this is bbc news, the headlines at three: first results are coming in this afternoon in northern ireland's assembly election. turnout is up by more than 10% in some areas. with 15 out of 90 seats declared, the two parties that dominated the last assembly, sinn fein and the dup, are continuing to dominate the vote so far. too low and too slow — the verdict from air accident investigators on why a vintage hawker hunterjet crashed on to a main road at the shoreham airshow. theresa may accuses the snp of neglecting public services in scotland because of its obsession with the issue of independence. unstructured and disorganised — the police force which investigated the sudden death of poppi worthington comes under fire for failing to examine claims she was sexually abused by her father. president trump says his attorney general is the victim

of a political "witch—hunt". jeff sessions has removed himself from an fbi inquiry into alleged russian meddling in the us election but he's still accused of perjury and is under pressure to resign. and it's been documenting some of britain's most important history for generations. the imperial war museum celebrates its centenary. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the first results are beginning to be declared this afternoon in the northern ireland assembly election. but what's already clear is that the turnout has gone up sharply, by more than 10% in some areas. with 15 of the 19 seats declared so

far, the early signs are that sinn fein and the dup are polling strongly. sinn fein withdrew from the power—sharing executive in january. let's join annita mcveigh who's in belfast. thank you very much. yes, the straw that broke the camel's back if you liked was the row over the botched renewable heating scheme that could cost the taxpayer up to half £1 billion. but that was just one of many issues that have started to chip away at the relationship between the two main parties in government here, the democratic unionist party and sinn fein. some of the other parties came out and said if you want more of the same, vote for the dup and sinn fein, but if you want change, vote for us. the

ulster unionist party encouraged voters to transfer their votes across traditional community lines. 0n the strength of the declarations so 0n the strength of the declarations so far it does not look as though thatis so far it does not look as though that is happening. if i check what the latest update is, sinn fein has seven seats out of 15 declared. the dup has five, the cross community alliance party has two and the ulster unionists have got one seat. still a long way to go, but it looks at this stage as though sinn fein and the dup will continue to dominate with lots of questions about what that could mean for the future of the power sharing assembly at stormont with tough negotiations ahead. with a bit more detail on the story so far here is chris buckler. with a bit more detail on the story so far here is chris buckler. this generation might not remember the troubles, but elections in northern ireland tend to expose old divisions and once the result of this vote are known the challenge could be holding onto power sharing.

the public seem to have been engaged by this campaign, turnout is up. but the new government at stormont does notjust depend on the results. it needs the parties to agree to enter into a coalition together again. at one stage last year, sinn fein and the dup seemed so close, and the leaders martin mcguinness and arlene foster were given a joint nickname of marlene. that cosy relationship did not last long. the coalition government collapsed at the start of this year after a series of rows, not least over a financial scandal connected to the renewable heat incentive, a botched renewable scheme, that was at one stage projected to cost the taxpayer about half a billion pounds. that led to what felt like quite a divisive and at times a bad tempered election campaign, but once the votes are counted, the parties will have to start thinking about negotiations to try to get power sharing up and running again. in our virtual assembly we can see how the parties did in the last election less than a year ago.

the dup won 38 of the 108 seats, while sinn fein were in second place with 28 members. the opposition parties, the sdlp, the ulster unionists and the alliance will all hope to increase their share of the vote after the way the coalition fell apart and that is true for the smaller parties as well. but gaining seats could be difficult because the number of assembly members is being reduced from 108 down to 90. there will be some disappointed former mlas at count centres today. there is one other number to watch. the size of the dup in the last assembly gave the party what is known as a petition of concern. in effect that is a veto to prevent any legislation they do not like. they need to hold onto 30 seats to keep that veto, although the petition of concern itself could be up for discussion as the parties try to get an agreement to allow the return to power sharing.

that could be difficult. during this campaign harsh words have been exchanged between the dup's arlene foster and the new sinn fein leader michelle 0'neill. but by the end of this count stormont will have a new assembly, but it does not mean it will have a government. let mejust remind let me just remind you of the state of play so far with 15 out of 90 seats declared. topping the poll so far is sinn fein with seven seats. that is followed by the dup with five seats. sinn fein and the dup word the two parties, the two main parties in the power—sharing assembly that collapsed in january, with the dup the largest of those parties. the cross community alliance party has two seats so far

and the ulster unionist party has got one seat so far. that is how things look at just after three o'clock this afternoon, with the final result not expected to be known until tomorrow afternoon. expected to be known until tomorrow afternoon. well, let's talk to two of our reporters now at separate we have kieron tourish and stephen walker out and about for us. kieran, tell us what is happening where you are. we are here at the foyle arena in londonderry, northern ireland's second city, 75 miles from belfast. we have had ourfirst second city, 75 miles from belfast. we have had our first result in what would have been the constituency of martin mcguinness. he is not running this time. one of his candidates from sinn fein in this election made an impassioned plea on social media last night for republicans in this

city and across northern ireland to come out and show their support to martin mcguinness and the principled stance, as sinn fein have framed it, to show their support to him. that has been reflected in no small measure today by the fact she has topped the poll in foil and has been collected in the first count. sinn fein supporters are jubilant they will retain their two seats. the sdlp leader is in the building as well and he is confident his party will retain their two seats as well. there was a people before profit centres backed candidate, eamon mccann, who was elected for the first time at the last election. he has been trying to get elected since 1969 on a radical agenda, appealing to everyone across the community 0n bread and butter issues. but it looks like that his stance on brexit could do him some farm. the former mayor of the city has been elected.

