere had ever seen. and leicester sacked him. the starkness of that reality has shocked even those who have spent their life in football. ladies and gentlemen please welcome the leicester city squad including their coach claudio ranieri. flashback to sports personality of the year, gary lineker the former leicester player and lifelong leicester fan, and to claudio ranieri, eternally greatful. the way that everybody got behind leicester last season was just something, that i had never witnessed before. and i thinkjust to toss that all away, over a premature decision, and a disloyal and in many ways, a lack of gratitude is quite gobsmacking. but ijust think that he deserved a little bit more loyalty and certainly more time. personally i think they should be building statues

to him, not sacking him. do you think the players are culpable, do you think the players will be thinking crikey, i caused this? if the players are involved they should have a long hard look at themselves as well. there was always going to be a kind of after the lord mayors show season. it was never going to match anything like last season, this is the reality of where leicester normally are. there are all sorts of different reasons why has happened, but ijust think, it is a really sad day, for leicester, in many ways that it has come to this, i think he deserved a bit more time than this really. i'm not ashamed to say last night when the news broke i shed a tear, i shed a tearfor claudio ranieri, for football and for my club. leicester's thai owners stressed that they were in crisis and they acted to help the club survive and they urged leicester

fans to try to understand. i was very disappointed, i was not shocked because we are not playing too well, but last season he definitely deserved to stay with us until the end of the season, even if we got relegated he still deserve to be our manager. you can't run a club like this, one year, he does the impossible and the next year he is sacked, it is disgusting. fruit and veg, those days, that was the lineker business, they are gone. in the past, the pitches were marred, now, the game has moved on. if the sacking of claudio ranieri, is modern football, what does that say about modern football? magala correspondent has been giving us magala correspondent has been giving us the latest from leicester. there has been a mixture from the people we have been speaking to both here at the stadium, some who feel that

ranieri was incredibly unfortunate, they sympathise with him and they are also angry that he has been sacked, they feel it is completely undeserved and that the club stands just as much chance of being relegated with claudio ranieri being sacked as if they kept him. 0thers do understand the decision may feel he was given enough time and that you cannot live solely on last season. the debate will roll on but the fact remains that claudio ranieri has been sacked. he learnt of the news of his sacking here at the stadium last night after returning from spain where leicester city claimed seville last week. the ca reta ker city claimed seville last week. the caretaker manager denied reports that ranieri had lost the dressing room. but there are mounting reports that certain players went to the club's taione owners and said that enough was enough. it marks a fairly sour into what had been a wonderful

story, leicester city really are in a perilous position and this is the owners feel is their only option to get out of it. their headlines this afternoon here on bbc news. a victory for the conservatives at the copeland by—election, unseating labour after they held the seat for more than 80 yea rs. they held the seat for more than 80 years. but labour sees off a threat from ukip, and holds onto stoke, jeremy corbyn says that the politics of hope overcame the politics of fear. kimjong—nam, of hope overcame the politics of fear. kim jong—nam, the of hope overcame the politics of fear. kimjong—nam, the half brother of the north korean leader, was killed in a highly toxic nerve agent, vx. and reports that claudio ranieri had not lost the dressing room, those are reports in their match against liverpool on monday. earlier today manchester united were drawn against the russian side rostov in the last 16 of the europa league. and the centre ben teal will

make his first start for england in their six nations match against italy on sunday, danny care comes in that scrum—half. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. donald trump says that the controversial building of the wall between us and mexico will start much sooner than expected. it was one of his key election promises but it has provoked a furious response from mexicans. in the last hour he told a conservative conference in merriment, that planning for the wall is ahead of schedule. for too long, we have given away our jobs to other countries. so terrible. we have defended other nations borders, while leaving hours wide open, anyone can come in. oh we are going to build the wall, don't worry, we're building the wall. we

are building the wall. that is just get to start soon, way ahead of schedule. way way way way ahead of schedule. way way way way ahead of schedule. it is going to start very soon, general kelly by the way has done a fantasticjob. a fantastic job he has done. and remember, we are getting the bad ones out. these about dudes. we are getting the bad ones out. 0k? about dudes. we are getting the bad ones out. ok? we are getting the bad. if you watch these people, it is like voges it is so sad. we are getting bad people at this country, people who shouldn't be, whether it is drugs or murder were other things. we are getting bad ones out, those are the ones we are getting at first and i said it from day one. basically all i have done is my promise. did we learn anything new apart from

