this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines at 2pm. warnings of a national crisis in policing and the public being put at risk in england and wales. pressure on the new us attorney general, jeff sessions, to resign over his undeclared meetings with russian officials. france's marine le pen loses immunity from prosecution for tweeting so—called islamic state images as her rival sets out his stall in the election. british cycling bosses promise to make changes after accusations of bullying and sexism at the top level of the sport. i'm simon mccoy, and in the next hour, how gordon and sarah brown's daughter's death helped save the grandchild of another labour leader. villa survived

thanks to and on the bus lane cameras snapping up £31 million a year. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there are claims that policing in england and wales is in in a "potentially perilous" state, with victims being let down, criminal cases shelved that's the warning from the police watchdog. her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary says most of the 43 forces in england and wales are providing a good service, but a third require improvement. it says some forces are putting the public at an unacceptable risk by rationing their response to crime as they struggle with cutbacks. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani reports. the cornerstone of british policing, the bobby on the beat. part of the frontline neighbourhood

services that solve so many crimes. but our posts like this being eroded? one of the warnings contained in a stark report. laura beale was the pride of devon and cornwall police. after 1a years, she's had enough and resigned and says she cannot deal any more with the workload. the team covering her patch went from 17 officers to six. we need to focus on the front line. you want to see a police officer and if somebody came up to me and said, "officer i need help", i'd be able to go and have the time to with it. hmic says after five years of cuts to the budget and workforce, some chiefs are not making the right tough calls and in some areas, the inspectors found 999 calls being downgraded to help manage the pressure on officers left behind. hmic also said some domestic violence calls are not

being treated seriously enough. otherforces have ignored leads on organised crime and only durham is delivering outstanding results. neighbourhood policing, that proactive presence of police presence of police officers in communities, is eroding even further so that means they are not stopping crime from happening in the first place and that is what the public want to see. domestic violence is now a national priority, one of the modern demands on forces long focused on burglaries, car crime and muggings. officers need new skills including finding and solving crimes with computers. some experts warn forces will lose the trust of the public if they do not modernise. if people don't have a response from the police force when they call, what's going to happen when they actually see something happening? what about when they get a piece of information that should rightly be handed on to the police? they will think that they don't care. they will think, i don't care. i'm not going to, they didn't care about me.

this report is a very clear message that police officers have work to do. there is a very clear message from us and the hmic that the police and crime commissioners need to get a grip that look at what their are. this report is a warning that some forces have been tipped over the edge in an era of austerity. the nature of crime has been changing and that means ministers, chief constables and the public need to think carefully about what modern policing is for. hmic says there is even a national crisis in recruiting detectives. decades ago the dream job. just another of the reasons why some forces are facing a difficult future. dominic casciani, bbc news. we are hearing from reuters that

several patients at a hospital in johannesburg still trapped after a roof. emergency workers telling what is that rescue workers are at the scene. no word yet as to why the roof has caved in or indeed how many people are trapped or injured. we know only that a number of people trapped. we will keep you up—to—date as we get further details from johannesburg. one of donald trump's closest advisors, the attorney general, jeff sessions, has been accused of lying under oath to the senate after it emerged he had two undisclosed meetings with the russian ambassador during the american presidential campaign. the senior democrat in the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, has called on him to resign. our correspondent richard galpin reports. sessions was already a controversial choice

as attorney general because of allegations which he denies of racism. and now it's been revealed that during the presidential election campaign last year, he had two undisclosed meetings with this man. the russian ambassador to washington. i endorse donald trump. that's potentially damaging for mr sessions because russia has been accused of running a cyber campaign to skew the election in favour of donald trump. the whole truth and nothing but the truth. during his confirmation hearing in the senate last month, to become attorney general, mr sessions had been directly asked about contacts with russia. and if there is any evidence that any one affiliated with the trump campaign communicated with the russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do? i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that

campaign and i did not have the communications have communications with the russians. i'm unable to comment. already, there's been a furious response from senior democrats including nancy pelosi. she's tweeted that mr sessions is not fit to serve as a top law enforcement officer of the country. and that he must resign. this morning, mr sessions denied lying under oath. i have not met with any russians at any time to discuss any political campaign and those remarks are unbelievable to me. i don't have anything else to say. according to his spokesperson, mr sessions had many meetings with foreign ambassadors last year but these were in his capacity asa senator, not in connection with the presidential campaign. therefore, he argues, he did nothing wrong. but just two weeks ago, questions about connections with russian officials led to the resignation of michael flynn, trump's national security adviser.

