this is bbc news. i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 7pm: 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 asks congress to investigate allegations barack obama ordered wire—taps on president trump during the election. the director of national intelligence at the time denies the claims there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president elect at the time, as a candidate or against his campaign. iraqi troops close in on government buildings in the city of mosul after intense clashes with so—called islamic state. also: the ‘smart‘ meters that turned out to be anything but... come downstairs this morning, to

look at the smart meter, and it is reading £7,000 on it. i've only put on the dishwasher and washing machine this morning. and in sportsday — another gold for britain in belgrade as asha philip claims the women's 60m 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 ifs, no buts! 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. let's get reaction to what the chancellor had to say today, and what he might have planned for the budget. jonathan portes, is professor of economics, at king's college london good evening. mr hammond has a reputation for being a cautious chap that this is a tricky time for him and the whole economy? it is, but primarily because of brexit, and the uncertainty it brings out of the economy rather than what is happening at the moment. we are saying no spending spree and he is talking about reserves in the tank. but comedy brexit business is so complex, can he be sure that he is

building up enough to see us through this tricky period —— but the brexit business. it's not clear what that means. the threat of a future trading arrangement with the eu is not about that expending. reserves in the tank wet helpers have we get a really bad deal or if our trading deal was disrupted, or if we see a sharp fall in skilled immigration from the eu or elsewhere. having reserves in the tank will not help us. reserves in the tank will not help us. the labour party and a lot of demonstrators, and a lot of people are saying, look. there is the nhs ina are saying, look. there is the nhs in a pretty serious state, the social care budget needs pushing up. would you think that people in the main are alive to the idea of putting more money in the health

service, no matter what the chancellor says? well, one would certainly hope so. the current nhs crisis is clearly the result of significance sustained underfunding. there are a lot of nhs issues with this reform. but we are seeing a result of underfunding, significant cuts relative to what one would have expected in the previous 15 years. it does not make any sense. i think mr hammond has shown signs that he recognises that, in the long—term, we need to find more money for health and social care but he seems to be planning to apply a sticking plaster in the short run which i don't think is good enough. what about these tax situations gritter president trump talking about tax cuts to encourage businesses, and the labour party about tax rises on the labour party about tax rises on the wealthy, where does the

chancellor stand on it? he is doing some good things and some bad things. sensibly, he is looking at the position of self—employed people and people who route their incomes through personal service corporations. that is something which has grown a lot alongside the gig economy. and self—employment. it is reducing tax revenue, people who do that do well compared to people who pay tax ordinarily say he is planning to crack down on that. on the other hand, he has pencilled in some giveaways, such as cuts to inheritance tax. they benefit people like me who simply do not need the money and it does not do anything for business. you talk about particularly small businesses, feeling hard done by and a rise in business rates. not much sign, despite conservatives, and then getting much help?|j

despite conservatives, and then getting much help? i think that he intends to smooth off the edges of the business rate changes. that probably is sensible, given the sharp increases that some businesses will get. but, to be honest, he really a valuation of business reflects what has happened to property —— p re—evaluation. re—evaluation is always difficult. the problem is it is not done often enough so that when they do come, they are an incredible shock. i do not think it is the principal but the way that the treasury has chosen to handle it. professor, thank you very much. thank you. and we'll find out how the pre—budget news — and many other stories — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers — my guests tonight are the mirror columnist susie boniface, and the telegraph columnist tim stanley. the white house has asked the us

congress to investigate allegations that the obama administration 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 ? 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. we heard in that report from james clapper. the director of national intelligence under obama, says that wire—tap activity against trump. the director of national intelligence under obama, says that while he was in office there was no wire—tap activity against trump. 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. laura bickerjoins me now from washington with the latest on this developing story. i bet this is going to cause, or has

already caused, a lot of fuss. it will cause a really big ruckus, went it? many of his critics, and some democrats, are saying this is exactly what donald trump was looking for when he started his tweets storm yesterday morning. they say this is a deflection tactic, donald trump is trying to deflect attention from the constant controversy attention from the constant c0 ntrove i’sy over attention from the constant controversy over his campaign aides links to russian intelligence agents. when it comes to his attorney generaljeff sessions, he had to step aside from being in charge of any investigation into the trump campaign this week, because he failed to disclose a meeting with the russian ambassador to the us under oath to the senate. president trump was said to be furious that jeff sessions had to step aside, and then, 2k hours later, we have this twitter storm. democrats believe this is a deflection tactic but others are wondering, is this

something we need to take seriously? he has made a very serious allegation towards president obama. it is something that many are wondering, did he get it from a white house briefing? did he get it from breitbart news, which published similar allegations this week? so, people are asking the question, where did this come from? where is the evidence? if anything comes from this investigation, congress will wa nt to this investigation, congress will want to know. breitbart news supports trump, did they have anything to back up their allegations, or did they merely reported as a rumour? they had some media reports and cited many media reports, they cited unproven claims, but certainly, nobody has been able to back—up any of those claims so far. so, if it comes to that article, perhaps president trump no small considering he does have