the scheduling of the wall? not really maxine, i had to say. this was really a crowd pleaser, donald trump going to see people love him and he loves them in return. as simple as that. there were a couple of key messages, first of all he needs to reassure them that he shares their conservative ideals, that he shares their agenda. don't forget the people who voted for him, donald trump supporters, know that he's not an ideologue. they know that he is somebody who says it like it is, but there is also a lot of concern within the conservative movement that he doesn't perhaps share their priority when it comes to tax reform. when it comes to the pin and replacement of 0bama care. so he was also telling them, that he is one of them. i think the other thing he was trying to say during his warm up act, when he was taking his warm up act, when he was taking his beloved potshots, was don't listen to the press, don't listen to the media when they criticise the way he's running the white house.

listen to what he says and look at what he's doing. the flurry of executive orders, that we have seen, his action on immigration, his action on the wall. all of these things, he is saying look at what i do, not what the media says about what i do. is certainly got a warm reception, it was an audience, that is warm to him. is it enough, to allay the fears of this conservative group. is certainly went some way, depressed all the right buttons, did the right things, you did talk about tax reform and one thing that i think they might have found a double bit worrying, when he said that the best way of getting rid of 0bama care, is to do nothing for two yea rs, care, is to do nothing for two years, because that way the whole thing will collapse. in its own ineptitude. and the democrats will have to go in its failure. that is not something that any republican wa nts to not something that any republican wants to hear right now because they wa nt to

wants to hear right now because they want to repeat it almost immediately and replace it. we know that they are struggling with how to do that. so even the suggestion from donald trump, that politically would be a goodidea trump, that politically would be a good idea to wait for two years will not go down well. police in malaysia say the half brother of the north korean leader kim jong—un was murdered with a highly toxic nerve agent known as vx. kim jong—nam was attacked at kuala lumpur airport last week. 0ur correspondent stephen evans sent this report from seoul. only a drop of vx was needed. the assassin pulled the cloth over kim jong—nam's face and his fate was certain. he sought urgent medical help, but so deadly is a chemical agent that nothing would have saved him. the malaysian police chief was adamant it was vx. it is the vx nerve agent, which is a chemical weapon. you don't know how it was brought in?

no, we are investigating that. the police have three people in custody. the two women alleged to have actually attacked, and a north korean man said to have helped. one of the attackers may have contaminated herself. police want to talk to at least seven others, including a north korean diplomat and an employee of north korea's state airline. in 2013, kim jong—un inspected chemical weapons masks. north korea's long been suspected of making chemical weapons. south korean experts think the malaysian attack confirms that. a tiny drop of the vx agent can kill anybody within a minute. so i think it is this, it can absorb the skin, eye, or whatever the body part. so it's more than 100 times toxic

than the nerve gas commonly used, the sarin gas. and the problem with this vx is it is toxic, tasteless and colourless. it's very hard to detect. the airport in kuala lumpur is to be swept for traces of any other deadly chemicals that the assassination team may have left. north korea is, in effect, a dynasty. the all—powerful leadership goes from father to son, brothers are rivals. 0ne threat to kim jong—un is now no more. reports from the iraqi city of mosul say government troops have entered a neighbourhood in the western half of the city. they captured the airport yesterday as part of their battle to expel islamic state forces from its final stronghold in iraq.

a little earlier we spoke to our correspondent wyre davies who is with iraqi forces near mosul. a very critical point in the battle for mosul, we have that after taking the airport yesterday, as of dawn this morning, iraqi forces have headed to heavily armed units, pushing islamic state back into the city itself, it is a very built—up area, 750,000 civilians had a difficult town to fight in. i am at a joint american iraqi base, and what is apparent is that international force is very much part of this. there are american artillery units firing precisions shells at isis in and outside of mosul. american advisers on the ground. boots on the ground as they call them trying to help the iraqi army to take the western part of the city. this is now a very critical part of the fight to try and remove isis also called isis from its last big stronghold in iraq.