mr sessions may face another problem now. as attorney general, he oversees the department ofjustice and the fbi. both are currently investigating russia's alleged meddling in the us election and any alleged links with trump's associates. our correspondent jane o'brien is in washington. are we looking at a situation here where actually the problem he has caused is the fact it was not open about these meetings with the ambassador. this is all about nuance which is not something that has much traction in washington at the moment. jeff sessions clearly believes the question he was answering was whether or not as a member of the tramp campaign team, did he have contact with the russians? —— trump. he answered no.

in his capacity as a senator he did, that has become clear, he has acknowledged that but said he didn't do anything wrong, because it has to be made very clear there is nothing illegal about talking to anybody as a senator, in fact it is routine, it is what they do. this is all about the context, the nuance and perception. the problem is the perception. the problem is the perception right now is really bad. brief comments from him. is he standing by this position that because it's perfectly acceptable there for i was under no obligation to tell anyone. pretty much. he has denied any wrongdoing, that is the bottom line. i think what is going to happen, what we are seeing calls for, is for him to recuse himself of

any investigation into any contact the campaign team might have had with russia during the election. of course this is because russia has been accused of interfering with a election in favour of mr trump. and there are investigations into those accusations. jeff sessions as the top lawyer in america would be the person who would decide if any evidence of criminal activity became apparent, he would decide who would be prosecuted. a growing number of democrats and some republicans are saying that at this point the waters are so saying that at this point the waters are so murky he has two recuse himself from those enquiries. we may have more later in the afternoon now thanks very much. the chief inspector of hospitals in england has given a stark warning about the state of the nhs, saying it stands on a "burning platform" with most trusts needing to improve patient safety.

professor sir mike richards says the traditional model of caring for patients is "no longer capable" of delivering the needs of today's population. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. this comprehensive review of all 136 hospital trusts in england paints a very mixed picture. the regulator, the care quality commission found many examples commission, found many examples of excellent care and some hospitals improving services despite extreme pressure. but plenty of areas also where the nhs is struggling. you can get a very good service within a trust that is struggling or you can get an individual service not doing so well in an otherwise good trust. what we are trying to do is to shine a spotlight so that the trusts themselves know what it is they need to improve. this is my local hospital in stockport. i've been here a couple of times myself and with the family. the report today allows us to see how hospitals like this one are performing, notjust the whole hospital

but individual departments, such as accident and emergency or children's services, and what the report shows is real concerns over staffing, safety, levels of overcrowding and hospitals facing unprecedented pressure. across the major hospital trusts in england, 68% have been rating as inadequate or requiring improvement. 81% are said to need to improve safety but 93% were rated as good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. university hospitals bristol is one of those trusts that has made significant improvements. the first to go directly from requiring improvement to outstanding between two inspections. the report findings were very positive for us and i think in the report, it acknowledges a lot of the hard work this department does. and the very positive culture for providing patient care we have. there are concerns over the pressure of staff right across the nhs

of coping with an older and sicker populations. , sicker population. they have become the shock absorbers in an nhs that doesn't have sufficient staff or resources. i worry about the long—term consequences, staff cannot carry on working in this way without their own health and well—being being affected. the department of health says these inspections play a key role in making the nhs in england the safest and most transparent healthcare system in the world but they will also remind ministers the nhs continues to face serious challenges. one of the leading candidates in france's presidential election, marine le pen has lost the european union immunity from prosecution for tweeting graphic images of the atrocities carried out by the so—called islamic state. the european parliament voted to lift the immunity in the case which was opened by prosecutors in 2015. until 110w opened by prosecutors in 2015. until now her position as an mep has made

she could not be prosecuted. publishing violent images is an offence in france which can carry a penalty of up to three years in prison. one of the leading candidates in france's presidential election, emmanuel macron, has unveiled his manifesto. opinion polls suggest he's likely to reach the second round of the vote in may, where he's expected to face marine le pen of the national front. one of his main rivals, the centre—right candidate francois fillon, is currently embroiled in a scandal about employing his wife and children. mr macron has promised to forbid nepotism in parliament and during his manifesto speech also spoke about the transformation of france's rigid labour market. translation: we in our project have chosen first of all to look to the future, the transformation of the world of work, the transformation of oui’ world of work, the transformation of our productive model, the digital transition... these are risks but they'll also brilliant opportunities. and so, at the heart

of this project, there is the refusal to acknowledge defeat. i will not say in this project now we have already lost the battle over the nature of work. no. work is going to change and we will be part of that change. we will go with it and we will transform the balance of forces. our correspondent hugh schofield is in paris for us. after francois fillon yesterday saying he was staying in the race 110w saying he was staying in the race now marine le pen, how much trouble could she be in over this? not very much, we have to be frank. it will bea much, we have to be frank. it will be a side issue. this question of twitter, she did it 18 months ago or so twitter, she did it 18 months ago or so in response to an attack by a journalist who said she was an equivalent to so—called islamic state. she posted three photos of so—called islamic state, daesh as

