this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 6pm: the chancellor phillip hammond rejects calls for ‘huge spending sprees‘ in his first budget on wednesday. as we embark on the journey that we will be taking over the next couple of years we are confident that we have enough gas in the tank to see us through thatjourney. the white house demands that congress investigate whether barack obama ordered wire—taps on president trump before last year's election. a former director of national intelligence denies the claims. there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president elect at the time, as a candidate or against his campaign. also in the next hour — francois fillon attempts to rescue his presidential bid. the centre—right french presidential candidate tells supporters at a rally in paris that he shouldn't have hired his wife.

and, another gold medal for and, another gold medalfor britain in belgrade as asha philip claims the women's 60 metres title at the european indoor championships. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the chancellor, phillip hammond, has said the government will not spend heavily in his budget on wednesday, because it needs "reserves in the tank" as it prepares to leave the eu. mr hammond said hisjob was to ensure the economy was resilient. he's also warned the eu that britain will not slink off like a "wounded animal" if it does not secure the brexit deal it wants. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnier reports. these days a long shadow casts itself over westminster and whitehall.

brexit is dominating politics and as the chancellor makes his spending plans, it dominates his calculations as well. i regard myjob as chancellor as making sure that our economy is resilient, that we have got reserves in the tank, so as we embark on the journey that we will be taking over the next couple of years we are confident that we have got enough gas in the tank to see us through that journey. no nhs cuts! but domestic pressures are building up as well. there are repeated calls for more money for the nhs, plus claims social care is in crisis and desperately needs extra funding. the chancellor says this is no time for a spending spree, but labour is warning more needs to be done. what we are saying is we will have a fair taxation system and we will tackle tax evasion and avoidance, we will make sure there are no longer giveaways to corporations and the rich. we will invest in our economy and grow the economy and on that

basis we will be able to afford the public services that we need and we will also be able to have fair wages. the chancellor might have abandoned the target and timetable of his predecessor george osborne, but he has not abandoned the commitment to dealing with the deficit. economic forecasts might be looking up but do not expect any fireworks in this wednesday's budget. and the government will not want any surprises when eu leaders formally start brexit negotiations later this month. the chancellor expects to get a trade agreement, but has a warning. anybody in the european union who thinks that if we do not do a deal with the european union, if we do not continue to work closely together, britain will simply slink off as a wounded animal, that is not going to happen. we will have a great fighting spirit and we will fight back. the chancellor has called those who want higher borrowing confused and reckless. he is sticking to his cautious approach until the view of life outside the eu becomes clearer.

eleanor garnier, bbc news, westminster. the white house has asked the us congress to investigate allegations that the obama administraion tapped donald trump's telephones in the run up to last year's election. the claims, made by president trump in a series of tweets yesterday morning, have been dismissed as false by a spokesman for barack obama. 0ur north america correspondent nick bryant reports. bombshell, president trump's shocking and evidence—free claim. 0n the sunday talk shows this morning one main topic of discussion. trump claiming the trump campaign was wiretapped by president obama. in his extraordinary twitter tirade donald trump accused his predecessor, barack obama, of being a sick and bad guy who ordered wiretaps at trump tower in a watergate style conspiracy. this morning, the white house issued a statement asking that as part

of their investigation into russian activity, the congressional intelligence committee exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016. but the white house has produced no evidence to back up the president's claims of criminality and seems to be hoping these congressional committees will come up with some. let's get the truth here, let's find out. i think the bigger story is not who reported it, but is it true? i think the american people have a right to know if this happened because if it did, again this is the largest abuse of power that i think we have ever seen. senior democrats have labelled donald trump the deflector in chief, trying to distract attention from the trump team's interactions with the russians. to understand this, this is the deflector in chief, nojobs, no infrastructure built, no nothing. but america's former director of national intelligence claims

there had been no wiretaps. at this point you cannot confirm or deny whether that happened 7 i can deny it. this weekend has seen pro—trump rallies around the country, celebrating his successful speech to congress, but the week that began with the presidential reset has ended once again with russia. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. i cannot speak officially any more, but i will say that, for the part of the national security operator, there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president—elect at the time, or as a candidate or against his campaign. that was james clapper, let's go to laura bicker, our correspondence in

washington, with the latest on this. a lot of developments, the white house asking congress to investigate. how significant could that be? well, it is very significant but so far it is not based on any evidence. donald trump seems to be basing, in part, his assertions on a report in breitbart news and other conservative radio shows. but, as president, he would also have access to the intelligence if he asked for it. as he divulges a secret? and, does he already know the answer, but for congress investigates? —— has he divulges a secret? then you have evidence from the former director of national intelligence, james clapper, who says there was no wiretapping and he categorically denies it. as has president barack obama. the counterclaim, perhaps congress could be able to make sense of it, but right now, it is the swelling talk

