this is bbc news. the headlines at 4. sinn fein celebrate big gains in northern ireland elections. the dup is still the biggest party but with just one more seat than the republicans. the parties have three weeks to agree a power—sharing coalition. president trump accuses the obama administration of tapping his phone during the presidential election campaign. the president treated... there are fears for the future of vauxhall pla nts fears for the future of vauxhall plants in britain after a french car company that produces peugeot vehicles reportedly reached 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. protestors have travelled from across the country. jeremy corbyn is expected to address the crowd. our nhs is in crisis because of the lack of funding in social care with many not getting the care and support they need, those waiting on trolleys. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. sinn fein are celebrating their best ever showing in elections to the northern ireland assembly. with all the votes counted, they‘ve won 27 seats, just one behind the democratic unionists. sinn fein‘s president, gerry adams, has described the result as "an end to the old status quo". the two parties now have three weeks to try to agree a new power—sharing coalition.

from belfast, chris buckler reports. the battle between unionism and nationalism has been at the centre of politics in northern ireland for decades. and the harsh words of old returned during this election campaign. the dup leader even compared irish republicans to crocodiles. if you feed a crocodile, they are going to keep coming back and looking for more. this vote saw republicans bite back. the increase in support for sinn fein has left them just a single seat behind the democratic unionist party. until the start of this year, they worked in coalition with their old rivals, but now the animosity has returned, and that leaves major questions about the future of power—sharing at stormont. it is time for political leadership, it is time to get back to the principles of the good friday agreement. it is time to fix what is wrong. i think that is all doable if people come at it with the right attitude. but after such a bitter break—up, getting unionists back together with republicans will not be easy, and that is particularly true

because of one demand sinn fein is making of the dup. they want arlene foster to step aside as first minister while a public inquiry takes place into a financial scandal linked to a botched green—energy scheme. last night, the dup leader left her count centre having refused all bbc interview requests. a lot of what they are asking for are undeliverable, because whilst they dress it up with nice platitudes and nice language, actually it is incredibly one—sided, it does not fit with the notion of partnership. for so long, the big beast of politics here, unionism is facing a fresh roar from nationalism. just months ago they seemed to be working together, but in unionist east belfast, where the cs lewis square has been built in honour of the author‘s mythical tales of battle, there is a certain concern about what is emerging. our whole government system is not working for the people who need it, because they are up there squabbling over very little, be honest. republicans are out again

in force, so they are, we should get off our backsides and get out and vote now. many see the current divisions as a return to the politics of the past, and once again a time of uncertainty for stormont. earlier chris buckler explained how northern ireland is experiencing turbulent times. brexit poses particular problems for northern ireland, which is remember the only part of the uk with a land border with another eu country. there‘s a lot of trade that crosses that border. this election result has had consequences. the ulster unionist leader has stepped down because of the poor result of his party within these elections. beyond that, the dup reduction in seats means they‘ve lost the petition of concern, basically, a veto at stormont to block any legislation they don‘t like, for example, they used that to stop the introduction of same—sex marriage here. looking towards a future, the dup and sinn fein have to pick up the pieces to see if they can

form a power—sharing government together. that is not going to be easy. it raises the prospect that westminster might have to take over, at least for a time, and run government here in northern ireland while they try to come to some sort of agreement. the us president donald trump has accused his predecessor barack obama of wire—tapping his phone a month before he was elected. he described president obama as a bad or sick guy but offered no evidence to support his claims. using his personal twitter account, mr trump claims that mr obama is behind tapping trump tower‘s phones in the lead—up to last november‘s presidential election. in a following tweet, the us president compares this alleged episode to the watergate scandal. earlier from washington the bbc‘s laura bicker explained. if you look at the bright bart news,

a conservative publication, the former publication of his chief strategist, they came out with a story alleging that there should be an investigation into president obama‘s conduct, because they believe it was under his orders that the fbi started to conduct an investigation into whether or not some of the trump campaign aides during the election had contact with russian officials. there is certainly no confirmation that such an investigation is going on. it‘s understood that there is. there have been media reports that the fbi asked to tap the phones at trump tower, during the presidential election last summerer. they were denied that request initially, according to the media reports. they were eventually granted access in october, again according to those media reports. nothing has been confirmed. what president trump seems to be saying is that any investigation being conducted by the fbi is under the orders of president obama. he says that in itself

warrants an investigation. what happened to president trump‘s appeal for unity in his speech to congress just two days ago? four days ago, we were talking about his most presidential hour so far as president. here we are, saturday morning here in washington dc. he flew to florida for the weekend and he woke up and started tweeting. it was a series of tweets. he has been angered by the recent ramping up of reports into whether or not his campaign aides had contacts with russia. earlier this week, the attorney—general, jeff sessions, had to stand aside from any investigation into those russia claims, because he himself is said to have misspoke during a hearing under oath, where he said that he did not meet with any russian officials. it turned out well, actually,