in the run—up to the election she broke her arm playing with her children! thank you very much. over to the strangford constituency and stephen walker is there. this is a really interesting constituency. i think seven mlas chasing five seats. tell us what is happening there. you are right. this is one of the constituencies that everybody was interested in because there were seven mlas trying to get one of those five seats. the dup have the biggest smiles. simon hamilton has topped the poll in strangford. nobody has been elected yet, but the dup are in pole position. they are hopeful they can take three seats out of this constituency. there will

bea out of this constituency. there will be a battle for the fifth seat between the dup and philip smith of the ulster unionists. the dup moved peter weir from the adjoining constituency into strangford and it looks as if that gamble will pay off. we have had some results in north down, we had an ulster unionist elected and the dup elected and the alliance elected, so three seats have gone so far. that is the position here. stephen walker and kieron tourish. with me now to discuss how she feels this election is going so far is the leader of the alliance party, naomi long. thank you forjoining us. at the last time of looking, two seats so far. any update? two seats so far, but looking strong to hold the eighth seed that we have. it has been a positive election for us and we have had a strong showing. you topped the

poll in your own constituency of east belfast. this is an interesting conundrum and question because you area conundrum and question because you are a cross conundrum and question because you are a cross community party and you have always appealed to that vote and your vote seems to be holding up, yet we have heard the ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt encourage people to transfer their votes across traditional lines, but we do not see any sign of that happening yet with the sinn fein and the dup having their votes held up. how do you explain that? our vote has increased and that is positive, but we did not offer people a protest vote and other parties did. we sent a very positive message and talk about what we wanted to do to get the assembly up and running and we talk about what we felt was needed to make that happen. people responded to that positive message. any people have come to feel that the assembly was not delivering. we are offering a different vision and people responded to that and it

explains the difference in terms of votes. people want cross community voting, but they know if they want that to be authentic they can vote for the alliance party and we have a very clear agenda. if sinn fein and the dup return to the assembly on monday, two stormont on monday, as the two largest parties to enter a period of negotiation, are you optimistic or pessimistic about what that might lead to? i do not want to be either, i want to wait and see what happens. there is an opportunity for both of them to roll back from some of the things they said during the election campaign and change the tone of the discussion. that is clearly what people want, it is why people voted for us, and there is an expectation thatis for us, and there is an expectation that is what we should deliver. but have enough people voted for you to say that is what they want? the sinn fein vote and the dup vote is

telling those politicians to dig in with their positions before the election was called. people want the politicians to go and form an assembly. if they want direct rule, they would not have come out at all, or they would have voted for the conservatives in northern ireland. what people want is an assembly that delivers and works. they want sinn fein and the dup and other parties to work together to make that happen. the fact that turnout is up in this election is evidence about how much people care about the jeopardy in which this election has placed the assembly going forward. what impact has brexit had on the vote ? what impact has brexit had on the vote? people have been motivated by brexit and they are concerned that this has meant an assembly that has got no plan for brexit. people in northern ireland have good cause to be concerned. we are

disproportionately affected by the decisions being taken. it is important that people come out and make it clear they want an executive forum and they want decisions to be made. we do not have a plan for brexit, we do not have a budget and inafew brexit, we do not have a budget and in a few weeks' time we will be entering a new financial year. people need to get around the table now and do the work required to make the assembly deliver. that is what the assembly deliver. that is what the people of northern ireland have asked for in this election and that is what they should get. that is the message from the cross community alliance party. but so far sinn fein and the dup are dominating the vote, but still a lot of seats to be counted. as for what happens next, you heard naomi long about her desire for the assembly to be up and running, but we have a three—week period of negotiations taking as up until the 27th of march and at that point we will be looking towards the

nomination of a first minister and deputy first minister. the leader of sinn fein in northern ireland has said she will work with the leader of the dup to return that devolved government until the outcome of the enquiry into that botched renewable heating scheme that led to the downfall of the assembly in january. it looks really tricky. then the ball is in the court of the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire. could he oppose direct rule? that would take legislation and the westminster government does not have an appetite for that. could he suspend the assembly again? could he called for another election? interestingly the law around that says within a reasonable period and that phrase could give him some wriggle room and allow him to buy some more time for the parties to continue to talk. we will be back with you very soon with the latest