they call it here. she was prosecuted for broadcasting these terrible pictures. it has not been in the news very much. what parliament has done is lift the immunity which attaches to parliamentarians. they are immune from prosecution for alleged offences carried out in pursuit of the work. she would say this was in pursuit of her work. she said she will not have to answer questions the national have two. but it will not make a difference, core supporters have no time for the european parliament anyway. are left her team feeling more points? the big winner in the last 2a hours is emmanuel macron. the transformation in the relationship in the polls between francois fillon and macron, macron going up in the polls, fillon

in desperate trouble now. there are defections now from his camp, a demonstration in paris on sunday where he is saying people should come and show their support, that will be a gauge of whether he can do it but now there is talk of a replacement candidate coming in. in the meantime macron launching his ma nifesto, the meantime macron launching his manifesto, he is walking down this boulevard that has been left open to him. marine le pen the polls still very strong, she is saying bring it on, macron, he is my ideal opponent. he represents international finance, pro—american business models and internet ideas and so on, for her. european idealism, all the things she says it is easy to fight. there isa she says it is easy to fight. there is a certain amount of bravado in that, because certainly macron has the wind in his sales and the odds

are still in favour of whoever faces the pen in the second round would beat her. the headlines on bbc news: the police standards watchdog has warned of the potentially perilous state of the service in england and wales. nancy pelosi accusesjeff sessions, the attorney general, of lying under oath after he failed to disclose meetings with the russian ambassador during the presidential campaign. and the french presidential candidate marine le pen has lost immunity from prosecution for tweeting so—called islamic state images. and uk sport say british cycling has two sort out problems at the heart of the sport after negative headlines. big billy could $0011 negative headlines. big billy could soon be back for england, vunipola looks likely to return for saracens this weekend after injury. and

finally tributes paid to tommy gemmill, who has died aged 73 wallowing a long illness. the club described him as a true celtic legend. we mentioned in the headlines the comments coming through from house democratic leader nancy pelosi saying thatjeff sessions, the attorney general, lied under oath. there is that tweet: so the most senior democrat in the house saying he must resign or be forced to resign, effectively. we will keep you up—to—date with that. jeff sessions adamant so far he has done nothing wrong. he did not reveal a number of meetings he had with the russian ambassador during the

presidential campaign. but he says he did nothing wrong. he was a senator at the time and it was perfectly acceptable for senators to meet ambassadors. we will keep you up—to—date with that. british cycling bosses will make changes in order to be more caring to riders after accusations of bullying and sexism. an investigation into the culture at british cycling was launched last year with a report on the findings imminent. but the governing body says work on an action plan to address any "failings" is already under way. our sports correspondent david ornstein reports. over the last decade, cycling has become symbolic of britain's olympic success, but at what cost? the governing body has been hit by allegations of bullying and sexism, while its anti—doping structures are being investigated. today, the new chairman of british cycling admitted to serious failings. occurrence of issues in terms of behaviours and harassment, bullying, is unacceptable.

the report has highlighted some issues that we as an organisation needs to address. we've already met with our groups of both riders and staff, and we've made it very clear that where there's been failings we apologise for those. well, this is the national cycling centre, home of the so—called medal factory, but concern over the way those medals have been won has led to a rethink. and that takes the form of a 39—point action plan, which includes training in governance, leadership and diversity, an annual staff appraisal system, and a complete overhaul of procedures around athletes' welfare. it all stems back to april, when sprint cyclistjess varnish complained of sexism, discrimination and bullying. uk sport is demanding reform at britain's most successful best funded and most successful olympic sport. there are a number of fires that seem to be going off in difficult areas and it's difficult for them

at this point in time. the most important thing as an investor in british cycling, the most important thing is we see that the information that is being revealed is accepted by british cycling and acted upon. this morning, britain's most decorated olympian, sir bradley wiggins, refused to speak about the contents of a medical package delivered to him in france in 2011. questions remain for british cycling to answer on a range of fronts. commentator: and it will be britain in a world record time. they hope today will begin the process of doing that. david ornstein, bbc news, in manchester. voting has begun in the second election in 10 months to the northern ireland assembly. 90 members will be elected, 18 fewer than previously. polling closes at 10pm tonight. we will have special coverage from