he met with the russian ambassador to the us on two occasions. now he said that he didn‘t meet them under his guise as — he met him in his guise as senator, rather than a campaign aide. the newspapers, television, us networks have been focussing on whether or notjeff sessions lied under oath or whether or not he‘s done the right thing. when it comes to why he‘s making these claims, he seems to be trying to turn the fire back to president obama rather than his own administration. four men have been arrested in connection with the escape of a convicted murderer in liverpool. the arrests in the hunt for shaun walmsley were made in poole in dorset on friday. walmsley went on the run last month when two armed men confronted prison officers who were guarding him at aintree university hospital. police say none of those arrested were the escaped murderer. our correspondent has followed

developments. there were armed police in the street with guns. they stopped this car and shot out the tyres on the car. people knew something serious had happened. it‘s only now that we realise that we‘ve been told that this is connected to the disappearance of shaun walmsley, his escape from custody two weeks ago. dorset police have arrested four men, all from liverpool, in connection with his escape. they‘ve been handed over to merseyside police, who are investigating the escape. they will question these four men about exactly what happened. two 24—year—olds, two 25—year—olds, all from liverpool. there were three others, already arrested, in liverpool, two men and a woman. they‘ve been bailed and no sign of shaun walmsley. do the police have any idea where he is? no, it doesn‘t look like it. they said that this was going to be a national investigation, as soon as he scaeped,

they involved police forces across the country. no surprise that forces as far away as dorset are involved. speculation that he may have gone quickly abroad. he was serving a serious sentence, expecting a minimum of 30 years in prison. he‘s a convicted murderer with gangland connections. the sort of person who might have been able to disappear himself very quickly. it looks like the police are working on this, building a network, getting an understanding of who may have been involved in his escape. no sign of the prisoner himself yet. the french car—maker which owns peugeot and citroen is reported to have reached an agreement to buy vauxhall from general motors. talk of a deal has raised concerns about the future of vauxhall‘s two uk factories, at luton and ellesmere port, which employ more than 4,000 people. an official announcement is expected on monday. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. this vauxhall plant is one of the more efficient car—making factories in europe. 82% of the astras made here are exported, mostly to europe. but the workers here may have new bosses from monday,

when it is likely that the company which makes peugeot cars, psa, confirms that it has bought vauxhall and 0pel. but with too many factories in europe and not enough demand, psa is likely to have a long, hard look at which plants to keep open. and that puts vauxhall under the microscope. vauxhall employs just under 2000 staff at its ellesmere port plant, which makes astras. it van—making factory in luton employees moo people, with around 18,000 jobs dependent on vauxhall throughout the uk. in all, vauxhall makes just under 200,000 cars a year, in the short—term we will see the ellesmere port plant open till 2021 because you cannot change things that quickly in the industry but in the long—term i think it is bad news for vauxhall manufacturing in the uk. it has more capacity to build

ca i’s uk. it has more capacity to build cars in its own plants and does not need these in britain. and with currency fluctuations, problems posed by brexit with freedom of movement and movement of parts. and vauxhall is not the only british—based car—maker which is facing upheaval. nissan said this week it now needs £100 million to support car manufacturing in sunderland. bmw said it might now make battery—powered minis in germany instead of britain. and ford looks like it could be shedding more than 1000 jobs at its engine—making plant in bridgend in wales. all of these companies are demanding sweeteners from theresa may to protectjobs. and they all need to knowjust as she is in the middle of intensive and possibly divisive talks about the future trading relationship with the eu. 0ur correspondent megan paterson is in ellesmere port. there must be a lot of worried people way you are. -- where. you

can see behind me through the wire fences rows and rows of brand—new vauxhall cars and vans and behind that a factory building. the people inside that building have been worried greatly by the news today. it is uncertainty for the future and what it means the jobs here, not just the next years but next decades. the concern is psa is a french company and 14% of it is owned by the french state and the worry here is that will mean jobs in france are protected, beading a risk to those like here in ellesmere port and in luton. earlier we spoke to people in ellesmere port town centre, around ten minutes away. everyone was quick to say how crucial this employer is for the town and area. lots of people saying there isn‘t another industry here to plug the gaps ifjobs were to go. they had concerned notjust for those working in the building and

theirfamilies but those working in the building and their families but also small businesses in the supply chain and the cafes and shops that rely on this site being busy. 0ver the cafes and shops that rely on this site being busy. over the last few months politicians and union representatives have stepped up the campaign to get guarantees for the workers here and luton to get protection for them. it looks certain now that campaign will be stepped up over the next few days. we understand the jobs here would be protected until 2020, but what happens after that is a massive uncertainty. clarity expected on monday with an announcement about the takeover but negotiation expected to go on over the coming weeks to give people here reassurance about the future. mercedes is recalling 75,000 cars in the uk because they‘re at risk of catching fire. they are among 1 million cars affected worldwide, after 51 fires were reported. the company says the risk is small and that nobody has been injured.