update on how the voting is going. back to you from belfast. air accident investigators say the shoreham airshow disaster which killed 11 people was caused by the pilot flying too low and too slow. a vintagejet performing a loop manoeuvre crashed onto the a27 in 2015. in their report the investigators said the pilot could have taken action to abort the display even after he had started the maneouvre. 0ur correspondent richard galpin is at farnborough airport. this is a really important report by the air accident investigators here. it is theirfinal the air accident investigators here. it is their final conclusions and it comes it is their final conclusions and it co m es after it is their final conclusions and it comes after an investigation by them which lasted 18 months into what was the worst airshow disaster in this country for many decades. duncan kennedy now reports. this was the hawker hunter

jet at the centre of the shoreham air crash. this is the jet over the shoreham area the day of the accident. it was during one manoeuvre that this happened. the jet crashed by the a27 that ran alongside the showground. oh, my god! the fireball engulfed drivers and bystanders. a disaster measured in seconds and gave little chance of escape. 11 men were killed, it was the worst airshow accident in britain in more than 60 years. among those who died was mark reeves, a plane enthusiast. his family today gave their reaction to the accident report. obviously, the aib were brought in to discover the cause obviously, the aaib were brought in to discover the cause of the crash based on fact, they were not there to attribute blame and they have determined the cause. in that sense, we are satisfied, but obviously, it has exposed a lot

of key flaws in the running of airshows. air accident investigators produced this video today of what they say happened. they say the pilot was lower than he should have been at the start of the manoeuvre and there was not enough engine thrust or speed. the aircraft was too low to perform the loop the loop and it may be the pilot mis—read his height instruments. he was not trained to escape the accident in the hawker hunter. he was not trained to escape the accident in the hawker hunter. he hit the ground. investigators will not say the crash was avoidable but that a number of factors combined to cause it. an escape manoeuvre was possible and could have been conducted by the aircraft but with some additional work, we found there are all sorts of human performance limitations that might have prevented the pilot from recognising he was too low or that an escape manoeuvre was necessary or possible

from that position. the pilot of the jet was andy hill, he survived with serious injuries but has no memory of the crash. the report suggests he may have confused his speed and altitude with other aircraft he had flown. the report also found there were deficiencies of organisation and maintenance. the aircraft did not comply with its permit to fly. there was a lack of clarity over who at the airshow was responsible for safety. controls to protect the public were ineffective. the civil aviation authority which governs safety at britain's air displays has already brought in a number of changes following this crash. increasing the distance between the display and the crowds watching below and also requiring pilots to be better qualified before carrying out these acrobatic manoeuvres. today's final accident report has answered the technical question of what and why this crash happened.

and that may give some measure of understanding and comfort to the relatives and friends of those who died. there has been a lot of criticism of the airshow organisers and the regulator, the civil aviation authority, over their plans to ensure that the airshow would not be dangerous. naturally, we are hearing reaction now from some of the families of those who were killed and they are saying quite clearly that the civil aviation authority and the organisers of the shore airshow have a lot to answer for. let's talk to james healy pratt from stewa rts law, he is the lawyer for seven of the eleven victims' families. thank you very much for being with

us. thank you very much for being with us. what is your response to this report? more important, the response of the families we are helping. yesterday was a sad day for them because they had a conference briefing and it brought back all those difficult memories from that day in august. but then the families looked at the 32 safety recommendations, they looked at the 430 pages of the report. it is two and half inches thick, a very solid piece of work, and there is considerable satisfaction that if all these safety recommendations are properly implemented in future lives can be saved. 0ne recommendation is very important, and that is for an independent review of the governance of airshow safety to be conducted by the department for transport. it is clear that it is a chain of causes that create a tragedy like this, not just one thing, and you can look at

that report and you can identify poor regulation, poor preparation, and arguably poor piloting. those three elements, those three courses, contributed to the loss of 11 innocent lives. but it is a solid, comprehensive piece of work and it does answer a lot of questions for the families we are helping. do the families feel that these recommendations if implemented would transform safety at future displays of this kind? that is broadly true, yes. if all of these 32 regulations are fully and properly implemented, then future lives will be preserved, which is very important. what is the course of action now for you as the lawyer of these families and the families in terms of what happens next. we have just completed the first stage, the safety report. the second stage is waiting on the sussex police who have conducted a criminal investigation and waiting

to hear whether the crown prosecution service will instigate criminal charges. we may well hear about that in the next two or three months. the third stage, and this is very important, is that inquest. the coroner's inquest cannot happen if there are criminal prosecutions. it cannot happen before, so there will bea cannot happen before, so there will be a delay, but the inquest itself will be a chance for the families to explain the loss of a loved one from their perspective. in many ways it is quite important for the families. two more stages and this could well be another 18 months for the families. there has been a call for an independent review of the governance of flying activities. what is your view on that? would that change things significantly? the very fact they have called for a review means the system is not fit for purpose. 0ne specific issue was that neither the airshow organiser,