a woman who died after being hit by debris in wolverhampton city centre during yesterday's storm has been named as tahnie martin. she was 29 and from stafford. ms martin worked at the university of wolverhampton. in a statement its vice—chancellor said: ‘we are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss." storm doris caused winds of up to 100 mph — causing power cuts, flights to be grounded and trains cancelled. royal bank of scotland has suffered a huge increase in its annual losses. the bank — 72—percent of which is owned by the government — reported a loss of £7 billion pounds for 2015, more than treble the amount for the year before. it's the ninth consecutive year that the bank has made a loss — and is one of the worst annual results for rbs since the government bailed out the banking group in 2008. chief executive ross mcewan said the figures were "disappointing" but should not come as a surprise

given the problems that the bank's current management had inherited. prince charles is reported to back new plans to sterilise grey squirrels. in a bid to protect native reds. the proposals would see grey squirrels given an oral contraceptive — hidden in chocolate spread — which would last several years. the wildlife trusts are having their biggest—ever recruitment drive to help protect red squirrels. conservation charities say the population could disappear from england, wales and northern ireland within a0 years. aisling mcveigh reports. red squirrels were once a common sight across much of the uk. but the introduction of their grey cousins 1111 years ago spelled disasterfor the red population. carrying a disease which kills reds, the bigger, greedier grey squirrel dominates our landscape more than a century on, with more

than 2.5 million of them around. there arejust140,000 reds in comparison. but in recent years, efforts to protect reds have had some success and now for the first time the wildlife trusts are combining to recruit 5,000 volunteers to help with these conservation efforts. people will be asked to monitor and record data and, if they're willing, they'll be given training on how to cull grey squirrels humanely. they're hoping the red squirrels united project will not only maintain, but maybe even increase numbers. we can train people to help with monitoring, so using trail cameras and hair tubes, we also need people to record their sightings and report them to us and also help with grey squirrel control. it's a really great opportunity for people to get involved in a large—scale conservation project but also at a local level and really make a difference. this map shows how many red squirrels were around in 1945, compared to 2010. the campaign hopes to focus

the efforts of volunteers on the nine areas where there are already red squirrels, including the glens of antrim in northern ireland, anglesey in wales, and merseyside in england. the saving scotland's red squirrels volunteer project will also get underway. most of us will never get this close to a baby squirrel. rachel's nursing this one back to health. but with this campaign there's a chance to make sure this native species survives and maybe even flourishes once again in the uk. aisling mcveigh, bbc news. you are quite fascinated by this idea of the chocolate spread, where are they dated but it? —— where are they going to put it? who knows, in a sandwich maybe? right, the weather? yes, it is thomas. i'm

still here, to the days end. it is looking better than it did yesterday. some sunshine, coming after the storm. a nasty storm that we had yesterday, the weather is going to go downhill through the course of this weekend. some rain on the way, but at least it is going to be as miles, or it will be very mild. this is what it looks like, mild. this is what it looks like, mild south—westerly winds, most of the rain today and tonight will fall across these northern and western areas but all of us will have a bit, basically the further south you are the light of the rain will be and then tomorrow, here comes the rain. it could be very windy around these coast and inland, a bit of a breeze, and the rain coming to these western and the rain coming to these western and south—western parts. and overall the weekend is looking mixed,

comparing saturday and sunday. about the same. but i think there will be a few glimmers of brightness at times. this is bbc news, the headlines: the tories celebrate their by—election victory in copeland, an area labour represented for more than 80 years. theresa may said the result was an endorsement of the government's performance. what i think we've seen from this victory is that this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every part of the country. but labour sees off a threat from ukip, and wins the stoke by—election. labour leaderjeremy corbyn said labour won because people came together with a message. people came out, worked, knocked on doors and delivered a message. it's a message about the economy, jobs, a message about this country. gary lineker says he shed a tear for claudio ranieri,

who has been sacked as leicester's manager nine months after winning the premier league. kim jong—nam, the half—brother of north korea's leader, was killed by the highly toxic vx nerve agent according to malaysian authorities. it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. now it is time for the sports news. we start with news of claudio ranierie's sacking by leicester city nine months after leading the club to that incredible premier league title. their league form this season, one point and one place above the relegation zone. but the man who takes temporary charge in ranieri's place craig shakespeare says that's not the case.