many mercedes models built between 2015 and 2017 could be affected. the headlines. sinn fein make big gains in northern ireland‘s assembly elections. the dup is still the biggest party with just one more seats than the republicans. president trump accuses the obama administration of tapping his phone during the election campaign. and there are fears for the future of vauxhall plants after a french car company reportedly reaches a deal to buy general motors‘ european operations. a ten man bournemouth hold—on for a draw at manchester united. the incident packed game ended 1—1 after zlatan ibrahimovic‘s late penalty was saved at old trafford. stoke, southampton and crystal palace are all winning elsewhere. rangers are thankful joe garner wasn‘t sent off in their scottish cup quarterfinal. he went on to score a hat—trick

as they beat hamilton 6—0 at ibrox. after an early wobble andy murray ta kes after an early wobble andy murray takes the first set in the final of the dubai tennis championships, to — one art in the second set against fernando verdasco. and laura muir gets ready for the first part of her european indoor double. the scot is racing in the 1500m final in belgrade today. tomorrow she goes in the 3000. i will have more around 5:30pm. thousands of people are marching in london today to to protest at cuts to nhs services. 0rganisers say theresa may‘s demands on austerity in the nhs represent a real risk to patients and safety. people have travelled from across the country we can cross now to belfast. the

unionist majority in the assembly has been ended and the notion of a perpetual unionist majority has been demolished. we need to reflect on that, but so do the leaders of unionism, and so does everyone here, particularly the people in this part of the island. we have been given a mandate. it was made clear that what we won we would won for everyone and we won we would won for everyone and we intend to assert the mandate and be true to the commitments we have been given. we want to engage as quickly as possible in a process to put political institutions in place a game and that they should run on

the basis that they were founded on. michel will say a few words. go ahead. later today and tomorrow morning i intend to have a conversation with the british government and irish government to discuss the way forward and i have made contact with the leaders of the parties to talk about next week and how we will conduct ourselves in the time ahead. we have a period of three weeks in front of us. while the task is not easy, i think it is achievable if people come at it with the right attitude. 0n achievable if people come at it with the right attitude. on monday i will lead our team into the assembly where we are ready to deal with all theissues where we are ready to deal with all the issues and tackle what has been outstanding from previous agreements and we are ready to get back to deliver for all people. any questions now. you are watching a press c0 nfe re nce

questions now. you are watching a press conference being given by the leaders of sinn fein. you heard the president gerry adams, who says they wa nt to president gerry adams, who says they want to engage as quickly as possible with the democratic process and also the sinn fein leader in northern ireland. we can listen again. that arlene foster needs to step aside before negotiations happen. arlene foster is the leader of the dup and we accept that absolutely. and michel has been in touch with arlene foster to discuss ata touch with arlene foster to discuss at a level thought appropriate. what we have said is that there is a need for this investigation, or inquiry, to come to conclusions before we could nominate herfor the position of first minister. that remains our position. if i canjust make a point

in relation to my own role in this. iam the in relation to my own role in this. i am the leader of sinn fein. i nominated martin mcguinness in his time for this position. i have been given the opportunity, i am delighted to nominate michelle o‘neill. delighted to nominate michelle 0‘neill. peter robertson stood aside twice when there was controversy and then took up his position again. there is a way to sort this out. it is not that we are putting up red line positions. we are saying there isa line positions. we are saying there is a scandal, there is a huge question over the loss, potentially, of half a billion of taxpayers‘ money, let‘s get that sorted out. i think we have constantly said through the period of the last weeks

the reason we are in this situation is because of that scandal and the dup's arrogance to the public in relation to that but also because we have had failure by the dup, british and irish governments to implement previous agreements. there are key issues to be dealt with and it is important to come at it with the right attitude. we sought the strongest mandate to go back and deal with the problems. if people come at it with the right attitude we could find a way forward. inaudible question. you have heard me say he is not an independent arbiter. he has taken a pro—unionist sta nce arbiter. he has taken a pro—unionist stance in relation to legacy and also turning his mind against the will of the majority of people in terms of brexit. my position is the same. i will say it to james when i speak to him later and also to charlie flanagan. how will that