belfast tomorrow as those results come in. figures revealed today show almost 4,000 motorists a day are fined for driving in bus lanes in england, with the most lucrative camera making £6,000 every 2a hours. bbc research revealed has revealed that, in total, the cameras earned local authorities around £31m last year. our correspondent phil mackie has been investigating in birmingham have you managed to avoid them yourself? , iwould have you managed to avoid them yourself? , i would not have you managed to avoid them yourself? , iwould not dare have you managed to avoid them yourself? , i would not dare drive here, it is really confusing. the bullring shopping centre, new street station, and a little tunnel through that and the problems start when you drive through the tunnel. it is a bustling, there are cameras and as $0011 bustling, there are cameras and as soon as you go through there you will get caught and sent a £60 penalty notice. we have been here for a couple of hours and have seen a dozen cars doing that. i get the impression they have had an opportunity to turn around ghana are

a bit lost, they are not necessarily paying close attention to the signs, perhaps following an old satnav. this is one of the five worst spots in the country, st martin ‘s queensway in birmingham. it raises £2500 every day. that is a taxi, thatis £2500 every day. that is a taxi, that is ok. otherwise it would get in some kind of trouble. local authorities coming in for criticism, the rac says this is a cash bonanza for them. something like £1.6 million raised just in this city in 2015-16. million raised just in this city in 2015—16. since then should bus lane cameras birmingham has raised £7.5 million. there is this impression for motorists that every time one goes through the tunnel they all run around cheering, another 60 quid in the office. birmingham and the

council say it is not like that. they say it is nothing to do with raising money, it is about enforcing a bus lane so that public transport can move around the city more freely and efficiently. they would rather know must find at all, they say. that is generally the response the authorities across the country. the worst in the country in newcastle, as you say £6,000 a day, about 100 drivers going there every day. when the former prime minister gordon brown and his wife lost their babyjennifer after she was born prematurely at 33 weeks, sarah brown decided to set up a charity to look at ways to help premature babies thrive. now, 15 years later, she says it is very uplifting to discover that the research has helped to save the life of the grandchild of another labour leader, john smith. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. two—and—a—half—year—old ella, healthy and happy. but she was born 12 weeks premature.

at birth, she weighed 1lb10oz. and was the size of an adult‘s hand. i wasn't sure she was going to survive at all. to me, it seemed impossible. she seemed so utterly vulnerable. it felt like she had nothing within herself to fight with, because she was so tiny. the granddaughter of one labour leader, john smith, alive, her mother says, thanks to research ata lab set up in the memory of the daughter of another. gordon and sarah brown lost their daughterjennifer when she was just ten days old. we knew what had happened but we didn't know why it had happened, so in wanting to try and work out what we could do to make sense of this, what i realised was more needed to happen to unlock that understanding. one of the things we felt we could most usefully do was invest in the science for it. the research done at thejennifer brown laboratory has focused on understanding the causes

and consequences of premature birth. some good has come from tragedy. 15 years on, the memory of her daughter is still strong. what i really treasure is the ten very, very precious days and of the doctors, nurses, midwives around us, we were able to have an extraordinary amount of time really being able to be with our daughter. all of that i have inside me and all that love you have for your daughter is still all there. for little ella there are now no more hospital visits ahead. absolutely brilliant, absolutely brilliant. she's now been signed off from ouor consultant. they've told us not to darken their door with a child quite so well as ella, so we are the literally luckiest people in the world. it's thought that up to a quarter of babies born in the uk need extra care, but the ongoing research that helps but the ongoing research that helped

save ella will continue helping others also born prematurely survive and thrive, just like her. lorna gordon, bbc news, edinburgh. we are going to pause and catch up with the weather prospects. darren has those this afternoon. chilly feeling in the breeze today but there is some sunshine for many parts of the country but wet weather just around the corner. this is the satellite picture from earlier today. a few raindrops in those shower clouds, most of the showers actually still across western scotla nd actually still across western scotland but this cloud thickening here, bringing a changed was the end of the day. the best temperature is probably in the south—east, lovely blue skies. rain around the corner, and hill snow developing in northern ireland this evening pushing into southern scotland then later denied thickening cloud coming up from the

channel. this rain can be quite heavy actually, but a cold night in northern scotland with maybe some sunshine on the way tomorrow otherwise hard to find tomorrow. this rain moving north through the day, it becomes lighter later, some milder weather coming into the south—east. all day for northern ireland once the rain arrives, it may linger for ireland once the rain arrives, it may lingerfor most of ireland once the rain arrives, it may linger for most of the day. you're watching bbc news. the headlines: the police watchdog says the public is being put at risk, because of recent cutbacks in forces across england and wales. a report out today warns services are in a "potentially perilous" state. pressure on the new us attorney general to resign

over his undeclared meetings with russian officials. jeff sessions oversees the fbi, which is currently investigating alleged russian interference in the election. in the french presidential elections, marine le pen has lost immunity and could now face prosecution, for tweeting pictures of is violence. while her rival, the centreist candidate emmanuel macron, has unveiled his manifesto. nearly two—thirds of england's hospitals have been rated as "inadequate" or "needing improvement" in a major new study by health inspectors. the chief inspector warns that england's nhs is unable to meet the needs of today's population. a bbc investigation has discovered that almost 4,000 motorists a day in england are fined for driving in bus lanes. the most lucrative camera makes £6,000 every day. now time for the sport.

