president trump accuses the obama administration of tapping his phone during the presidential election campaign. the president tweeted "this is nixon/watergate". there are fears for the future of vauxhall plants in britain after a french car company — which produces peugeot vehicles — reportedly reaches a deal to buy general motors‘ european operations. britain is not be legally obliged to make a final budget payment to the eu after brexit, according to a house of lords committee. downing street has described the report as a "significant contribution". thousands of people are marching in london to demonstrate over nhs cuts. protestors have travelled from across the country and jeremy corbyn is expected to address the crowd. now on bbc news, we visit hull as britain's city of culture for 2017. hello and welcome to hull, the uk's city of culture for 2017.

a 365—day celebration of all things arty and culture. we are at hull truck theatre where the royal shakespeare company have upped sticks from their home in stratford—upon—avon to come here and put on the world premiere of a brand—new play. called the hypocrite, a farce about the english civil war. we will take you behind the scenes with actors caroline quentin and mark addy. we will find out why this 75—metre long turbine blade has landed in hull city centre. and take a look at the tiny footprints making a giant artwork celebrating life, birth and memory. as you can see there is already quite a buzz at hull truck theatre.

but then again it's not everyday that the rsc up sticks and move to a new home temporarily. but then again it's not a usual year for hull, we are the uk city of culture for 2017. i'm anne—marie tasker, the arts and culture correspondent for the bbc in hull. and this is kofi smiles. i'm the face of hull, chosen by the bbc to tell the world about the city of culture, after i auditioned here. you can see the stage, it's just down there, round past the toilets. it's three months since kofi was over there auditioning by the toilets. but if, unlike him, you weren't here in hull for the start of 2017, here are the bits you missed. ten, nine, eight... seven, six, five... four, three, two, one. it was in with a bang onjanuary1st with three and a half tonnes

of fireworks over the humber and a spectacular light display telling the city's history. what do you think to the unbelievable display? i thought it was amazing. absolutely fabulous. i've got family in canada and they are watching it live now. i'm from london and if this was in london, i can't find the words to explain the reaction you'd get. absolutely fantastic. it's amazing. hurray! fantastic. absolutely fantastic. really moving, very emotional. yeah. i'm from brazil and spent a couple of years in copacabana and to be honest this is the same quality here. this was amazing. i'm so proud of hull. it's absolutely amazing. ijust think it will launch a really positive year. if that opening looked very much to hull's past, the next spectacle to grace the city

centre looked very much to its future. looking at hull's place in the world's industry of building offshore wind turbine blades. here's kofi to explain. despite what you're thinking, what you're looking at didn't come from outer space. since january this monumental piece of art has taken up residence in hull city centre. it's an incredible 75 metres long and to put that into perspective, i'm about six foot, so i would fit along this 41 times. that's a lot of kofi. so if the blade didn't come from outer space, how did it get here? the answer is very slowly and very carefully in the middle of the night. here, you can see it making its way through the city centre. its journey began at the siemens factory in hull's alexandra dock.

they make a lot of wind turbine blades but usually they end up out at sea and not in the centre of a city. i'm excited. i'm going to take my daughter who is eight years old and let her have a look at it. because we are in the unique position where we can see these blades up close and personal and even touch them, which blew my mind, as it did the first time i saw one in the factory. it takes weeks to make every single blade. the result is this incredible handmade object, somewhere between a whale bone and the wing of a giant robotic bird. but is it art? so, that's got to be 30 degrees. in that direction. that's it, that's the angle. what we are asking, by declaring it to be an art object, is to challenge and make people think about not only the values that it represents, but what it means to place this kind of production into the heart of the city. it doesn't feel like a wind turbine blade here. when you are looking at it like this, it feels like it is something organic, feels like a bone. that's how the blade was made,

which brings us to the small matter of transporting it here to the very centre of hull, from a factory three miles down the road. in one piece. it all started in the middle of the night to try and keep its arrival secret. the blade is so big no normal lorry can carry it, so a specialist haulage team used remote—controlled vehicles. one of the main roads into the city was closed and 50 pieces of street furniture, lamp post and traffic lights, had to be lifted out and then put back. as it got near the square, there was a seriously tricky 3—point turn, not easy when you are manoeuvring the equivalent of eight buses end to end. by dawn it had finally arrived in the square. and as the city woke up on the 8th of january 2017, there was just one job left to do, the very delicate task of lowering the blade into position on to two plinths. fortunately the blade did make it safely into queen victoria square in the centre of hull.