nor the regulator, knew who was in charge of the risk which is simply unacceptable. so there was confusion and muddled thinking about who was in charge and that cannot happen again. that goes down to the governance of who was in charge and the rules and who gets to enforce them. that is very important, that is important for the families we are helping. james, thank you very much indeed. the lawyer representing seven indeed. the lawyer representing seven of the victims, families. in ireland the mother and baby homes commission has found an underground structure in goal weight which is divided in 20 chambers and inside are significant quantities of human remains, including those of babies. the discovery was made by a forensic tea m the discovery was made by a forensic team investigating suspicions that over 800 people died at a catholic institution. theresa may has attacked the snp,

saying it is obsessed with independence regardless of fact and reality. speaking at the scottish conservative conference in glasgow, the prime minister accused the scottish government of "neglecting and mismanaging public services in scotland" and said it was the poorest and most vulnerable who benefited most from the union between scotland and the rest of the uk. 0ur correspondent in glasgow, glenn campbell, told us more. theresa may came here to glasgow to make the case for the united kingdom and for scotland remaining part of the uk. as you mention, she accused the snp of neglecting public services in scotland, like education, because she believes the party is pursuing nationalism in a way that amounts to obsession. the snp has said that brexit could lead toa snp has said that brexit could lead to a second vote on scottish

independence, a second referendum, u nless independence, a second referendum, unless the uk government backs a special deal that would allow scotla nd special deal that would allow scotland to remain in the european single market when the uk as a whole leaves the eu. but theresa may said the impetus that the snp and its leader nicola sturgeon plays on the eu market downplays the importance of the uk market to scotland. in fa ct, of the uk market to scotland. in fact, the eu comes third after the re st of fact, the eu comes third after the rest of the uk and the rest of the world as a market for scottish goods. and yet the snp proposed scottish independence which would wrench scotland out of its biggest market. they think independence is the answer to every question in every circumstance, regardless of facts and reality. it simply does not add up and we should never stop saying so. theresa may did not say

whether or not she would be prepared to grant the scottish government the power to hold another referendum should that demand come from nicola sturgeon. she did not give much more detail on what will happen with scottish devolution through the brexit process, except to say that the uk would not be seeking to take any powers away from the scottish parliament. the suggestion is agriculture and fisheries responsibilities coming back from brussels may be shared between the governments in london and in edinburg. but for the former snp leader alex salmond that is not good enough. theresa may has to show she has some understanding of the scottish political situation and she showed precious little of that today. what she announced was a power grab. if brexit goes ahead, the powers that should come back to scotland, she is going to retain them at westminster because she

likes the look of the scottish economic zone. that is a fundamental attack on the very principle statute of the scottish parliament of 1999 which said specifically that anything that was not reserved to westminster should be run in scotland. this is a prime minister who is attacking the very foundations of the scottish parliament and she will do it to her cost. what is theresa may's tactic here? she was pulling no punches. is she trying to open up some new front of attack, move it away from a second referendum and instead talk about domestic politics? she did offer a critique of the snp's record in the scottish government, but from one end to the other this speech was about the united kingdom and theresa may emphasising her personal commitment to keeping scotland within the uk. it was almost as if we we re within the uk. it was almost as if we were already in another

independence referendum campaign. it seems theresa may anticipates that demand for another referendum to come from nicola sturgeon at some point. earlier in the day the scottish conservative leader ruth davidson told the bbc that she does not think the snp have a mandate for a referendum, she does not think the public in scotland want one, but she said if it did go ahead, the snp would take a big hit. it is almost like the conservatives are saying, come and have a go if you think you are hard enough! the main centre—right candidate in the french presidential race, francois fillon, has suffered a further blow with the resignation of his spokesman amid continuing fallout over allegations of fakejobs. pressure has been growing on mr fillon, a former prime minister, to step down, following reports that he paid family members for parliamentary jobs they didn't do. they deny wrongdoing and he insists he'll fight on. live to paris, hugh schofield is there for us. hazmat grant's

hazmat gra nt‘s spokesman hazmat grant's spokesman said anything about the reasons for his resignation? not publicly. he has tweeted and he has said he does not believe the conditions are there any more for a victory. the significance is it is notjust him, his treasurer left yesterday, his deputy campaign director left yesterday, there are about 15 people from the headquarters of his campaign who have left, the nuts and bolts people who do his bookings, but there are seniorfigures in his party, figures you will not have heard of but who are well known in france, people who we re are well known in france, people who were right behind him at the start of his campaign, who are now saying we do not think he will make it. there is also was of stuff a foot right as we speak. negotiations, talk, bartering between the