i cannot tell the fans how to behave, but we need their support started on monday in the next match. can you categorically say he had not lost some parts of the dressing room? it is pure speculation, but what i would say is there was a lot of frustration because of results, but he had not lost the dressing room. gary lineker told the bbc that he was shocked at claudio ranieri's sacking and is saddened by the treatment of a man who led them to their first top—flight title in the club's history. last season is the inexplicable one, not this season. the fact they managed to get into a reasonable position in the champions league with a 50—50 chance and they are not in the bottom three and given the magic of last season, surely he deserves more time, surely there is some sentiment for him. i

speakfor there is some sentiment for him. i speak for myself as a leicester fan, i cannot speak for all leicester fa ns i cannot speak for all leicester fans and some might disagree, but the way he handled everything last season, the fact that he gave leicester so much, the fact that he made the whole country get behind us, a lot of that was down to is not the so—called football mind games, he was just the so—called football mind games, he wasjust genuine, the so—called football mind games, he was just genuine, he was just warm and the whole country wants to him and the club. that would have evaporated today. premier league managers have also been reacting to the news in their weekly press conferences. jose mourinho wore the initials c r on his top instead of his own and he was described as a special person linking his departure to major events. am i surprised that things like this can happen? no. it is not only in football. there are a

few strange decisions in 2016, 2017, brexit, donald trump, claudio ranieri. brexit, donald trump, claudio ranieri. manchester united have been drawn against the russian side fc rostov in the last 16 of the europa league. it means the premier league side will have to make the 5,000—mile round trip four days before their fa cup tie with chelsea, with the first leg being played away from home. then tear will make his first start for england on sunday's six nations match against italy. danny care makes his first england start in a year at scrum—half, while elliott daly replaces anthony watson on the wing. mark cavendish has retained the overall league after the second stage of the tour of abu dhabi. germany's marcel kittel sprung

a surprise on australia's caleb ewan to snatch victory in the second stage of the tour of abu dhabi. as expected the stage came to down to the usual bunch sprint, with kittel, ewan and mark cavendish all fighting for the win but it was the german who prevailed and took the stage byjust a wheel leaving the australian ewan slightly embarrassed as he started his celebrations just a tad early. more now on the by—elections. the conservatives have described it as truly remarkable event. they took the seat from labour, the first time a governing party has won a seat from the incumbent party for 35 yea rs. from the incumbent party for 35 years. here are the results. labour won the other by—election

which was held in stoke central. these are the results. the prime minister arrived in copeland earlier to congratulate her new mp and this is what she said. labour were saying, we are going to win it. experts were saying labour would increase their majority, but all of you, the volunteers who went out day m, you, the volunteers who went out day in, day out and campaigned, you, the volunteers who went out day in, day outand campaigned, you you, the volunteers who went out day in, day out and campaigned, you have made sure that that did not happen, that this is truly a wonderful victory for the conservative party, but also for the people of copeland. what we have seen from this victory is that this truly is a government thatis is that this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every pa rt that is working for everyone and for every part of the country. theresa

may talking earlier. the tories have not held copeland for eight decades. for conservative leader lord howard said the result showed the government's direction is supported by communities across the country. copeland was a historic victory. 0n a like for like basis it is the best result for a governing party since 1878, so it is a fantastic result. i think it demonstrates that the conservative government is working for everyone in our society. that message is getting through. we have a lwa ys message is getting through. we have always been a national party, looking after everyone in our community, but that is a message that has not always got through in the past. now theresa may is demonstrating this government is working for everyone and it is personified in the successful candidate, a local working mother, got into politics by being a school

governor, works hard for her local community, working for everyone. governor, works hard for her local community, working for everyonem that was true, people are persuaded of that, why did the conservatives come third in stoke? we are not going to win every seat. maybe you could have come second. stoke is a very safe labour seat. the media we re very safe labour seat. the media were full of it being between ukip and labour. ukip came second by a whisper. stoke is a safe labour seat and labour will always win some seeds. why were you not able to put pressure on ukip and labour there. stoke is a very safe labour seat. you can talk about stoke until the cows co m e you can talk about stoke until the cows come home. the really important result was copeland, that is what was different, that was their historic victory on a like for like basis, the best performers in a by—election by a governing party since 1878, eight to result. some