what do the locals think? let's find out. it's modern. it's something that you won't see anywhere else. it's quite big. i'm surprised there's no sign saying mind your head. would you consider it a piece of art? it is kind of a piece of art, yes. it's kind of avant—garde. out of place. everything can be art, really, it really depends on how you look at it. it is like art but then it is used for a job. so it's like art used for a job. notjust like in a frame. some people feel it's a feat of great engineering and not art. some people think it's because it's so beautiful and unique. i think it's amazing because it's getting people engaged and talking about what they consider art. but what ever you think about it, you can't deny that it grabs your attention. and walking through the city centre in any direction, you simply can't miss it. but you have to be quick

if you want to see the blade because it's only going to be here until the 18th of march. until then, it's going out the way that it came in. but is notjust about what's great in hull, this is a uk wide arts festival, showcasing the best in the world. that's right. the arrival of an italian masterpiece has caused a stir in the city centre but you are the art expert and i'm pretty sure you can tell us why. i certainly can, and this is it. hull's ferens art gallery has always prided itself on its collection of paintings and sculpture. and for 2017 it wanted to raise its game and after spending millions on refurbishment it needed a new superstar exhibit to match. and this is it. it's not the biggest work of art and it's far from the most expensive, but christ between saints paul and

peter is still something special. because it's the only painting by pietro lorenzetti in the uk. not much of his work still exists in its originalform, this is a fragment of a much larger altarpiece, but when they bought it here for more than £5 million in 2012 it's set a world record for the artist. but time had not been kind to this tiny work of art, buried under varnish, dirt and clumsy repairs. so in 2013 the painting was sent to the national gallery in london to be worked on by one of the world's best restoration teams. repairs were done a long time ago using gold coloured bronze, powder, as paint, and that has discoloured enormously into a kind of slimy green and black. smears across much of the background. st peter was quite buried under layers of varnish. the fact that paul is wearing these

kind of wonderful lilac and mustard robes when he arrived, he was looking like a franciscan monk he looked very brownie grey. you might be thinking who is lorenzetti? he is not grow well known in this country, but one of the biggest developments in the history of art might never have happened without him and those around him. lorenzetti worked as a painter in 14th century italy and in the tuscan city of siena and was probably taught in the workshop of this late medieval master, but in a time when religion dominated art, they started to paint their spiritualfigures in a more human, more naturalistic style, with more perspective, something that paved the way for world —famous artists like michelangelo, leonardo

da vinci, to develop in the renaissance. lorenzetti along with a few others stands at the beginning of this new movement which developed since the renaissance which is so important for the development of art throughout europe so we're looking at a piece of art which is at the start of this approach, which is concerned with natural appearances and human psychology. something that already is talking to us in a language we can understand. but restoring the painting was a huge task, the scientists had to remove a virtually insoluble crust of the same mineral found in gallstones to try to get the lorenzetti back to how the painter himself would have seen it. i think we are closer, but the picture has changed colours and faded and things have happened which can't be reversed, but there is less between you and lorenzetti then there was.

in january this year, after untold hours of work, the lorenzetti came home to hull and was unveiled to great fanfare. 0n show alongside loans on the national gallery, the 700—year—old artwork was seen by around 60,000 people in the first month alone. lorenzetti has been a big draw for people because it is so different to what we have in the collection, it is amazing to have this 700 year artwork here, people are intrigued to see how it has survived and made it here to the gallery. it might be small but this painting has become a mighty attraction. and a treasure for the nation. still to come on britain's city of culture, our exclusive look behind

the scenes of the rsc show the hypocrite. and we look at the giant artwork which is reflecting life, birth and memory in hull in 2017. but first, this is my guide to the best of the rest and some highlights to look forward to. the installation of coloured lights on the barton estate was the first series of 60 committee based projects. i think it is brilliant. it makes you feel really good that you are part of the city of culture. hollywood icons has taken the city by storm. the artist quentin budworth photographed members of the public re—enacting their favourite film poses in different parts of the city. humber street gallery is a brand—new arts base near hull marina, home to contemporary art including the provocative and challenging coum transmissions exhibition. pot luck was exactly what it said

on the ticket, audiences paid £5 but did not know what they would see on the event started. anything from spoken word to film. these tracks, these unbelievable streets. i'm not 100% on spoken word, but some of the acts have been unbelievable. so engaging and funny. pot luck. fantastic. still to come, flood, an ethics story which includes a word performance, online elements and a bbc broadcast. and a circus show taking place in the general cemetery, and the royal ballet will help reopen a new theatre after a £16 million transformation with a special gala performance. the actors are about to go on stage for the opening