access to white house briefings, no more than breitbart news themselves. and one wonders about his habit of tweeting. we have discussed it before, it happens in the early hours of the morning. we don't know whether he cannot sleep and he sends off these tweets, you have to wonder whether other people in the administration were aware of what he was about to do? it's a joy as a reporter when the notification noise comes up reporter when the notification noise comes up and you see it is donald trump early in the morning! but when it comes to his tweeting, his supporters love it. i spoke to a lot of them yesterday, they feel that he speaks their language, that this is a man in the white house they can understand and speaks his mind. they feel they have elected him to do a job and they feel they've got their country back. they just job and they feel they've got their country back. theyjust want him to get on with doing it. when i asked about russian controversies and about russian controversies and about his tweeting regarding president obama, they shrugged their shoulders. they do not care. they

wa nt shoulders. they do not care. they want certain things in the country sorted. jobs, immigration. certainly, when it comes to dealing with islamic state, they want these things dealt with. but, the problem for news organisations is when the president speaks, the world has to listen. and, when it comes to these serious allegations, this is something that is obviously attracting a lot of attention. therefore, when it comes to evidence for his tweets, congress, and others, will be wondering where it is and exactly what it is. laura, many thanks. 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 iraqi army says it's close to recapturing the main government building in western mosul from the so—called islamic state. 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. 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. 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. after a long and dangerous journey on foot and underfire 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. ina

in a temporary camp, more people are seeking refuge. rami ruhayem, bbc news, hamam al—alil, south of mosul. 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 taken four miles to yearby where she was raped, then dumped six hours later in another area of redcar. police are investigating whether the attackers knew the victim. a british man has been killed at a ranch in northern kenya. the man has been named 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. 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, 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 the rest of the party. looking at the text, it is interesting, i have re—read it. at 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 overfrom 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 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 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. that was hugh schofield speaking to us that was hugh schofield speaking to us earlier, mr fillon has said that he will not withdraw his candidacy and says that his project, as he describes it, in other words his policies for the future of france remain the only viable ones to bring about the country's recovery, believing his candidacy is still supported by a majority of centre—right voters. and another quick today from francois hollande, nobody can prevent me today from being a candidate. —— francois fillon. 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 overestimating energy usage. our business correspondent 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 inaccurate

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. joe lynam, bbc news. 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 years, these are significant financial firms. they sell pensions, financial products and manage a lot of money, about £660 billion between them, entrusted 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 involve bringing the two chief executives 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 notjust be

a player of european significance but with real global clout. china's economy is predicted to slow again this year — according to the country's premier li kechang. speaking at the annual national people's congress in beijing, mr li attributed the slowdown to increasing global protectionism. he also promised to tackle the country's serious air pollution problems. john sudworth reports from beijing. chairman mao would still recognise china's parliament — rigid, authoritarian and unapologetically communist. but every year the delegates turn up to hear their leaders warn of the increasingly complex challenges faced by a modern capitalist economy. potential risks cannot be overlooked, li keqiang said, warning that reforming china's economy is a process filled

with promise but also accompanied by great pain. he spoke of the need to combat industrial overcapacity and to reform what he called zombie enterprises, the bloated state—owned sector producing far more coal and steel than the market needs. similar pledges in the past have proved hard to fulfil. and he pledged to make china's sky is blue again, outlining further targets for emissions cuts. once again these promises have been made before. china's parliament has very little control over the weighty issues of state, the big political and economic decisions that have been made weeks in advance by the communist party leaders behind closed doors. premier li also warned against growing protectionism, a thinly veiled reference to the policies of the new us president perhaps, and a reminder that as well as the economic risks at home, china is facing challenges

on the international stage too. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. 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 tale landed on my house. the blackburn beverly was en route to cyprus, but shortly after taking off from nearby raf abingdon suffered engine trouble and crashed, scattering burning fuselage across the village. six decades on, 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 annoys. -- a noise. it went into a big elm tree, and took it straight out along the top. it was a real upset to me really. i'm here because today, my father, sergeant walter james really. i'm here because today, my father, sergeant walterjames owen was killed in the plane crash. father, sergeant walterjames owen was killed in the plane crashlj father, sergeant walterjames owen was killed in the plane crash. i am here because walter james was killed in the plane crash. i am here because walterjames owen was my brother. outside, wreaths were laid at the crash spot, lining the memorial with raf police dog handlers, otherwise known as the snowdrops. a number of them,

including their dogs, died that fateful day. it has been fantastic bringing people together, who haven't seen each other since the crash, it has been very rewarding for everybody in that way. 60 years on, memories of that tragic day are etched on the minds of many. edwards sold, bbc news, 0xfordshire. —— edwards 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 batts, 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 sights 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, to remember the fallen, but there is no single memorial to the friends they lost. injune 2014, with just 500 members left, the normandy veterans association was disbanded but george batts 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 it will be in one of the french 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.