this is bbc news. the headlines: the white house has agreed not to repeat its claims british during his presidential campaign. a mother has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for covering up the death of her child for over a decade. george osborne surprises westminster by becoming the editor of the london evening standard — and plans to remain an mp while he does it. he faces calls to stand down as an mp. there are plenty of examples of mps who have edited newspapers and magazines over the years. i'm going to continue to be a part of british public life and i'm looking forward to it. the nobel prize winning poet and playwright sir derek walcott has died aged 87. he was regarded as one of the leading voices of west indian literature. and in the next hour the duke and duchess of cambridge visit paris. they are attending a reception to celebrate the united kingdom's leaders in the arts, business and voluntary sectors.

and sizing john, trained byjessica harrington and ridden and ridden by robbie power, has won the the gold goodafternoon and ' ’ w” ' ' ' ., welcome to bbc news. that he will not be repeating allegations that the a uk spy agency the reassurance came after britain's gchq issued an almost unprecedented statement calling the bugging claims "nonsense and uttterly ridiculous". the spying claims had been repeated by white house press chief sean spicer at a briefing yesterday.

it is an extraordinary claim, that donald trump was bugged by gchq on the orders of barack obama, a claim that has ruffled feathers and led to strenuous denials from london. president trump said his phone had been tapped before his inauguration. he said president obama was a bad or sick guy. the evidence? last night the republican—led senate intelligence committee said there was no evidence. the latest in a series of dismissals by senior republicans. the evidence remains the same, we do not have any evidence that took place. we have cleared that up, we have seen no evidence of that. so where is the president getting the information about being bugged by gchq? apparently from fox news. sources have told fox news that president obama could very easily and probably did use a foreign intelligence service to getfthig. the probable culprit here is called gchq. yesterday the white house press

spokesman read a transcript of that report in response to questions about the wire tap claim. these are merely pointing out that i think there is widespread reporting that throughout the 2016 election there was surveillance done on a variety of people that came up. if the reporters in the room were sceptical, gchq was even less impressed. the agency rarely comments on anything but today said: do you believe the gchq spokesman or president trump's spokesman? which one you choose to believe, i think, rather depends on your political views on what is going on in the united states. britain's concern was underlined by downing street,

which this morning said it too had told the americans that the gchq claim was ridiculous and said the white house had given assurances that the claim would not be repeated. richard lister, bbc news. our security correspondent frank gardner told me why the intelligence agencies chose to speak on this occasion. they did not do this in isolation. this was a political decision. gchq reports to the foreign secretary borisjohnson, who is in africa, and for them to make this very public denial, to contradict the statement coming out of the white house, the centre of britain's most powerful and closest ally, would not have happened without a nod from number ten. my understanding is there was a meeting in downing street earlier this week to discuss concerns over this claim, which they felt was completely unfounded. probably people thought, let's hope it goes away, but then sean spicer repeated it on thursday, hence the very strongly worded statement which came

out on thursday night. it is very unusual for this to be public. usually when there is an intelligence story, the agency say they never comment on intelligence issues. this is an intelligence issue and they have commented on it and they feel very strongly about it. the career intelligence professionals on both sides of the atlantic, the cia, nsa and the fbi, and here gchq and mi5, they are trying to ring—fence their relationship and to protect it from the gaffes coming out of the white house. to the statements from sean spicer, and that is pretty damning. he is speaking on behalf of the president of the us and britain has said there is no credence in what he has said. there are real issues to be dealt with, proper news and proper threats, north korea, iran's missile but this is a waste of time.

there was not much evidence, sean spicer was repeating something which had been said on fox news, not presenting any actual evidence. there's none. donald trump is hinting that there will be more things coming out in the next couple of weeks. to be fair, us intelligence did bug angela merkel‘s phone and they probably bugged a lot of other people, as well. of friendly leaders. but there is an agreement within what is called the five eyes, the intelligence sharing agreement between the us, britain, canada, australia and new zealand, they don't use their agencies to spy on each other, and if that has been broken that would be very serious indeed, but i doubt it. we will stay on the subject of president trump because he is

meeting the german q angela = meeting the german chancellor angela merkel, who has arrived at the white house for talks with him and we can show you pictures of her arrival. the first time that she has met him and he has been a pretty fierce critic of her to allow critic of her decision to allow hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers into germany. we arejoined by dr imke henkel, a germanjournalist based in the uk. she is the former uk and ireland correspondent for german news magazine focus. this might bei rather tense meeting, because he was very critical and he said she was ruining germany by allowing so many refugees asylu m asylum seekers into germany. and asylum seekers into germany. quite. it will be a very tense meeting and she thought of also the situation and said she was happy to work with him provided he abides to freedom of speech and equality of rights and all the rest of it.