reflect negotiations here ? charlie flanagan. how will that reflect negotiations here? we are not planning for direct rule and we will try to find a way forward and deal with the issues that are there. direct rule has failed the people in the past and will do again so it is up the past and will do again so it is up to the parties to come at it with the right attitude. sinn fein are coming at it with the right attitude, we are not asking for anything unreasonable but implementation of what is agreed. this is about getting delivery in the main on agreements that have been made. everybody getting together on monday by 9am, we could haveit together on monday by 9am, we could have it finished by lunchtime. you have it finished by lunchtime. you have talked in the past about arlene foster standing aside. while the inquiry takes place. the inquiry

could last up to 12 months. given what has happened here in 12 months, is it fairto what has happened here in 12 months, is it fair to ask her to stand aside for that period? and in relation to brexit, such a key issue. will you be looking to have face—to—face talks withjames be looking to have face—to—face talks with james brokenshire? to deal with the first question, there are ways of an investigation or as it is an enquiry, coming forward in modularform, dealing with pertinent issues. there are

ways of sorting these matters out. it isa ways of sorting these matters out. it is a common sense position. peter robinson stood aside twice. i would be delighted to nominate michelle o‘neill as i nominated martin mcguinness. let‘s come at this as michelle says with a good heart and find a way to deal with these challenges. we will seek meetings with the prime minister in britain. we will seek meetings with the taoiseach. we want to beat him at leadership level. during the three—week process? you are 100% right in identifying brexit as one of the big game changers in terms of the future of this island, this part

of the island and our relationship with our nearest offshore island. we hope to enter into all of this. we have been on a diplomatic offensive in terms of dealing with the other european states, who will really be deciding on these matters and we continue with that work. seeking to put our views to the british prime minister will be part of that. for the sake of clarity on arlene foster and government, what you said about modular form. you have said she cannot be in government until... you arejust cannot be in government until... you are just watching pictures of the leadership of sinn fein holding a press c0 nfe re nce leadership of sinn fein holding a press conference after their result

in the assembly elections in which they have put in a strong performance. the sinn fein president gerry adams saying that sinn fein does require the dup leader arlene foster to step aside before any negotiations can continue over power—sharing. those words just this afternoon from the president of sinn fein. now we can go back to the news that thousands are taking part in a march and demonstration in london today. we could cross to richard lister at westminster where the rally took place. things are winding up. the last few speakers taking their place on the podium and the crowd is beginning to thin out but it was well attended and thousands of people in whitehall earlier to make the case for more investment in the nhs. with me is an organiser, what dus think you have achieved today? it is a big demonstration,

and we think it is the largest demonstration about the nhs that has taken place. we wanted to say we are opposed to government policy and privatisation and we want proper investment in what is a world—class service. a fantastic service that relies too much on the goodwill of staff and the people who work in it. we know there has been bad emergencies over the past months and we know lots of a&es are under threat and it is about saying we wa nt threat and it is about saying we want the government to change policy. there is the budget on wednesday when we hope, we are not expecting, but we are hoping there will be a change of mind. the government saying they are doing as well as they can with resources and they have put in a 10 billion increase in the nhs england budget by the end of 2021 and they do not have the cash for more. what is your reply? we have to have the cash. we

have to find the cash. there are ways of finding that and priorities about what you want to spend your money on and ways of taxing. at the moment we don't have high rates of taxation for the better off nor corporations and we have a huge problem with tax evasion and avoidance. tightening up on some of those will deal with it. we don't wa nt those will deal with it. we don't want the privatisation going on in the health service. why should private companies come in who then make a fit? we have agencies who supply nursing and other staff who make profit. that is not what the nhs was set up to do and we are determined it should not continue to do that. there seems to have been more focus this year on social care. do you think that is re—energising the debate? people see it as important and part of it. why is it we have a nominally free health

service but that we cannot do the same for old people? we cannot do the same for people who have long—term health problems, disabilities. there should be fully funded social care as well. this needs a lot of money invested, but it is investment in our society and in the health of our population and investment in the future and that is what we should be spending it on. thanks forjoining us. billy bragg is starting up on stage and the rain has started. crowd is beginning to thin out, but this has been one of the larger nhs protest we have seen. back to you. richard lister. reining in central london, let‘s see what the rest of the country is doing. low pressure and a frontal system to the north of the british isles, saturday was never going to be a great day. further south, the

showers have been in central and western areas but in the evening and overnight, showers going to the north and east as the rain band in the north works its way into the northern isles. later in the night, a new area of cloud, wind and rain across the south western quarter. quite a cold night, the wind will be a real feature as the rain moved north through the midlands and wales, blustery showers behind it. a much improved day for scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. not only warm, but this would be some sunshine. low pressure across the south—western corner on monday in the first part of the day. elsewhere, quite a bit of cloud, a fairamount of dry elsewhere, quite a bit of cloud, a fair amount of dry weather, most of the showers across the north and north—west. hello.