thank you. british cycling yesterday attempting to deal with the fallout of revelations surrounding the medical records yesterday but today uk sport have called on the hierarchy to sort out the problems besetting the sport. it comes after an investigation into allegations of bullying and discrimination at british cycling. as an investment in british cycling. as an investment in british cycling, the most important thing is that we see the information thatis thing is that we see the information that is being revealed is accepted by british cycling and acted upon. there is no leadership now in british cycling. a new chair, a new chief executive about to be announced, a new performance director, a locked rest on that backbone of the organisation providing great leadership and communication. i think it is a governing body that has not had its

eye on both —— culture and behaviours but it is a governing body that is listening to the outcome of the independent review and has committed to actions that should address that. so i am optimistic for the future and frankly, you know, they have achieved huge things when the environment has not been great, but the opportunity is there to make that right. football and celtic have paid tribute to lisbon lion tommy gemmill who has died aged 73 following a long illness. he scored in the victory against inter milan in 1967 when celtic became the first british club to win the european cup. the club called him a true legend. arsene wenger insists that his focus on arsenal despite a new va ca ncy his focus on arsenal despite a new vacancy opening at barcelona and his future at the emirates being up in the air. the frenchman is set to

make a mutual decision with the club on whether he signs a new contract at arsenal either this month or next. i am not looking forjobs at other clubs or four next. i am not looking forjobs at other clubs orfourjobs next. i am not looking forjobs at other clubs or four jobs of next. i am not looking forjobs at other clubs or fourjobs of other people. i just focus other clubs or fourjobs of other people. ijust focus on me getting to the next level and trying to improve because i think as well managers must try to improve and see what you can do better and reinvent yourself and that is what i try to do. and that is basically it. there isa do. and that is basically it. there is a big boost for england's six nations hopes today with the news that billy vinupola is set to make a surprise return for his club this weekend. he has been out of action since november with a knee injury but is recovering better than expected and could appear for saracens against newcastle. heather

watson is out of the mexican open after losing a marathon match. she was on court for three and a half hours before watson finally succumbed to a player ranked 43 places higher in the world rankings. it is the second longest match of the women's tour this year. and finally, britain's double olympic boxing champion nicola adams received her obe from his highness -- his received her obe from his highness —— his royal highness the duke of cambridge day at buckingham palace. she was the first woman to win an olympic boxing title at the london 2012 olympic games. she will have her first professional fight on april the 8th. that is all the sport for now. some news coming in from the home office. they new more advanced form of cathays has been authorised. the new device features a warning arc

and will replace the current model which has ceased production. —— taser. several patients are thought to be trapped after a roof collapsed at a hospital in johannesburg. it trapped after a roof collapsed at a hospital injohannesburg. it is still not clear what caused the accident or how many people are trapped or injured. what do we know what the moment? what we know is that a section of the roof collapsed from the fifth floor of the main hospital in johannesburg. and from the fifth floor of the main hospital injohannesburg. and we hear that paramedics and emergency services, rescue services, they are searching, using wheelbarrows, some are using their bare hands, to try

and get to those who are trapped under the rubble. some eyewitnesses said that from the oncology department where they were being treated, they heard that a part of the hospital roof had collapsed and they ran outside and the department which is the provincial health department here, said that they have confirmed that a part of the roof collapsed over the main entrance hall near the maternity ward. now, what they have also told us is that the paediatric section was not affected and there are many people believed to be trapped under the rubble but there is no confirmation of that. those who have been rescued seem to have come out with minor injuries. what sort of rescue operation are we talking about going on right now? there are ambulances, paramedics, they have fire engines and they are using huge machines to

try and move the concrete rubble that has collapsed onto the main entrance of the hospital. and we believe that now there are about five people who have been rescued but there are no fee the details about other casualties, if there are any. thank you very much. we will talk now a little bit more about events in washington, dc because one of donald trump ‘s closest advisers, is it -- of donald trump ‘s closest advisers, is it —— attorney generaljeff sessions has been accused of lying under oath to the senate. it emerged he had to undisclosed meetings with russia's ambassador during the presidential campaign. the senior democrat nancy pelosi has called on him to resign in the last hour or so. let's discuss the significance of those meetings. doctor sam green joins me. he is director of the russia institute at kings college