freedom of speech and equality of riahts and all the rest of it. a: , , f rights and all the rest of it. and respects people of all colours and so on. respects people of all colours and so on. that was a subtle way of opposing his travel ban. absolutely. she has been critical about the travel ban. there is quite a bit to overcome, but if you look at the pictures, it is already interesting, trump is famous for his long—lasting handshake with foreign leaders like the prime minister of japan handshake with foreign leaders like the prime minister ofjapan or justin trudeau from canada. but there was nothing like that going on here, at least not now. both sides being cautious and try not to overstep the mark. and that might be what we are going to watch. trott, whatever you say, —— trump, whatever

you say, he's with you say, he's acquainted with international negotiations, at least with business, and although he's unpredictable, and we just heard about what he said about british secret service gchq, after having received may, after secret service gchq, after having received - may, after she made received theresa may, after she made these efforts to be the first to establish relationships, and now shooting briton in the back, in a with these claims. this visit way, with these claims. this visit with angela merkel could be going very well and then she comes back and then there is another problem. you have to deal with this unpredictability. she was a very close ally of barack obama and even though the americans did eavesdrop though the americans did eavesdrfip= though the americans did eevesdrep= her though the americans did eavesdrop= her phone... but she was very on her phone... but she was very much identified as being with him and it will be interesting to see if she can build up a relationship with donald trump who is so different from his predecessor. barrett obama applauded her refugee policy, by contrast —— ba rack

applauded her refugee policy, by contrast —— barack obama. when she came in she was far more cautious and she felt that maybe he was overrated and we have to wait and see, and when he left she said it was hard to see him go, because she knew what was seminge in this kind knew what was coming. in this kind of relationship, the personal chemistry plays a huge role, but then also plays a huge role in how these countries are with each other, and the united states are very important for germany, but also the other way round. we will leave it there for the moment, but that visit is continuing. it will be fascinating to see the body language maybe whether donald trump holds and maybe whether donaldtrump holds= hand. laughter her hand. laughter thanks forjoining us. let's cross to washington and speak to gary o'donoghue. trump is hosting angela merkel so there will be a courtesy thatis merkel so there will be a courtesy that is extended there, but things have not got off to a soft start,

diplomatically, he has ruffled feathers in germany already with his comments about nato and possible ta riffs comments about nato and possible tariffs on german cars. yes, he has. i would be surprised if we see the hand clasps that we got with theresa may, if you remember, when she visited, and so we know there are huge differences, as you have been talking about their regarding refugees, and also on the question of trade. donald trump doesn't like it when the us has trade deficits with other countries and it definitely has won with germany. the germans are worried about the idea of tariffs being placed on their imports into the united states and there are german jobs from german companies based here, especially autojobs. and then companies based here, especially auto jobs. and then there companies based here, especially autojobs. and then there is companies based here, especially auto jobs. and then there is the 32352 li???” 757514 97525 97527}; 35 $575}; of 2252 a222’ 5752 97525 952.72 2 9752 of international trade question of international trade deals. angela merkel is a big fan of that, like the transatlantic trade

deal, which the europeans have been talked about for years. donald trump isn't. there's a lot to disagree on before you get to things like nato, before you get to things like'fv'atofi but there is also the real politic of this, he's the most powerful man in the world. she is the most powerful leader in western europe and they have a common problem in terms of russia in particular. they tee—"gee. a! fla-ache i'e art’s-le— the“; will want tee—"gee. a! fla-ache i'e age—tied;— the“; will want to ta—aaa a! fig-ache i'e aa—tieg'le— teal! will want to make this ta—aaa a! 2955.5}. ie aa—‘l'ilal'ta— teal! will want to make this a success because when the us has poor relations with europe there are other effects in other theatres around the world. we will leave it now. many thanks. breaking news from the pentagon in the united states. they have said they have carried out a strike against a senior al-qaeda leader meeting location in aleppo in syria. they are saying, the pentagon are