weekend of the hypocrite. it's a play that brings together the royal shakespeare company and hull's playwright richard bean who is best known for one man, to governors. it is a swashbuckling farce about the dish civil war. we have been looking at the rehearsals from the start. in january the royal shakespeare company found a new temporary home in hull, a disused church on a housing estate. the english civil war starts now. who will make the first advance? it's a play which is hull through and through, written by a playwright from hull, it is being produced here and is based on a key moment in hull's past. this is a very historic spot for hull. the inspiration for your play.

beverly gate. in 1642 hull was a town, very secure fortress town, and sirjohn holland stood on the beverly gate low wall and he spoke directly to the king and he refused him entry at that moment. he became treacherous and would be executed. the writer richard bean started researching his lead character more than two years ago. but rather than a historical drama he has turned the events of 1642 into a comedy. i thought i would be doing the politics, but when i started reading all of this, these original papers, it's like reading a farce, a french farce. that final thing where the governor of the town is running on his own chaste, i'm not going to say benny hill.

i could see that in your eyes! so richard bean had found his central character. and he's being played another yorkshireman. tv and film star mark addy. i've spent the last couple of days running around inside a cardboard box which represents a commode. for reasons that are too complex to explain, but yes, farce is ultimately a physical form. richard bean's probably our best comedy writer at the moment. especially in terms of farce. he can ride a farce like nobody else. be more careful next time. while the actors rehearse, work started on the project of building the set. the largest they have ever

made at this theatre. backstage they are even converting offices into dressing rooms to make stage for the 21—strong cast. the play is filled with tricks and illusions. from a sword through the neck to mark addy being beheaded on stage. the man in charge of pulling it off worked on the potter play in london, and he says this show is proving just as tough. you have people watching from three different sides so where are sometimes you can do things with magic and you don't want people to be able to see from the sides, with this, you have got to think about those things because everyone is up close and they are closer than in a conventional theatre. at one point there is a sword which goes through a neck. this is a solid thing. that is quite a feat. that is the challenge. solid sword through a neck, but we are doing it. it's fun. tell us how. i can't, it's magic! big stars and a big cast and a big—name theatre company,

creating the biggest theatrical moment of 2017 so far. and one of the stars is caroline quentin. best known for tv show men behaving badly but alighted to be taken to the stage for this play. apart from paying the bills, why did you want to take this role? i was sent the script by richard bean and everyone knows he's a great playwright and i had worked with him on a workshop years ago and i really liked him as a man and then i went to see one man, two governors, and i thought, yes, he relies what he's doing. my agent said you have been sent a play, i read five pages, i was with my husband, and i said, i've got to do this play. i couldn't bear the thought of somebody else playing lady sarah before i did. i really glad i'm doing it first.

even though it means living away from home for three months? i am a long way from home. because i live in devon. if you live in london or manchester is not such a huge journey, but it is a long way from the south west to here. but a really great piece of work like this, they don't come along very often, they genuinely don't. it has been an amazing response, the tickets have been the fastest selling in the history of this theatre in its current location. do you feel any pressure knowing that so many people are going to be watching? brilliantly for me, it was sold out before i was connected with it. i feel no pressure at all, but actually the people of hull, and i know it will have a longer life, this play, but the people of hull are going to love this play. men behaving badly is what you are best known for and given a cold feet as had

a revival, has anyone asked you to do that again? not yet. there is always talk about that coming back, it is one of the most asked questions, really. i've never heard of there being a revival. but with cold feet coming back, i've worked with mark bullen, as well. anything is possible. you just don't know in this game. you don't know what you're going be doing next. that's what's great about it. how much are you looking forward to opening night? it is very nerve—racking. it gets worse. the older you get. you don't remember lines as well. it's nerve—racking. it is nerve—racking. but i'm really looking forward to the people of hull seeing this play. because they will, there's so much

great stuff in it, they... some of thejokes, they are so deeply entrenched in the culture here. they will love it. caroline quentin might be one of the big names coming to the city of culture, but at the heart of this is the notion that art can transform lives and give something back to a community. as part that the city of culture have given out 60 to community groups, or to anyone who has had a good idea, really, and one of those people was a midwife from the maternity hospital. kate has been to meet her and some of the newest arrivals in hull in 2017. at hull women and children's hospital thousands of babies are born every year and for those born in 2017 there's a chance to be part of a very special art project. it is time to do