of washington and donald trump has perhaps been in part successful in what democrats have called the deflector in chief, because we are not talking about his ties or his alleged campaign ties to russia. but if all of this turns out to be false after investigation, will he be embarrassed? after investigation, will he be embarrassed ? use after investigation, will he be embarrassed? use used extreme language, comparing it to watergate, mccarthyism, witchhunts, and so on? donald trump has been donald trump from the moment he walks down the escalator and announced his candidacy to be president. then throughout the campaign. many people said, when he became president, that would change? it hasn't. in all of these tweets and his attacks, he has nicknames from various people. these things have never caused him to be embarrassed in the past and even during his own press conference, when he was presented with figures that he misquoted he said, well, what do you think? they said that he

was president and he said, good answer! he is managing to let it wash over him, in many respects. if true, then he gets the full investigation and it proved right, if it is proved false, he accused president obama of not being born in the usa, it is not embarrass him, he manages to carry on. it does not worry his supporters. i spoke to some of his supporters yesterday and it does not bother them. the controversy it does not bother them. the c0 ntrove rsy over it does not bother them. the controversy over russia and how he speaks on twitter, they feel he's a genuine politician, someone who they believe in and speaks with their values in their language, and that is what is important them. what he said about mr0bama, is what is important them. what he said about mr obama, that he was a bad guy, and so on, but when they met during the transition, they seemed to get on reasonably well and there seemed to be quite a warm relationship? there's an unwritten rule in the handover between incoming and outgoing presidents,

that you do not criticise, even if there is a great political golf and great political divide, as there has been between these two men —— gulf. but a call from donald trump has been thrown out the window in these tweets, but when you see them together in that room, there's an awkwardness. president obama is not hisjovial awkwardness. president obama is not his jovial self, awkwardness. president obama is not hisjovial self, and awkwardness. president obama is not his jovial self, and donald awkwardness. president obama is not hisjovial self, and donald trump is slightly distant. but the pair managed to go ahead with the press conference and managed to sit together. there has been a peaceful transition of power up until now. when it comes to the relationship between the two men, there's a long history and although there has been a couple of moments where they have stayed away from the insults and stayed away from the insults and stayed away from the insults and stayed away from the claims, it is back. it certainly is. thank you very much indeed, laura bicker in washington. at a rally in paris, the centre right presidential

candidate, francois fillon, has admitted to his supporters that he should not have asked his wife to work for him. mr fillon has repeatedly denied paying taxpayers' money to family members for little or no work. senior politicians in his party are due to discuss his continued candidacy tomorrow. i've been speaking to our pairs correspondent hugh schofield. it was very dramatic stuff, delivered in the teeth of a howling gale. a hailstorm at one point. before a sea of supporters, with their red, white and blue flags. it was quite exciting stuff, fighting stuff as well. the impression that you got from what he was saying was that he has no intention of standing aside. he was appealing to the faithful, these were the faithful, saying i made a mistake... he said that before, that he was ethically wrong in what he did. but not in law. but, iam wrong in what he did. but not in law. but, i am the person who you voted for because my programme is the right one to get france back on its feet. the impression you got

from the atmosphere was that this man was going the full course, and there is no compromise possible with there is no compromise possible with the rest of the party. looking at the rest of the party. looking at the text, it is interesting, i have re—read it. i'm no point he says that he will be the candidate, no matter what. instead, what you get i think is a sense at the end of the speech, the key moment, that he is throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of the party. what this whole rally was about was saying to the rest of the party, the people who support his opponents, who take over from him, is that he has examined his conscience, examine yours. will you be swayed by the feelings of a moment, in other words by the whole campaign against me, although you stand by a campaign against me, although you stand bya programme, my programme, which has the legitimacy of 4 million votes in it, in the primary, look at all these people here to support me. he recognises we are now ina support me. he recognises we are now in a period where it is a battle of

strength in the party between him and his opponents. he is saying, look, this is my gambit, these are my supporters, this is what i stand for. do you have the strength of mind to overturn that? knowing that his opponents may not be as popular among a large part of the right—wing electorate. police in yorkshire are investigating after a woman was abducted in redcar and raped by two men. detectives say the woman was with her toddler when she and the child were forced into the back of a car by the men. she was raped in yearby off the a174. later they were dumped on kirkleatham lane. the police are appealing for information. a service will be held today in belgium as part of events to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the zeebrugge disaster, in which almost 200 people lost their lives. the herald of free enterprise ferry was bound for dover when it capsized just a hundred yards off shore, after water flooded in through an open door. the energy company sse has apologised after some customers