people will say copeland is not typical because of the nuclear industry there and people worried aboutjeremy industry there and people worried about jeremy corbyn's views industry there and people worried aboutjeremy corbyn's views on nuclear issues and that is why labourdid nuclear issues and that is why labour did not do well in copeland. people can make that excuse if they like, it does not hold water. where is theresa may's government campaign to david cameron's leadership? are you saying david cameron would not have been able to win a by—election like copeland ? have been able to win a by—election like copeland? we never know, he did not have the opportunity to be prime minister after the referendum when this by—election took place. what i can say is that theresa may has made a start, she is doing a very good job and that is what the people of our country, not only in copeland, but borne out by the opinion polls, thatis but borne out by the opinion polls, that is what the people of the country think. doing a good job, is

that in the sense of pursuing a hard brexit? is that what people like? 0r is it her competence in government. i think it is both. i do not like the phrase hard brexit, it is a clea n the phrase hard brexit, it is a clean brexit. it is notjust brexit, she is doing a very good job across the whole range of government. labour held on to stoke—on—trent. gareth snell won by just labour held on to stoke—on—trent. gareth snell won byjust over 2600 votes a nd gareth snell won byjust over 2600 votes and the ukip leader paul nuttall was second and the conservatives third. the former ukip leader and mep diane james, who now sits as an independent, denied that this would spell the end of paul nuttall as party leader. he has gone through a bruising experience in terms of the onslaught from the labour party. the labour party was able to mobilise their resources very quickly. they had the people on the ground and the machinery. he

took a very high risk strategy in terms of standing. that is one he might regret going forward. but i do not want to see him stand down. he will be a very good leader and ukip has a good future. i predicate those comments on the basis that as he has said and as the team has said, this was number 72 said and as the team has said, this was number72 in said and as the team has said, this was number 72 in ukip target seeds and it has been a good experience, a good learning curve, even though a very bruising one. do you want to be ona very bruising one. do you want to be on a learning curve when you are trying to win a seat while another candidate could have been stronger? ido candidate could have been stronger? i do not think the candidate was particularly strong. the whole labour machine was mobilised to personally discredit him. that is my opinion, i can no longer a ukip member. labour in effect sacrificed copeland in the process. they had actually taken

copeland in the process. they had actually ta ken labour took copeland in the process. they had actually taken labour took a double whammy. yes, they can say they held off ukip, but they have sacrificed a very important seats to the tories in doing so. in terms of the damage done to parties, the damage to the labour party is far more greater than that done to ukip on this occasion. why didn't ukip mobilise if labour was mobilising? ukip is a relatively small party in comparison and a young party. people forget ukip has only been around for 20 yea rs. ukip has only been around for 20 years. you have got in comparison labour party that has been around for effectively a century or more and the conservative party that has been around for centuries. you are looking at the new party on the block taking on the might of the established parties with big money is in terms of donations, but look

how effective an insurgent party can be here in the uk and in other countries across europe. that is the interesting perspective i am looking at now in terms of a political commentary. do you regret leaving? not at all. i campaigned to be the ukip leader. the issues i campaigned uponi ukip leader. the issues i campaigned upon i could not deliver. i took an honest and brave approach to say i am not going to be able to deliver on what i feel is necessary for the party and i handed it over to someone who is taking the party in a different direction. he is still new in thejob and he different direction. he is still new in the job and he will be confident going forward. it was a huge big public outing for paul nuttall and a test in a way. how disappointed will ukip members be? what damage will it have caused? the disappointment is the area to focus on. there was a lot of expectation management within

the party. i am assuming that point of course. there is the experience from previous by—elections where they know if they put up a big beast they know if they put up a big beast they know if they put up a big beast they know they're read taliesin that will come down the line from the other political parties is going to be big. paul saw that and experienced that first—hand. the disappointment will be merely that they were unable to manage the media narrative which is, this is right for ukip to take, ignoring the fact it was number 72 on the target list, ignoring the fact that paul took a risk. he has taken a hit with that. but look on the positive side, and thatis but look on the positive side, and that is what i am doing as an independent political commentator, he has brought out all of the attack that the labour party can ever throw at him. there is nothing more for them to dredge up. they may