showing reporters of the site after the strike which they shows the attack and they believe they have kills dozens of militants kills dozens of al-qaeda militants in that —— they kills dozens of al-qaeda militants in that- —— they believe they in that strike —— they believe they have killed dozens. we will try to bring you more from that developing story at the pentagon as it comes into us. a mother who hid the body of her baby boy for more than a decade has been sentenced to 9 victoria gayle, who's 32, had pleaded guilty to preventing the child's lawful burial. the court heard she provided "a lengthy and elaborate account" denying any knowledge of her son's location and insisting he had been taken away by his father. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. for more than a decade victoria gayle had a terrible secret.

her son died and she hid his body. for years it seems nobody investigated where the child was. 11 years on the body of her little boy was discovered hidden in a box in the garden shed at the home of relatives of victoria gayle. they say they didn't know what had happened. kyzer‘s leg was bandaged, but it's unclear how he died. victoria has always denied any involvement in his death. the postmortem determined it was inconclusive, due to the passage of time of ten years. after he left the hospital as a newborn, it appears it appears there was a tragic family accident. a decade later, victoria's two—year—old daughter became ill and died. an inquest found she had swallowed a battery. it was then police began investigating what happened to kyzer. it has emerged that some of his short life was spent

in a bedroom crammed withjunk at victoria gayle's home. on his birth certificate she didn't name his father, but claimed she had handed him over to his father, just one of a series of lies she told her family and authorities. she eventually admitted that after he died, she kept his body in the bedroom for years before moving it to the shed. victoria gayle about him. she implied she had no contact with kyzer, and that was for the best because that is how the dad wanted it. it was, the dad wanted kyzer, she had no contact. i think it's disgusting, because the child has been missing, and nobody knew. the local council in barnet said in a statement: the police watchdog, the ipcc, is also examining whether there

are any police failings. a number of questions that are going to need to be answered by a serious case review and the ipcc investigation. the met police are looking for people who knew victoria gayle between 2007 and 2013. they are trying to discover whether she had any more children during that time. our correspondent — andy moore — is outside the court for us. very disturbing case and some strong words from thejudge. very disturbing case and some strong words from the judge. that's right. several times today this was called a unique case and there was a lengthy statement from the judge. thejudge said she lengthy statement from the judge. the judge said she was satisfied that victoria gayle had not caused the death of her son kyzer gayle but

she said victoria gayle had lied comprehensively to police and the judge said her little boy had been denied a decent burialfor judge said her little boy had been denied a decent burial for many yea rs denied a decent burial for many years and she said the truth of his sad life might never be known. investigations into what happened are still ongoing, and we had an appealfrom the are still ongoing, and we had an appeal from the police are short time ago, they are asking for more information about the secretive life of victoria gayle. we are appealing for anyone who knew victoria around 2004, because we are interested in building a picture of where she was 2004, because we are interested in buildi and picture of where she was 2004, because we are interested in buildi and who ire of where she was 2004, because we are interested in buildi and who she fwhere she was 2004, because we are interested in buildi and who she was ere she was 2004, because we are interested in buildi and who she was associated; living and who she was associated with and we are interested in 2007-2013, we with and we are interested in 2007—2013, we are trying to establish who were her friends, especially partners, that she might have had in this time, and to establish whether she had any other pregnancies or birds in that time frame. —— births. pregnancies or birds in that time frame. -- births. - court heard frame. -- births. the court heard today that there was no record of anyone seeing her son after he left