were quoted tens of thousands of pounds for a day's gas and electricity. the error was caused by malfunctioning smart meters hugely overestimating the amount of energy usage. joe lynam reports. what is my time? just under three hours. 0rjust over. smart meters are meant to calculate our accurate bills — so imagine the surprise of some sse customers whose smart meters said they ran up thousands of pounds in one day. andre from chingford said his bill is £11,000 just from today. came down this morning and the smart meter said it is £7,000 on it. i have only put on the dishwasher and washing machine. i contacted sse from twitter and also e—mailed them through my account and i don't have any response. my faith in smart meters

is dwindling by the second. sse said a small number of customers were seeing in accurate information due to an issue with software. customers should rest assured their bill is completely u naffected. andre has one of the 5 million smart meters that have already been installed in british homes. by the end of the decade, every household should have won at a total cost of £11 billion. apart from giving you the exact bills, smart meters are designed to encourage the internet of things. when they work, they are supposed to enable quicker switching between suppliers. the smart meter roll—out has been beset with delays, but this weekend's wildly inaccurate readings will probably push the embarrassment gauge well into the red. joan lynam, bbc news.

the headlines on bbc news: the chancellor, phillip hammond, has set the tone for this week's budget by dismissing calls to increase government borrowing. president trump has asked the us congress to investigate allegations that the obama administration tapped his telephones before last year's presidential election. a former director of national intelligence has denied the claims. the french presidential candidate francois fillon tries to show that an impending criminal investigation won't derail his presidential campaign, ata rally in paris. iraqi troops are said to be closing in on government buildings in the city of mosul, after intense clashes with so—called islamic state. amid the fighting, aid agencies say 200,000 people have left the city, with many now housed in a temporary shelter at hammam al aleel, 20 miles away. 0ur correspondent rami ruhayem reports from there. the people of mosul endure yet

another round of fighting between iraqi government forces and so—called islamic state. many remain trapped within the city. 0thers decided to flee. exhausted and hungry, they arrive in droves from western mosul, one bus—load after another of battered civilians. in just over two hours we saw more than five buses arriving here. a campforthe a camp for the internally displaced. children, bewildered and scared and many too young to understand. translation: isis were firing at us. most of the women died. we were alljust running and running, the mortars raining on our heads, till we got to the army. some were gratefulfor the army's help, but these men said their homes

were hit by army shelling. 0n foot and under fire from all sides, the refugees have arrived here. after a long and dangerous journey on foot and under fire from all sides, the refugees from western mosul arrive here at this camp in hamam al—alil. they have escaped with their lives but their misery is not yet over. with such an unrelenting flow, the authorities can hardly keep up. more are seeking refuge. with an unrelenting flow, the authorities can barely keep up. rami ruhayem, bbc news, hamam al—alil, south of mosul. people have been marching through central london, ahead of international women's day. the event began at city hall earlier, to demand gender equality in the uk and beyond. the bbc‘s jane frances—kelly spoke to the activist bianca jagger who was involved in the march. it is important because i feel that in the 21st—century it is about time women have gender equality. in the uk, last year we had 37,000 rapes. that is more than we've had

since records began in 2002, and we have an enormous amount of sexual assaults. it is time we call today for an end to violence against women and girls. the other thing i think is very important, that women and the rest of the world should care about, is the fact that there is an incredible pay gap and in the workforce in this country women are paid 18% less than men. in the us, that is 20%. in the eu, 16% and something. what they said in the report, is that it would probably take 170 years to close that gap. is it really acceptable, isn't it preposterous that we women cannot have equal pay? i'm calling today for equal pay, gender equality, an end to violence against women

and girls, and i'm calling for us to think about what we are facing with the president of the us who wants to belittle women, who once of the us who wants to belittle women, who wants to reduce all rights, who wants to diminish us, and that we should stand up, and that i was really inspired by the march of women, millions of women marching against trump. i hope one day we will have millions of women on international women's day marching for an end to violence against women and girls and for gender equality and equal pay. it's 60 years since a disaster hit

the village of sutton wick, near drayton, in 0xfordshire. an raf blackburn beverly aircraft came down in 1957 — killing 18 people. this afternoon survivors who escaped death in the village and relatives of those on board — gathered to mark the tragedy, six decades on. edward sault reports. it turned a complete somersault and the tail landed on my house. the blackburn beverley was en route to cyprus but after taking off from nearby raf abingdon, it crashed, scattering burning fuselage across the village. six decades on, and those who escaped death that day and relatives of those who lost their lives gathered in a nearby church, to pause and remember. flight lieutenant wilcox. sergeant woodhouse. i heard a noise, and it

took the palm tree, it took it straight out. it was a real... upset for me, really. i'm here because my father, walterjames allen, a sergeant, was killed in the plane crash. i'm here because walterjames owen was my brother. outside, reefs we re owen was my brother. outside, reefs were laid at the crash spot, with raf dog handlers, otherwise known as the cut snowdrop law. a number of them, including their dogs, died that day. it has been fantastic. it has been rewarding in that way for everybody. 60 years on, the memories of that tragic day are etched on the minds of many. edward sold, bbc news, 0xfordshire. a british man has been killed in a ranch in northern kenya.