london. first of all, jeff sessions himself is adamant he has done nothing wrong because it is entirely normal, almost pedestrian, for a senator, as he was at this time last year, to meet an ambassador. is that in itself accurate? anybody can meet an ambassador. the point of an ambassador is to meet with people that are influential and important. so there is nothing wrong with that but the problem again both with sessions and with flynn before him is the lying. the fact that the russians would have had this kind of access to the campaign at the very highest levels at a time when relations between the us and russia we re relations between the us and russia were not exactly friendly and russia was at the centre of stories about lea ks and manipulative was at the centre of stories about leaks and manipulative behaviour that seemed to be designed to undermine the hillary clinton

campaign. and then to be less than forthright about these meetings when asked under oath on the floor of the senate. that is what has got him into trouble. because whatever was discussed during these two meetings, the fact that he did not talk about them during his confirmation hearings makes people think there was perhaps even more to it than there may have been. they may have been innocuous but he did not reveal them. the donald trump team seems to think that the best way to get rid of this issue is to ignore it and hope that it goes away and that clearly is not working. is your sense at the moment that he is going to have to do at the very least produce and sell from any investigations into the campaign?m is hard to see how he could oversee an investigation. it becomes an investigation of himself. but that

is an american politics question that they will have to resolve. the bigger problem is that this administration is going to have to explain to people why it was getting itself into these situations in the first place. not only why they were developing what seems to be a very high level and close relationship with the russian government but why they were not willing to be open about it once they were in power. and that is therefore the fundamental issue that it seems at the moment isjust fundamental issue that it seems at the moment is just going to fundamental issue that it seems at the moment isjust going to run and run and run. well, the fact that they were not open about it suggests there may have been sipping to hide. there are allegations out there, not just of what russia might have been trying to achieve in this campaign and building its relationship with the donald trump administration but some kind of quid pro quo involving ukraine, sanctions, something else. at this stage, any improvement in the relationship looks to be off the table. if you look at the people that have come in, people like mcmaster, who take a much more

hardline traditional approach towards russia, that seems to be off the table and the administration is not out of the woods yet. therefore, we may be discussing it again. thank you. the garment is trying to encourage businesses to no matter where you work days are often part of the job. but for the social worker lee, difficult days turn to into difficult days turn to into difficult and months. difficult days turn to into difficult and monthslj difficult days turn to into difficult and months. i dislike down one day. and i stood at the top of the building and just went to the edge of the building, six stories high, andi edge of the building, six stories

high, and ijust had it would be better if i was dead. new figures suggest his experiences much more common than we might think. nearly a sixth of the uk workforce faces mental health problems. and it is here on building sites that the problem is all too evident. more construction workers lose their lives through suicide than serious accidents at work. and it is something the industry is working ha rd to something the industry is working hard to address. we need to do something now and actually raise awareness within our industry with oui’ awareness within our industry with our workers and actually get people trained in the same way that you would treat an injury with a first aid to actually help people before you get to the stage where the worst—case scenario is people are thinking about suicide. but it is not just industries like construction that are tackling mental health. aside from the personal impact on staff, it costs the uk economy around £26 billion a yearin the uk economy around £26 billion a year in lost work and productivity.

so businesses paying attention. like the department store chain debenhams. its chairman told me of his personal experience dealing with mental health problems. and why he wa nts to mental health problems. and why he wants to do more to help staff.|j have had family members, including one of my sons, who has had a real very specific challenge and i find myself being hesitant talking about it whereas if i said, he has broken his leg, or he has an infection, that would have been herfine. i thought, if i cannot talk about it, this is ridiculous. i have got to find ways to make this more everyday conversation and not something you have to pretend to hide away. and thatis have to pretend to hide away. and that is the basis of schemes like this one at the royal mail. it encourages staff to talk about their worries with trained mental health first aid is. worries with trained mental health firstaid is. for worries with trained mental health first aid is. for lee, who is now managing his depression, talking is pa rt managing his depression, talking is part of the answer. but he says simple changes can make a big

difference. a few months after i came off the medication, one of the site managers actuallyjust came up and asked me, how was i doing, was averaging ok? that is the first person that has ever actually asked and that is what i feel will make the biggest difference. and there will be more on that in our business news in about three minutes' time. the prime minister has made it clear that she is disappointed by the defeat in the house of lords last night over brexit. peers voted by a sizeable majority to give european union nationals already living here the right to stay in the uk. the government will now seek to overturn it when the bill returns to the commons the week after next. the prime minister's official spokesman says theresa may expects the bill to go through unamended. our political correspondent carole walker reports. a resounding defeat for the government in the house of lords. contents, 358. not contents, 256.