hospital with his mother on the day a}... . 222.522.5525: his l5” . 222.522.5525: his birth. various investigations of his birth. various investigations are ongoing at the moment. the central question is, how can a child disappeared from official radar for more than a decade? and owen —— no official investigation is launched into what has happened to that into what has happened_toiba.t and the investigations into child, and the investigations into possible official failings, the child, and the investigations into possible officialfailings, the ipcc investigating and also a serious case review, as well, so many questions remain to be answered. thanks forjoining us. the headlines on bbc news: the white house has agreed not to repeat its claims that british intelligence wiretapped donald trump during his campaign for president. a mother has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for covering up the death of her child for over a decade. george osborne is to become the editor of the london evening standard and remain as an mp

while he does it. and in sport: there was a sterling performance in the cheltenham gold cup for sizing the last british side in champions league, leicester city, has been drawn to face atletico madrid in the quarterfinals. real madrid have a big clash with bayern munich. manchester united are also through to the quarterfinals in the europa league — they will face belgian side anderlecht. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. the deputy leader of the scottish national party has insisted there will be a second referendum on scottish independence. opening the party's spring conference in aberdeen, angus robertson said the prime minister was "panicking" when she tried to draw a line under the snp's proposed timetable

theresa may spoke at the conservative spring conference in cardiff — and reiterated that independence would be "bad for scotland, bad for the uk and bad for us all". our political correspondent iain watson has the latest. the snp saying there will be a referendum, a second referendum on independence, but is there any shift in their position on the timetable for that? i think it is their hope and expectation that there will be a second referendum but that is not in their gift, legally, it is westminster to decide whether there will be a scottish independence referendum, but they want to get theresa may to enter into about the timing of the negotiations about the timing of the referendum. what has annoyed them is not her refusal to go along with their preferred timescale, which is autumn next year, until spring 2019,

the fact she doesn't even want but the fact she doesn't even want to talk about the timescale until after the brexit negotiations. they say if the 27 other member states have two endorse a brexit deal when they outline the draft deal, perhaps as soon as next autumn, white shouldn't the scottish people have their say over brexit, as well? —— y. that is the item and they are making, but i detected in an interview from nicola sturgeon some grounds for compromise, and although her preferred timetable would be spring 2019, she has suggested that their views mightjust spring 2019, she has suggested that their views might just be spring 2019, she has suggested that their views mightjust be a few months apart and that suggests she is may be willing to have a referendum later in 2019, but she is keen to say that she has a mandate for a second referendum because the snp manifesto made it clear if there isa snp manifesto made it clear if there is a material change in such as being taken circumstances, such as being taken out of the eu against their will,

out of the eu against theipwdgg grounds for a second thereby grounds for a second referendum. i theresa may takes referendum. if theresa may takes this into the long grass, nicola sturgeon mightjust lose that this into the long grass, nicola sturgeor because st lose that this into the long grass, nicola sturgeor because the se that this into the long grass, nicola sturgeor because the snp lat this into the long grass, nicola sturgeor because the snp don't have mandate because the snp don't have the overall majority at the moment. if they fall back further it might be impossible to get the referendum, so there might be grounds for compromise, but at the moment the snp are worried about the lack of negotiation and discussion about the timing of cell. the preferred timescale is the six—month window from september 2018 onwards, for a very simple reason, because the brexit terms might become clear, and there might also be potentially discomfort and revolt in the conservative ranks and that theresa may might be too distracted to fight a staunch campaign in defence of the union in the way that the no campaign assembled itself back in 2014, so they think their best chance of winning is in that timescale, but that doesn't mean

would be willing to compromise they would be willing to compromise on the margins, but they are digging in their heels on the idea that this can be kicked into the long grass and beyond the next westminster general election, and the next scottish parliament elections a year later. thanks forjoining us. i'm joined now two members of bbc scotland's generation 2014 project — which brought a group of young people together — who were 16 years old — and therefore got a vote in the 2014 independence referendum. natalie is in her home in glasgow. and andrew hanton who is in our studios in edinburgh. andrew, you were a yes vote, are you still of that persuasion? do you wa nt still of that persuasion? do you want a second referendum? absolutely. if you look back theresa may today, —— look at theresa may

absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she —— look at theresa may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said ook at theresa may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said the at theresa may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said the union resa may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said the union is sa may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said the union is at may absolutely. if you look back theresa may tc she said the union is at the' today, she said the union is at the heart of her brexit strategy, but she has not done a very good job of that so far. she has consistently ignored the proposals of the scottish government who gave compromise proposals and looking at that, scotland needs leadership that represents the people that, scotland needs leadership that represents the - people and represents the scottish people and if the anyway we can achieve that scottish independence and the referendum... there was a referendum just in 2014 and that was supposed to bea just in 2014 and that was supposed to be a once in a generation referendum. if you look at the circumstances then, they are vast the different to the ones now, we we re the different to the ones now, we were told as is constantly said, a vote in 2016 to stay in the union was a vote to stay in the eu —— 2014. but then the referendum was

if é a nd 2014. but then the referendum was 35% g and scotland is dragged out called and scotland is dragged out of the eu against its will, and in a normal democracy this would not happen. you were a no vote, what would you do in a second referendum? i would still be a no vote, i think, because it was meant to be a once—in—a—lifetime thing. it would be interesting to see how much the first referendum cost and the council tax hasjust first referendum cost and the council tax has just increased first referendum cost and the council tax hasjust increased for education. does it warrant spending so education. does it warrant spending so many millions of pounds again when actually maybe theresa may has a point and we should be working together to get the best deal possible as a united front? we have already broken things up enough, zwe? do you think, though, haven't we? do you think, though, the argument is from the snp and the i725: government, that the argument is from the snp and the eaa ea government, that things % scottish government, that things have changed because of brexit and

the vote on the 23rd ofjune, and although that was meant to be a once ina although that was meant to be a once in a generation referendum, there although that was meant to be a once in a g: to ration referendum, there although that was meant to be a once in a g: to be on referendum, there although that was meant to be a once in a g: to be anotherendum, there although that was meant to be a once in a g: to be another one? 1, there although that was meant to be a once in a g: to be another one? what re although that was meant to be a once in a g: to be another one? what do you needs to be another one? what do you say to that are timid?|j needs to be another one? what do you say to that are timid? i see the point. -- what do you say to that argument? i think we are better together in the union, rather than trying to get back into the eu, because what if we try to go back into the eu and we are not accented. and we into the eu and we are not accented. andwegal into the eu and we are not accented. and we % a worse deal. —— and we get a worse deal. —— excepted. they will tell us to go away, if we try to go back to the uk, quite rightly, as well. theresa may might allow a referendum, but not nicola sturgeon's timetable, so after the brexit negotiations have completed, what is wrong with been completed, what is wrong with that idea? been completed, what is wrong with that idea ? because been completed, what is wrong with that idea? because then we know thatideazbecauseuthen wecknou.’ where we are and the voters would know exactly what the situation is. where we are and the voters would k‘ you exactly what the situation is.

where we are and the voters would k‘ you look ly what the situation is. where we are and the voters would k‘ you look at what the situation is. where we are and the voters would k‘ you look at the t the situation is. where we are and the voters would k‘ you look at the timetable, on is. where we are and the voters would k‘ you look at the timetable, we is. if you look at the timetable, we will know exactly what the situation is, nicola sturgeon has proposed a 24 months timetable which is autumn of 2018 until spring 2019 and it has been said that after 18 months of brexit negotiations we will know the circumstances in which the uk will be leaving the eu, so the other 27 eu member states can have a vote on that. theresa may has been denying westminster the right to have a meaningful vote on the terms on which the uk is leaving the eu. she can to which the uk is leaving the eu. she can i to that i westminster the can try to that i westminster the bike, but she will fail regarding the scottish people —— she can try to deny westminster the vote. natalie, a last word to you. do you

think it is inevitable that sooner 55171215 if. is ifisfliéb‘fls’mé‘tsfififis’r ‘ later sfiifilis is is ifisflisfiis’ms‘tsfififis’r ‘ later there will be sfilifilis is is ifisflsssfls’sfis‘ssfiifir’s’r ‘ later there will be a second or later there will be a second referendum? yes, many of us who voted no thought it was turning from a referendum into a never—ending referendum, when nicola sturgeon took over from alex salmond. basically, it was meant to be a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity and nicola sturgeon is going to turn this into a westminster denying scotland to have the chance at the moxey, rather than, does scotland to have the chance at the moxey, ratherthan, does scotland wa nt moxey, ratherthan, does scotland want to leave the uk? —— denying scotland to have the chance at democracy. spainjsss already said democracy. spain has already said they will try to veto scotland re—entering the eu if we have another independence referendum and it isa another independence referendum and it is a success. very interesting to from both of you, on either hear from both of you, on either side of the referendum debate. side of the referendum debate,