manufacture issues, but he has learned what they are throwing at him and he will deal with that going forward. to be honest, what you are saying is that it is labour's fault. why does it have to be somebody else's fault and their apparat is?|j else's fault and their apparat is?” am not suggesting it is somebody else's fault. what i am suggesting is that paul and ukip, the narrative developed around the party and that individual winning was one of that it was only ever going to be a backward step, damaging position, but they did not achieve that. the expectation is what i go back to. it is very easy for the media to take ona is very easy for the media to take on a story and keep on pushing it, pushing ukip as the challenger, almost the seat was there for the taking, it would be an easy ride. that was nothing in terms of reality and it is the reality that ukip and

other insurgent parties will have to manage going forward, bearing in mind that the 2—party political system, namely labour and the conservatives in the uk, want to maintain that status quo. they want to squash, damage, demolish any insurgent party coming through. diane james. in a insurgent party coming through. dianejames. in a moment insurgent party coming through. diane james. in a moment a look at the financial markets, but first, the financial markets, but first, the headlines. a victory for the conservatives in the copeland by—election on unseating labour after they held the seat for more than 80 years. but labour sees off a threat from ukip and holds on to stoke. jeremy corbyn says the politics of hope ove rca m e corbyn says the politics of hope overcame the politics of fear. as the former leicester manager poses for photos with fans, gary lineker joins poses for photos with fans, gary linekerjoins those criticising the decision to sack claudio ranieri. now i look at how the markets in

europe have ended the trading session. the ftse100 has spent much of the day trading in the red, disappointing earnings from the ibs and standard chartered really weighed on the market today. one of the followers on the ftse100 this morning was the education group pearson. they announced a full—year loss of £2.6 billion. shares staged a recovery after the initialfall. they have been struggling with the us side of the business, they have not been able to sell textbooks and they have struggled with digital learning. heathrow airport said it served a record number of passengers last year, 75.7 million people. it isa last year, 75.7 million people. it is a rise of 1% on the previous year. cargo volumes were also up.

royal bank of scotland has reported another massive loss for the ninth yearin another massive loss for the ninth year ina another massive loss for the ninth year in a row. it is 72% owned by taxpayers. it lost £70 million in 2016. it says it has put aside more money to deal with legal action. it means branch closures and job losses. let's get a detailed analysis of those stories from the editor in chief of investment week. let's start with rbs. is this a cause for concern. if you have an account, should you be worried? quite the opposite, although the profit number is mind blowing a large for ordinary people. if you work there, you will be worried about yourjob. work there, you will be worried about your job. if you work there, you will be worried about yourjob. if you have a deposit, mortgage or alone with the ibs, it is much stronger than it was a year ago. that is what we learned

from the numbers today. let's move on to heathrow. passengers up and profits up. how sustainable is this going forward? they seem pretty vulnerable because of brexit. going forward? they seem pretty vulnerable because of brexitm going forward? they seem pretty vulnerable because of brexit. it is one of the busiest airport is in the world and we saw numbers from the idg group as well, part of the british airways group, and it shows heathrow is fundamentally an incredibly important to travellers in the world, particularly business travellers. there are risks in the business model and in the strength of sterling and the brexit issue is one, but heathrow is an international hub for travellers, so ido international hub for travellers, so i do not think longer term it is a threat to the business. and pearson, what is the outlook for them? they are struggling to sell textbooks and they say the digital world of learning is something they have to adjust to. they had a profit warning

in the summer, shares fell and then they recovered. what has the year got for them? this is a difficult one. profits fell because of the uncertainty in the us market on the back of the donald trump election. they are struggling to figure out how they migrate their business from textbooks to digital learning, particularly in the far east. they are looking to off—load their chinese textbook learning business. for pearson it is a troubled outlook going forward. they are a big shareholder in penguin books and they are looking to off—load that business. at this business is in transition from old world books to the new digital world in which we work. thank you very much. a quick look at the markets before we go. the ftse100 in