the baby's footprint. it doesn't hurt the baby but it does make them cry. this morning at four hours old, baby lana is making her mark on history. there we go. i'm very proud. it makes it more exciting and more magical. something to look back on, definitely. it's all the idea of midwife sally ward. when i found out hull was going to be the city of culture i thought, what better idea than to start right at the beginning of life. babies will be born into the city of culture and that is how we came up with the name of the project, it would be lovely to celebrate birth and do something special for the hospital. on an average between 15 and 20 babies born in this hospital every day, 400 footprints being taken by these midwives every month, and by the end of 2017 they expect

to have a collection of more than five and a half thousand footprints. the idea is that we scan these feet and this is all of january. 281. each scan is based on a piece of artwork and this is here, and we go on to build up the piece of artwork. some are bigger than others? yes, there are a couple of spikes in babies being born, one around march and one around september, i've been told. you might think why that might be. what were people doing nine months before. yes, say, at christmas. the size of the footprints vary from large babies to the tiny prints of those which haven't survived. we felt it was important that it was notjust a celebration of both, but also remembrance, and we want all babies to be included for 2017,

so mums have a choice if they want their babies to be included, and even if they have been stillborn we will still do that footprint and that will go on the artwork. we are going to stomp this on the piece of paper. back at the hospital baby theo is the latest to join the born in the city of culture project. conceived through ivf and born prematurely he is now thriving and his parents kate and becky say they are thrilled he is taking part. he has such big feet, as well. he is absolutely beautiful. could not wish for anything better. it is great that he was born in 2017 and the little footprint is a great idea. it will be a gorgeous tribute to him and a lovely tribute to the staff, as well. that's all from the hull truck theatre and the city of culture. plenty to come, next

time we will be speaking to battling barbra butterick, she was the world's first women's boxing champion. and we'll be looking at the symphony for hull, composed by sir karljenkins. if you can't hold out until the spring, head over to the website, for hull 2017. goodbye. see you soon. see if we can deliver some decent weather... hello, philip avery here. we will have to try and deliver some decent weather. they haven't done that on the eastern side of scotland, low cloud and strong wind, rain and snow. better across the

midlands. even here i wouldn't be surprised to see more showers, which have been present across south—west scotland, wales and the south—west. gradually creeping to the east. the worst conditions have been across northern parts of scotland. the weather moving further north, followed by a showers and some of them giving longer spells of rain or snow. 0n them giving longer spells of rain or snow. on a cold night we will have this area of cloud and rain finding its way into the south—western quarter. that is tied in with a slow—moving weather front. it is moving, so if it starts rim with you, things will improve. in the south—west, the wind will be a feature, up to 50, 60 south—west, the wind will be a feature, up to 50,60 mph. not south—west, the wind will be a feature, up to 50, 60 mph. not great for the shetland isles, but an improved day for most of scotland. not wall—to—wall sunshine, they will

be some showers in northern ireland. glorious weather over the north of england. we have the weather front. from the north of wales, through the midlands to east anglia and the south—east. following behind, the speed of the wind and the gusts, up to 60 mph in exposed locations. gradually easing as we go to the afternoon. the showers keep coming. the rain gets a bit more patchy across the heart of england and wales. no doubt about it, the best conditions for most of scotland and northern ireland. that's a half decent day, especially compared to what some of you have suffered today. sunday into monday, tuesday, low— pressure today. sunday into monday, tuesday, low—pressure flirting with the south—west and then disappears. the best weather is monday night into tuesday and then on tuesday we have more cloud and rain, some of it quite heavy. the wind is a feature.

monday is betwixt and between, when the low pressure has gone away, a lot of cloud. then we have a new band of cloud and rain from the west. a lot going on. more on the bbc weather website. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm: sinn fein celebrates a surge in support in northern ireland's assembly elections. the dup is still the biggest party but with just one more seat than the republicans. president trump accuses the 0bama administration of tapping his phone during the presidential election campaign. concerns over the impact for 4,000 vauxhall workers in britain, as a french car company reportedly reaches a deal to buy general motors' european operations. a house of lords report says britain is not be legally obliged to make a final budget payment to the eu after brexit. also in the next hour: thousands of people march in london to demonstrate over nhs cuts. this is the scene live

in central london. protestors have travelled to the capital from across the country. jeremy corbyn is expected to address the crowd.