a note voter and andrew was natalie, a note voter and andrew was a yes vote up —— no voter. we will see what happens. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in paris, they met the president francois hollande at the start of a two dated in which they will meet survivors of the terror attack —— two—day trip. this will be the first ina two—day trip. this will be the first in a series of visits they will be making in the coming months as the brexit negotiations loom large. time for a look at the weather. it is pretty grey out there and quite a lot of rain, as well, you can see it piling in from the north and west, spreading north and east. the rain is quite heavy in the western side of wales and there is more rain to come through the evening and zezs—ei— more rain to come through the evening and zezsgi— mostly on the evening and overnight, mostly on the western side. not much in the

eastern side, and with all that cloud and rain and the breeze overnight, it is not very cold. it will turn quite cold in northern scotla nd will turn quite cold in northern scotland and maybe a touch of frost é— scotland and maybe a touch of frost a the northern isles, and scotland and maybe a touch of frost § the northern isles, and a _ scotland and maybe a touch of frost § the northern isles, and a grey! in the northern isles, and a grey and windy start for many areas. some brea ks and windy start for many areas. some breaks in the cloud, to the east of the pennines. we will keep some of that, but elsewhere a lot of cloud and most of the rain will be on the western side and not much reaches the eastern side. still relatively mild, 15 degrees, on the eastern corner. it is still in single figures in scotland and a similar day on sunday, cloudy and windy with da‘sfi—lfiflfiy on aunaay, coucy an, wun,y w|., of rain, mainly in the outbreaks of rain, mainly in the west. hello. the headlines: the white house has assured the british government allegations that british intelligence agency gchq spied on donald trump will not be repeated.

president trump is holding his first meeting with german chancellor angela merkel at the white house this afternoon. a mother who admitted covering up the death of her child for more than a decade has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. there's been criticism of george osborne after he said he would stay on as an mp, despite taking up a new appointment as editor of the london evening standard. there are plenty of examples of politicians who have edited newspapers, and i intend to play a big part in public life. now, the sport. good afternoon. leicester city will face athletic madrid in the quarterfinals of the champions league. the english side are the only english team left in the

competition. borussia dortmund will face monaco. german giants bayern ta ke take on - holders, real munich take on the holders, real madrid. and juventus play barcelona. the first legs will be played on the 11th and 12th of april, with the second leg is coming a week later. man should delete my manchester united will face anderlecht in the europa league. the last time they faced each other was in the fiber: league in the year 2000. champions league in the year 2000. united finished second to anderlecht in the first group stage. that is the final weekend of the six nations championship in rugby. a win against ireland would see england beat the record held by themselves for the most test wins on the bounce

a 19. for the most test wins on the bounce a19. the last for the most test wins on the bounce — 19. the last time for the most test wins on the bounce a19. the last time england for the most test wins on the bounce — 19. the last time england won back—to—back grand slams was in 1991 a 92, back—to—back grand slams was in 1991 — 92, in the old five nations. oti i have will- reminding me how have will carling reminding me how great his team was, he called his team. iam great his team was, he called his team. i am very aware of the opportunity that presents itself in ireland. it is exciting and a scary thing to do. presents itself in ireland. it is exciting and a scary thing to dolj have had a few messages from various new zealand friends and family, and they never like to be in a competition that they don't have a hand in, but the overall motivation for us is very much on, can we get a performance that can allow us to get into the top half of the championship? a fantastic race l the a fantastic race in the cheltenham gold cup as the 7—1 sizing john came

in first. frank is in cheltenham for us. what a race, but also an amazing day for all concerned with sizing john. it was a great race, and it capped an amazing week for the irish here. jessica harrington, with her first runner in the cheltenham gold cup, has the winner, sizing john, and there was drama throughout the race. lizzie kelly made headlines beforehand, because she was the first female jockey to run in the race for 30 years, but she fell at the second fence. cue card did the same. it was sizing john who came through. under robbie power, to win forjesse —— jessica harrington.