look at the markets before we go. the ftse 100 in the look at the markets before we go. the ftse100 in the negative, rbs weighing down on the ftse100. we are seeing concerns pushing more towards the us and europe. that means towards the us and europe. that m ea ns less towards the us and europe. that means less of a spotlight on brexit and sterling is doing well from that. there is a round—up of all the other business stories on our website. costu me costume is a huge part of any film or tv production and out of the five films nominated for best costume, angels costumes supplied the largest amount of them. our entertainments reporter got to look around one of the warehouses in london. this costume ea already has 36 oscars for some of the biggest

movies ever made. it is hoping one of these three films means it will ta ke of these three films means it will take home a little golden statue and add to its hall. expand your diaphragm, florence. come with me and be my wife. you work on so many films it is an honour to be involved in any of the films nominated and you have no idea what they are looking for each year. it might be futuristic or period drama, but we are always surprised. this isjust one site, the other warehouse is in central london. there are 8.5 miles worth of hanging space here, that is across four floors. they can knock up across four floors. they can knock up an outfit scratch in three days.

we may have seen some fantastic costu mes we may have seen some fantastic costu m es for we may have seen some fantastic costumes for an upcoming remake, but there are a lot of showrooms. the uk has a world—renowned reputation when it comes to the cultural arts. last year film it comes to the cultural arts. last yearfilm and it comes to the cultural arts. last year film and tv attracted £1.3 billion worth of international investment, so maintaining those relationships across europe is ever more important come the decisions of brexit. decisions like funding for films. since 2007, the eu has contributed more than 100 million euros to the uk's film industry. it brings in people, goods and services, but that could become more difficult with new visa requirements. but the weaker pound is bringing in business because it is bringing in business because it is cheaper. there are certain big production is happening at the moment and the studios are all booked up. but we have also got the

tv industry and the theatre industry. there is no doubt the british film industry will be difficult, and once we leave brexit will the rest of the world want to still invest? if the tax incentives change and there is less work, then we have to address it, but at the moment our staff is not affected by brexit. we have still got the work, but we do not know. whilst we are waiting for the conclusion of brexit, they have another concern, the lack of men wanting to pick up the lack of men wanting to pick up the needle. why do you think men do not want to do it? it is something we have noticed. for some reason they do not feel it is their industry. it is something we are looking at. we cannot fix it straightaway, we have an apprenticeship programme, but the majority of people coming into the

costu me majority of people coming into the costume side are female. tv, film and theatre have been their bedrock when it comes to costume making, but the fashion industry is becoming increasingly aware of its historical treasure trove and using it for inspiration, including most of the looks you will see at this year's oscars. this dress was won by gwyneth paltrow and whilst most people do not replicate this look on the red carpet, it is beyond me. i really like that dress. i think it would look great on the red carpet. let'sjoin would look great on the red carpet. let's join thomas would look great on the red carpet. let'sjoin thomas on would look great on the red carpet. let's join thomas on the balcony for the weather forecast. that is a frock and a half. it has been a pretty good day across most of the uk. we finally had some sunshine after that dreadful storm yesterday, but it is going downhill

again. we are not expecting anything near as bad. we are in for some rain and it will be windy again, but it will be relatively calm. already rain is pushing across northern areas and the cloud will get thicker and thicker this evening and overnight. these are the very early morning temperatures, nine in the south, probably no lower than 6 degrees in orkney and shetland. tomorrow it is windy, maybe gale force wind around the coasts. rain will move through wales and england, maybe a bit of brightness around scotla nd maybe a bit of brightness around scotland and northern ireland. then the weekend, in comparison saturday and sunday are looking a little bit mixed. tickets steady in the breeze and make sure you have got your umbrella if you are out and about. today at five, the conservative party hails an historic victory,

as labour is dealt a major blow in a supposedly ultra—safe seat. theresa may said she's delighted with success in the copeland by—election — a seat held by labour for more than 80 years. this truly is a government that is working for everyone and for every part of the country. labour did defend its seat in stoke — seeing off a challenge from ukip leader paul nuttall in a victory celebrated byjeremy corbyn. above all, it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. but he didn't hang around in the potteries and refused to answer questions on the copeland defeat. we'll have the latest.