so the contents have it. after hours of passionate debate, they voted overwhelmingly for ministers to guarantee the rights of more than 3 million eu nationals living in the uk. seven tory peers voted against the government. we are being illogical and immoral in refusing to unilaterally guarantee the rights of those people who are already here, who came here in good faith, who are part of our communities. theresa may says she does want to give that guarantee, but she'll only do so if she can do a deal with other eu leaders to safeguard the rights of british citizens in other eu countries too. i am optimistic that a reciprocal agreement on the status of each other‘s citizens can indeed be achieved. i think that is in the rational interests of the united kingdom and of all our 27 eu partners. the ayes to the right, 494.

mps have already voted to approve the government's approach and ministers will seek to reverse last night's defeat. i do think this amendment will be overturned when the bill comes back to the commons. i think the vast majority of mps on the government side certainly accept the prime minister's argument about the need to clarify arrangements for eu nationals in the uk at the same time as we clarify arrangements for british expats on the continent. the government could face further defeats as the bill continues its passage through the lords, and this is just the start. there's lots more complex and controversial legislation to come, to disentangle british law from eu law, and set new rules for immigration and trade. last night's defeat could be a foretaste of the parliamentary battles ahead. for the prime minister, the immediate priority is to get the bill triggering article 50 into more in time for her to start formal negotiations as planned by the end of march. then the hard bargaining will really begin. carole walker, bbc news, westminster. in a moment, the business news,

but first the headlines on bbc news. the police standards watchdog has warned of the "potentially perilous" state of the service in england and wales. democrats call on us attorney generaljeff sessions to step down — after he failed to disclose meetings with russia's ambassador. france's marine le pen loses immunity from prosecution for tweeting so—called islamic state images. typical household incomes in the uk will not grow for the next two years due to the "long shadow" of the financial crisis. the institute of fiscal studies predicts in five years' time,

median income will be just 4% higher than it is now. the recession and tepid recovery mean that from the start of the crisis to 2021, households will suffer the worst income squeeze for 60 years. they will be £5,000 a year worse off than they might have expected. people seeking compensation over mis—sold payment protection insurance will have to make their claims before 29 august 2019. the final deadline has been set by the financial conduct authority in an effort to draw a line under one of the banking industry's biggest scandals. and today is the day for the most anticipated tech market floatation since twitter. snap, the owner of photo messaging app snapchat, its shares will begin trading on wall street later at £13 a share valuing the company at £19 billion. one in four people will experience a mental health problem like anxiety or depression in their lifetime. the majority will continue working whilst ill so its a big challenge for organisations. today the institute of directors, which has over 30,000 business members, is launching an initiative to help its members to better deal with the problem. cat gazzoli, founder

of piccolo baby food, offers support for people with mental health issues at work. i'd like to talk to you about your whole career because you have been in business for a while and you have seen the consequences of this sort of issue not being dealt with. what have you seen? i ran a food organisation and we attract women, in baby food and also food attracted a lot of female employees. and i am seasick —— seeing mental health issues around going back to work when you have had a baby, if there has been anything traumatic around having a child. you have one in ten women who either in pregnancy or in the first year of the baby ‘s life are actually experiencing depression and mental health issues. either it isa and mental health issues. either it is a moral obligation to welcome women back to work and be aware of

thoseissues women back to work and be aware of those issues —— ie feel. women back to work and be aware of those issues -- ie feel. how can managers do something to help those people and also how can people who think they might have some sort of mental health issue get on with their careers and their jobs? mental health issue get on with their careers and theirjobs? we have a find of —— kind of food is glue theme where we eat together, we cook together, we have a kitchen in the office. i think that is really important and the office. i think that is really importantandi the office. i think that is really important and i think people can do things a little bit more informally and talk about issues over food and then we do temperature checks so every other month, every team members meets with someone off—site like a kind of hr expert and it is anonymous, about how they are feeling at work. it is really more about a check in because so often with mental health issues, it has to do with something outside of the workplace and then your staff member is affected in the workplace, so there is so much cost to losing star for having staff feel down, so it is