different bits of the parties to see if he cannot be persuaded to step down and make way for alanjuppe, who lost the primary in november. that is what is happening and the country is on tenterhooks to see whether francois fillon will stick it out or weather over the weekend, and it is looking very tense, over the weekend there will be a substitute brought in and he is obliged to step down. asi as i say, that is what is going on fillon has not given the slightest indication that he will stand down but he is confronted by a new situation, the desertion of so many people, not just situation, the desertion of so many people, notjust middle ranking, not just bottom but high—ranking members of the republican party and it may well be that quite soon he feels so i isolated that the pressure does begin to turn. ok, 0, think they much. good afternoon, some sunshine on the way this weekend, some brain around

as well. as we have seen a bit today the sunshine across northern scotland, we have had cloud elsewhere but it has brightened up a touch across the south east. rain is well affecting northern england and northern ireland. showery bats coming in across wales and the self west midlands as well. many parts of the country will get a bit of rain overnight. rain continuing into northern ireland and the band of rain coming in across england and wales, pretty mouth out there not just cold as it was last night in northern scotland because of that cloud. —— pretty mild. there will be some snow over the hills, as well. rain, the most of the day 30 northern ireland but it soon clears northern and eastern england and many places will be dry and bright. some sunshine, some showers and wales and south—westward cold day underneath the raid in scotland. that rain up was the northern islands on sunday, a change of fortunes, drier day for scotland. fans of rain and showers of england and wales. —— bands of rain and showers. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines results are being declared in the northern ireland assembly election and the early signs are that the nationalist party sinn fein has polled well. turnout is up sharply more than 10% in some areas. air accident investigators say the pilot of the vintage jet which crashed at the shoreham airshow was flying "too low and too slow" when he started a loop manoeuvre. eleven people on the ground died. theresa may has accused the snp of neglecting public services in scotland, because it's obsessed with the issue of independence. the prime minister said securing the union was vital to the uk's prosperity. a cumbria police force which investigated the death of poppi

worthington has been... time for a look at the sport and it is going to the bbc sports centre. england have made a solid start to the first one—day international against the west indies in antigua, despite losing two early wickets. having lost the toss on a bowler—friendly pitch, england were put into bat and after being fortunate to keep his wicket when dropped, opener losing jason roy was trapped lbw on 13. new test captain joe root then lasted just 5 balls, out for 4 runs, but the one—day skipper eoin morgan has shown the way, putting together a good stand with sam billings. well it's time for captains to step up — they could be given more responsibility in top level football to encourage a better relationship between players and officials. under new proposals from ifab — the international football association board —

captains would be the only players permitted to speak to referees about "major incidents". outside the body's annual meeting today, fifa president gianni infantino was asked about the new ideas.well new rules that is an important one for the image on the pitch. something that we need to discuss in strategy, looking forward to make sure that the values on the pitch are reflected and that there is more respect. you think the image of the game needs to improve? it is already a fantastic game but we can always improve, yes. well new rules were brought in at the start of the current season to allow referees to punish abuses more harshly. today the fa have seen fit to increase the ban of aston villa's leandro bacuna, from the normal three to six matches after he barged into a linesman at the end of their home win over derby last weekend. fernando torres has left hospital today after a serious head—to—head clash which left him unconscious.

the former liverpool and chelsea forward then landed heavily on his head and neck during last night's draw with deportivo la coru na. the 32—year—old underwent spent the night at a local hospital but cat scans didn't reveal any damage to his head or neck. the world cup winner says it was a "big scare but added that he could return to training within a few days." britain's doyle and nielsen are through to the semi—finals of the 400 metres at the european indoor athletics championships. and there will be three briton's in sunday's final of the 3,000 metres. laura muir is bidding for glory in that and the fifteen hundred metres. as a result she took it easy in qualifying by finishing fifth in her heat behind steph twell who was second. leading into the race will be helping each other and we are close to each there will be that, roddy to keep people going. it will be a top

rate, that is lot turkish athletes who look strong. and it is about getting out there and being a lot of turkish athletes who look strong. and it is about getting out there and being stung as possible. the world title for the 21—year—old piloted by hall was the fifth in her career, the event is an important one for visually impaired athletes hoping to gain qualification points towards next yea r‘s qualification points towards next year's on... we did need to know we have in the world championship until seven have in the world championship until seven weeks ago, have in the world championship until seven weeks ago, so have in the world championship until seven weeks ago, so to have in the world championship until seven weeks ago, so to come away with the world title, we justjumped on the bike and it clicked and seven weeks later we are still on the top second weeks later we are still on the top second programme. weeks later we are still on the top second programme. before we go, david haye has weighed in then penny bellew ahead of their class this weekend. and time to tell you that england are now 98—3 in the first

one day. sam billings isjust gone from 52, 22 overs gone. all the sport, we will see you in the next hour. police who investigated the sudden death of a baby in cumbria have been heavily criticised as being disorganised and having an unstructured approach. poppi worthington who was just thirteen months old, collapsed at her home in barrow—in—furness in december in 2012. the independent police complaints commission found that the investigation into her death was "not fit for purpose". poppi worthington only lived for 13 months. she was found with serious injuries at her home in barrow in 2012. the investigation which followed her death was so flawed that four years on, serious failings are still coming to light. the watchdog, the ipcc, has published a report levelling heavy criticism at cumbria police. the investigator found evidence there had been an unstructured investigation, essentially not fit for purpose. we found concerns in relation to the way that the scene