the man has been named locally as tristan voorspuy locally as tristan voorspuy. the man was a father of two and a british cavalry veteran who ran a safari company. the attack is one of a number of violent attacks in the area in recent weeks between local residents and armed cattle herders searching for grazing. two of scotland's biggest investment companies, standard life and aberdeen asset management, are in talks about a possible merger. they would become one of europe's largest fund managers if the deal goes ahead. bbc scotland's business and economy editor douglas fraser has the latest from edinburgh between aberdeen asset management, based in the north—east city, and here in edinburgh, where standard life has been based for nearly 200 yea rs, life has been based for nearly 200 years, these are significant financial firms. they sell pensions, financial firms. they sell pensions, financial products and manage a lot of money, about £660 billion between them, in trusted to them by their clients which gives them a lot of clout in shaping the companies in which they invest and shaping the

economy as a whole. this merger, confirmed as a result of a leak yesterday, the merger plans in involve putting to chief executive ‘s together and job sharing, and could mean the loss of some jobs, they are looking to cut costs and look for areas of duplication which will be of concern, in aberdeen, edinburgh and london. aberdeen asset management has offices around the world with a specialism in emerging markets. the end result could not just be a player of european significance but with real global clout. a memorial is to be built in northern france to honour british soldiers and sailors who died during the d—day landings in 19114. the government is to contribute 21 million pounds to the monument, which will be built near the beaches of the normandy landings. robert hall reports. injune 19114, an estimated 21,000 members of the british armed forces and merchant navy, lost their lives as they fought alongside their allies to gain a foothold

in occupied europe. among them was george, an 18—year—old royal engineer. there was roughly 1200 on each beach killed. plus god knows how many wounded and seriously. you can imagine the sites that it was on those beaches. in the 70 years since the landings, george and his fellow veterans have returned to the normandy beaches to remember the falling, but there is no single memorial to the friends they lost. injune 2014, with just 500 members left, the normandy veterans association was disbanded — george campaigned for a memorial and now the government have backed that call. it is early days, but one possible designer is liam o'connor, the man behind this moving tribute

to the cruiser bomber command. it will be in one of the seaside towns that saw heavy fighting and george is delighted. it means everything. we have come back and lived our lives, but our friends and colleagues who were left behind, have had nothing. the hope is the memorial can be completed in time for the 75th anniversary of the landings in june 2019. time for a look at the weather now, with phil avery. thank you., i suspect it won't be as peaceful as that seen from normandy tomorrow. if you're heading to france, it will turn disruptively windy and wet. closer to home, more than enough weather this weekend. for some, the stuff of christmas cards! you weren't alone there, it was like this widely in the midlands and towards wales. the other way, a

pot of gold at the end of clacton pier. if you are anywhere near this own of continuous rain and cloud, the chance of some winter in is still in the mix, as this weather front gradually sinks towards the near continent. just notice how these isobars come together across these isobars come together across the south—west part of wales for the next few hours. we have had gusts of 60 mph and this sort of thing will be had until low—pressure clears to the near continent. a peppering of showers in northern and eastern parts. attach a frost, sky is clear in northern ireland. in parts of wales as well. the elephant in the room, another band of weather in the south—west. showers from the word go in northern scotland. a cool start of the day but no great weather problems to report. a decent start of the day in ireland, dry in the western parts of the pennines,

southern england, and come too far towards the south—west, it will be a light and breezy start of the day. a cool one as well. this rain tends to fizzle with time. it will take some hours but come the afternoon, things turn more sharry. join the rest of the british isles in having showers. scotla nd the british isles in having showers. scotland is nicely, western side of the pennines and temperatures seven to 11 or 12. that is what we saw today. rain in wales and across the midlands. a cool kind of start on tuesday. this ridge of high pressure suppresses showers. do not be full by the dry start, it is obvious that even this cannot disguise the emergence. cold, wet, wind piling in by the middle part of the afternoon and generally speaking, the further east to war, the dry your day will

be. late on, the rain comes to get you. on wednesday, it gets milder in the south but not particularly pleasant. then, this blustery day for scotland and northern ireland. as far ahead as wednesday. more details on the bbc weather website. i will see you soon, goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the chancellor, phillip hammond, has dismissed as "reckless" calls for him to increase spending in his first budget on wednesday. we are spending over £50 billion a yearjust on paying the interest on our debt. that is more than we spend on defence and overseas aid together. the white house demands that congress investigate