quite important to be proactive and really prevent that from happening or help them if it is happening before it gets worse and it is a —— but small, medium enterprises in britain need to be focusing on. you do not need to be a big business to ta ke do not need to be a big business to take these small steps. thank you very much. some other stories that we have been following today:. theme park operator merlin entertainments boosted its visitor numbers last year, despite struggling at alton towers after an accident in 2015. the company, which also owns the london eye and legoland, saw revenues up 11.7% in 2016. capita, the outsourcing company that operates the london congestion charge, has said its chief executive is stepping down after it reported a big fall in profits. profits had fallen 33% to £74.8m. operating profit jumped atjimmy choo last year in part

because of strong demand for its menswear lines. the firm said shoes accounted for most of its sales, with men's remaining theirfastest growing category, accounting for 9% of revenue. if you are a vegetarian, this story might be of concern. the food standards agency warned customers not to eat the company because it represents a safety risk. a quick look at the markets. the market slightly down. capita is the biggest fall on the footsie today. some time —— sometimes these things happen. wejust some time —— sometimes these things happen. we just move some time —— sometimes these things

happen. wejust move on. thank you very much. off you go. she has gone and there is the proof. they might say elephants never forget — but it seems they never sleep either! a new study of female african elephants in the wild has revealed they sleep on average for just two hours a night — that's shortest amount time of any mammal on earth. researchers say it could be down to the threat from predators and poachers, as helen briggs reports. for five weeks, scientists tracked two elephants roaming across botswana to find out more about their sleeping habits. they discovered on average the elephants were sleeping forjust two hours a day, mainly at night, the shortest known sleep time for any land mammal. and sometimes they didn't sleep at all. one of the more unexpected findings we had was that on five of the 70 nights we recorded sleep from two elephants they didn't sleep at all. interestingly, during those nights they appeared to have been disturbed around 7:30pm, 8pm at night and they would walk for about 30 or 40 kilometres away. these nights without sleep appeared to correlate to potential nights where there was predation events where lions might have been trying to attack the herd, or maybe a bull elephant was chasing the female herd, or again there might have been poachers.

even when they did get chance to rest and they'd often sleep standing up, only lying down every few nights. sleep, of course, plays an essential role in memory, so researchers say it's a mystery why elephants, who are known for their incredible memory powers, survive on so little sleep. helen briggs, bbc news. you are back. let's catch up with the weather, shall we? yes. keep him under control. we have some rain on the way over the coming few days. most of us today are enjoying some fine where and some sunshine. there is in hedge to the breeze but

the wind is easing down somewhat and we have semi—skies across many sikh ‘s we have semi—skies across many sikh ns __ we have semi—skies across many sikh ‘s —— southern parts of england and wales. —— we have a few showers dotted about in scotland. you can see the showers coming down. this cloud is more significant, bringing a change across northern ireland, the cloud eventually bringing some outbreaks of rain and possibly some snow. head of that, a few showers that have been just dangling near the coast. they will move their way inland across south—west england and south wales as we head into this evening but it is a fine and clear end to the day across much of the midlands towards the south—east of england. still a few showers in the north—west of england. wet weather coming to northern ireland, rain and snow over the hills. the winds are still quite keen in the north of scotla nd still quite keen in the north of scotland but they will ease. southern scotland, we will see this rain until snow moving across from northern ireland. at the same time,

we have some heavy rain moving up from the english channel. a chilly old knight in scotland. the northern half of the country in particular but there may be some sunshine on friday. you may get a fleeting glimpse of it but we have the rain in the south moving its way northwards. still a few heavy bursts of rain for a while. again, six or 7 degrees further north. not bad if you have the sunshine instant scotland but under that rain, it will be relu cta nt to under that rain, it will be reluctant to clear from northern ireland. into this weekend, some brighter spells and dry spells but rain is not far away at all. dominated by low pressure. it is not just wet here, it is wet across the whole of western europe and some heavy snowfall to come in the alps this weekend. that will increase the avalanche risk as well. low pressure dominating our shores. closer to that area of low pressure. this is

where the heavy rain will be. a miserable day for eastern scotland. snow over the hills. this rain will be affecting eastern parts of england. most places wet on saturday. we could see another spell of rain, accompanied by gusty winds. further north, it should be a little bit drier. this is bbc news, i'mjane hill. the headlines at 3pm. warnings that cutbacks are causing a policing crisis — and the public are being put at risk in england and wales. senior democrats are calling for the us attorney general to resign or be sacked because of his undeclared meetings with the russian ambassador. at least two are reported to be trapped in a

collapsed hospital injohannesburg. france's marine le pen loses immunity from prosecution for tweeting so—called islamic state images as her rival sets out his stall in the election. british cycling bosses promise to make changes after accusations of bullying and sexism at the top level of the sport. i'm simon mccoy, and in the next hour... how gordon and sarah brown's daughter's death helped