where poppi had been managed. the report's details are a catalogue of mistakes made by detectives. crucial evidence was thrown away. witnesses were not interviewed for eight months. there was enough evidence to arrest poppi's father on day one. but paul worthington has neverfaced charges although a high courtjudge ruled he had probably sexually assaulted his daughter shortly before her death. he has always denied this. for most people, this is incomprehensible that the father was not investigated immediately. by the time the trail was picked up, it had gone cold and so probably, there will never be justice for poppi worthington and that is a terrible thing. the ipcc found that two detectives who led the investigation had cases to answer for gross misconduct.

both are now retired. they waited until they got a firm report by the pathologist with firm conclusions. that took seven months and in that seven months, the whole investigation went into suspended animation. that was wholly unacceptable because that was seven months lost. a new inquest will be held in may and poppi's mother says that the failings have left her deeply and profoundly distressed. donald trump has defended his attorney generaljeff sessions as an honest man and dismissed calls for his resignation. senior us democrats have demanded the attorney general step down, saying he had lied on oath at his confirmation hearing over his contacts with the russian ambassador. president trump said mr sessions "could have stated his response more accurately but it was clearly not intentional" and has accused the democrats of a witch hunt. a short time ago we caught up

with jane o' brien in washington, who gave us an insight into the issues faced by the trump administration faces. this is a massive distraction, but i think the now at leastjeff sessions is fairly safe will stop he had stepped aside from all the investigations into the allegations over russian interference in the election and that, although it will not satisfy democrats who were still circling, it does put the minds of some of the republican colleagues at rest, because they were concerned about the fact that he had responded toa about the fact that he had responded to a question wearing his campaign hat, but replied as a senator. what donald trump is talking about when he says he wished he had been more accurate in his answer, basically whatjeff sessions should have said was i did not have any conversation with the russian ambassador about the campaign, however as a senator i did talk to the russian ambassador, and none of this would have blown up in the way that it did.

however, that was all yesterday. today it is a new chapter. the republicans are desperately hoping they can put this behind them and move on. and itjust means there are continuing lingering questions about the trump campaign's links with russia and the russian ambassador in particular? that is right. this is basically all about transparency and there has not been enough of it. we do not know who met with the russian ambassador or any other russian official. when they did meet we do not know what those conversations were. it is this lack of openness and these conversations coming out in the form of revelations that is causing the trump administration so many headaches. to a certain extent this is a self—inflicted wound. we have learned only recently, for instance, thatjared kushner, who is donald trump's son—in—law, also met with the russian ambassador with michael flynn who is president trump's ousted

national security adviser. he was forced to resign, he did not come clean about it and misled the vice president. so all these things add up and contribute to this innuendo and suspicion and conspiracy that washington thrives on, that there is something to hide, and it is very difficult forthe trump campaign to prove the negative. jane 0'brien but that in washington. let's get more now from northern ireland where the first results have been coming in, in the assembly election. what's already clear is that the turnout has gone up sharply — by more than 10% in some areas compared to last year. that is being attributed to the uncertainty caused by the brexit vote. let's join annita mcveigh who's in belfast. those results are starting to comment, we have seen in mid ulster yes, that turnout was up 10% from just under 55% at the last assembly elections here, in may last year ten

months ago. it is now at 65% this time around. a really significant increase in voters getting out to the polls. that we bring you up—to—date with 20 out of 90 assembly seats declared, so far, let's ta ke assembly seats declared, so far, let's take a look at the figures. sinn fein nine seats so far the dup has eight, almost neck and neck and sinn fein and the dup whether two largest parties in the power—sharing assembly which collapsed in january. there we have the cross community alliance party of northern ireland onto seats and the ulster units deep —— the allstate unity party on one. the number of seats in this assembly has been produced since last time round. some well—known mlas have lost their seats, but what we are looking for is what the overall make—up of the parties be at the end

of this. i'm not saying they will return to an assembly, because they are returning to a period of negotiation to try to create a new assembly. and with me again is the emeritus professor of irish policy... we spoke about those figures earlier what are your thoughts so far? is been a good day the sinn fein and dup, better the sinn fein as they are slightly in the lead. it may be, we will see what happened in 1998 where the sdlp had more votes than the uup, the nature that is it unionist seats trickle in at the end. might to seek dup lead. it is very narrow and close, when it comes to attack the end that is maybe what it is, but it is very, very tight indeed. —— when it comes to it at the end. if it is as close as that, what's that say the time to resolve the stalemate?

first, to get the parliament we started you probably need the dup no matter how narrow, because the unionist community will feel that they should have a majority... in that sense, it is probably a requirement, but nonetheless this campaign has not soften any the antagonism is, eileen foster has done very well in her own constituency which is much more disliked by nationalists than she was a few months ago. it will be a very tricky negotiation. the government have the opportunity of spinning it out every few weeks and calling a second election. although, eve ryo ne calling a second election. although, everyone is exhausted today, you cannot rule out the second election. that is an interesting point to conclude on. thank you very much for yourtime, again. conclude on. thank you very much for your time, again. still conclude on. thank you very much for yourtime, again. still 20 out conclude on. thank you very much for your time, again. still 20 out of 90 seats declared as i got to see if there has been any change to the position that audio to be moments ago, but none at the moment. do come

back to is very soon keep you up—to—date with what is happening. we death me well, anita, do not worry about that, we will see soon. —— we definitely will. as britain prepares to leave the european union — we've been looking at the impact on different sectors across the uk. the house of lords has warned that bold steps are needed to ensure the uk continues to attract the best scientific talent after it leaves the eu and said that uncertainty over the nature of the uk's future relationship with the eu is having a "corrosive" effect on science. let's go back to manchester where our business correspondence is at the museum of science and industry. iam here i am here at the power hall in manchester, i spent most of the afternoon looking at these absolutely stunning steam engine is all behind me. that one over there is on the indian row ways and that

what we had my guests is on the isle of man. here today i'm going to find out how brexit will impact the science industry, no recruitment and recruiting talent from europe has been a key concern for lots of companies after we leave the eu. joining me now is and who was from the university of manchester and nicola worth on the stem and passed a halt. let's do with you andrea. recruiting from europe will be a challenge, but we were crude lots beyond europe as well, so will it make too much of a different? certainly, brexit will be an major impact on the crude went for the uk. coming from university which is research led, we were live for our success on underpinning the uk success on underpinning the uk success on underpinning the uk success on the ability of the top researchers on attracting the bite and the best come to the uk, to work here and study here. —— attracting the bright and the best. many of the great scientific problems and challenges we are facing epidemics,

major medicine development through scientific research and development, relies on maintaining solid networks and brexit poses some challenges in the sense that the eu funding streams was murray are the key ways of solidifying those networks across europe will stop bringing in activities for individual scientists all over europe and getting them to exercise mobility to come to the uk and the uk researchers took collaborate if it sees. i think that is potentially a real threat. we might miss outs on some early in the eu. when it comes to getting people interesting in signs and uk it's a bit of a challenge comedy think this is an opportunity? hard to stay. i think we will continue to struggle as we do now. what we do know is that young people on the holy primary school really engaged in science and thinking that science, technology, engineering and maths is that them and that that reduces at the moment as they get to studying

a—level subjects and into careers. i think we will continue, if anything, for that be a challenge for us. we have lots of existing eu migrant workers in the country working in the industry, halliday feeling, are they feeling like they want to leave to start careers fresher board? -- how are they feeling. when the main issues at the moment is one of uncertainty, certain clarifications have not been given by the uk government. there is a lot of uncertainty about what is good happen in the medium to longer term, so happen in the medium to longer term, so many of those researchers, we would not be surprised if they were feeling uncertain and whether or not they would want to think about opportunities where they could issue their scientific careers in greater certainty and that is why we, along with other universities are working to persuade the public and the government very much about the need for clarifying some of those participation issues in the longer term the scientific programmes.

nicola, what kind of assurances do you want the government when it comes the science? i think we want to know that the projects that are already in place, to do with encouraging young people to continue to stay in science, technology, engineering, and maths, and the problems we have already that there is art continuing to be funded, the ones that work and one that we knowing engage young people notjust in school but in the family life and outside of school and white networks that young people get involved with. —— why debt networks. encouraging signs in all parts of life. it is a tv uk has been a scientific, global powerhouse the centuries, we see that 0bama is an amusing today, we have to be confident about world reputation in a position globally and not lose sight of the fact that the mobility annie openness and the networks enabled by something like the eu and the scientific

institutions at critical to that. we will remain a scientific powerhouse for yea rs will remain a scientific powerhouse for years to come. thank you very much, i will be back in our‘s time with my news here from power hall. we look forward to it. plaid cymru's two day spring conference has begun in newport and in a speechjust over an hour ago the party's leader leanne wood says they are on a "mission to rebalance wales". let's talk to leanne wood who is live for us at the conference in newport... i think you'vejust i think you've just finished just beach, what does that mean we balance wales? well, we live in and on balanced and unequal country, very much like the whole of the uk where london and the south east sees all the investment and is overheating to the detriment of other parts of the united kingdom, the same risks happen here in wales under labour we have seemed more investment around the capital city and that is not to say that the

capital city does not deserve investment but we want to see that investment but we want to see that investment might throughout the country, in the north in the middle of the country, in the west and the east you criticise labour there but you've done deal with them in the assembly. we have a contract with labour in the assembly there was a minority government situation that we work with them we did a deal to get their budget through where we managed to get a lot of plaid cymru priorities bomb our manifesto implemented and funded to that budget deal, but we are not in coalition with them. —— priorities through our manifesto. we cannot trust the tories and ukip to act as responsible... surely you are trying to have it both ways, you criticise them but at the same time you are with them? you could look at it that

way, i look at it as maximising the benefit of the people in wales out of the arrangement that we have got. as i've said we have managed to allocate money to plaid cymru's priorities. for example the new drugs and treatments for that will come in on stream. the first minister told as it was not possible to be firm about the way that we allocate drugs and treatments and plaid cymru has made it happen with this contract. we will continue to try and influence them and get as many as our manifesto commitment as possible, deliver it for the people that but there's, if you like, but we will continue to scrutinise and hold the government to account. you say you are the party of wales, but how can you be when you campaign in eu referendum to remain, wales voted to leave, your campaigning to stay ina single to leave, your campaigning to stay in a single market, many people in wales leave the single market because they do not want immigration, they do not want freedom of movement? actually, you

are out of step with public opinion and the median wales. we have taken the view that it is in wales' best interest to retain membership on the single market because so manyjobs will lie on that and it is ourjob as plaid cymru to advocate the best interests of wales. you're right we we re interests of wales. you're right we were not on the same side of the winning boat on june were not on the same side of the winning boat onjune 23, but i am pretty confident that people did not theyin pretty confident that people did not they in that referendum to putjobs at risk and did not vote against the ‘s economy and did at risk and did not vote against the 's economy and did even know people might have voted to leave the still wants to protect those jobs that we have in wales and we believe that membership of the single market is the best way to protect those jobs. ina the best way to protect those jobs. in a sense you are saying you think you know better than the people of wales ? you know better than the people of wales? well, we have spoken to a number of employers and workers made very clear that they do not want to have extra costs the tariffs and so

an, it does not take a genius to work out that if there are extra costs a n work out that if there are extra costs an worse companies in the form of ta blets costs an worse companies in the form of tablets and other expenses than that puts welsh businesses at a competitive disadvantage and we do not want that. thank you very much for your time. thank you for being with us. leanne wood that from plaid cymru. there is a fair bit of rain meeting north. towards the weekend there is plenty more brain in the forecast i'm afraid but i think we will seize on dry spells as well. not a com plete on dry spells as well. not a complete wash—out this weekend, but it is pretty wet out there at the the sun this was taken by one about whether what she was in barnsley not so whether what she was in barnsley not so long ago. and you can see that we do have pretty thick cloud across much of the uk and that is bringing some rain moving ever northwards so lovely afternoon in northern scotla nd

lovely afternoon in northern scotland with some sunshine. elsewhere a lot of cloud, breaks of rain and it is all slowly going to southern scotland. behind it, some showers on the heavy side, drifting eastwards overnight, tonight. with all that going on it will not be all that cold, 78 degrees the most but over the higher ground in scotland it will be cold enough for a bit of wintry weather. saturday morning and it will be pretty miserable across the eastern side of scotland as the wind comes in from the north sea and there will be plenty of class, rain, it is wet and windy and there was a chilly field things as well. the rain gets across to northern ireland. south and west of that we should have a reasonable start, dry and bright weather through the west midlands across wales as well it is largely dry. there are a few showers liking to the west. i suppose they might come in on the breeze as you get into saturday afternoon. sunny spells and showers in the south—west of the quadrant. the south—east, mostly drive spells of sunshine,

pretty grey and wet and windy across scotla nd pretty grey and wet and windy across scotland in particular. snow over high ground five or 6 degrees in glasgow. a bit of brightness in the south—eastern corner 12 or 13 degrees. 0n the subject of wintry weather will be a lot of snow in the alps this weekend and with the meter forecast, there is a high risk of avalanches packed scene. but above that there should be is an amazing spring schemes. 0n that there should be is an amazing spring schemes. on our scenes, fortu nes spring schemes. on our scenes, fortunes reversed, in mid wales will see the wettest windiest rain but not much rain across scotland and northern ireland by show or two. the early pa rt northern ireland by show or two. the early part of the coming week and i think there will be a bit of cloud, bit of sunshine, some outbreaks of rain in places on monday, but by tuesdayit rain in places on monday, but by tuesday it will be fairly grey, temperatures will be similar and we will begin to see the next band of rain coming in from the west. quite changeable and unsettled weather over the next few days. this is bbc news,

the headlines at four: first results are coming in this afternoon in northern ireland's assembly election. turnout is up by more than 10% in some areas. iamat i am at the titanic exhibition centre in belfast where the belfast constituencies are being counted and so constituencies are being counted and so via sinn fein and the dup are dominating the vote with big questions about what that could mean for a return to devolved government. pilot errors caused the shoreham air crash which killed 11 men. the final report says the stunt was perfomed too low and too slow. theresa may accuses the snp

of neglecting public services in scotland because of its obsession with the issue of independence.