through. under robbie power, to win forjesse -- jessica harrington. 0k, frank. thanks for joining forjesse -- jessica harrington. 0k, frank. thanks forjoining us. that's all for now. you can catch up with all for now. you can catch up with all the reaction from cheltenham at bbc sport website. i'll be back the bbc sport website. i'll be back in the next hour. more now on the former chancellor george osborne who has been appointed editor of the london evening standard newspaper. he is due to edit the paperfour days a week from the month of may, and he said he also intends to continue as the mp for tatton in cheshire. his intention to stay on cheshire, his intentien te staff”1 , ~ , ~ ~ cheshire, his intentien te staff”1 a aa a aa aa an mp has raised eyebrows. the as an mp has raised eyebrows. the green mp lucas says as an mp has raised eyebrows. the green mp - lucas says he as an mp has raised eyebrows. the green mp- lucas says he must green mp caroline lucas says he must resign and it's showing contempt for his constituents. here is our correspondent, ben he is used to being featured on the front pages. now george osborne will decide what's on one, becoming editor

of a major newspaper less than a year after being sacked from the cabinet following the eu referendum. i'm thrilled and excited to be the editor of the london evening standard. people want authority of facts and good analysis, this is an important time for good journalism and the evening standard will provide it. he has spent his entire life a aa aa a aaa running the treasury after building his career within the tory party as an mp and adviser to previous leaders but before politics he wanted to be a journalist. he did not get a break or a job. now he willjump straight into the editor's chair of the evening standard. the paper's owner said he was pleased with the appointment. and also with someone who is sceptical over the government's approach to brexit. while we hope the fact we have a trade deficit and a very important financial centre will count in our favour. the government has chosen not to make the economy the priority in this negotiation. his newjob will give him interests and the city as the government begins brexit. i thought it was fake news. why is he doing it?

not for the money. i can only conclude he wants to build the standard into an alternative power base to theresa may and in the event of brexit going pear—shaped he will use this power base to launch his attack. sadiq khan tweeted his congratulations to george osborne, two powerful voice is now shaping the capital's future. george osborne has been busy in advising a major investment firm. as well as lucrative speaking roles. a juggling of jobs, perhaps without precedent in parliament. osborne may have left parliament but this amazing appointment puts him back on the front line of politics. and now head of media at campaign, gideon spanier. thank you for coming in this

afternoon. let's look at the question of, can george osborne do these two jobs at the same time — being an mp and being the editor of a paper like the standard? can you do both? time will tell, is the short answer. the standard, you start early in the morning... 5am, he says. that's right, - the key he says. that's right, and the key decisions are made by 11am. therefore, from a practical point of view, he could just about do both jobs. it isn't completely without iahs !t isn't rama!ete!l!all!itaeala-t a aa aa aa a aa for a politician to have precedent for a politician to have a second job, lawyers and so - an second job, lawyers and so on. an editor is a big deal, and this will bea editor is a big deal, and this will be a big test. i think it will be a challenge, frankly, but he can try. if he has the support of the owner and separately of his constituents, he might do it. it is notjust doing twojobs, it is

he might do it. it is notjust doing two jobs, it is the nature of the jobs. he will be the editor of this paper, and it is a newspaper and he could be putting himself potentially in opposition to the government on whose he sits. that's difficult, potentially, isn't it? there whose he sits. that's difficult, potent difficulties, ' there whose he sits. that's difficult, potent difficulties, and are whose he sits. that's difficult, potent difficulties, and those who myriad difficulties, and those who have our careers as journalist might raise our eyebrows a lot that someone who has basically had no journalistic experience, but he does have amazing contacts. i think he's modest enough to know he can'tjust come in and take over, but he has run the country. it will be a huge challenge. i have to tell you, newspapers, just like forecasting newsrooms, our top places, and if you can't cut it, i don't think he will last. but he's a very smart man. from an editorial point of view, how do we feel about partisan editor? that is another test. could prove to be an evenhanded editor,

but it is a test. from the point of view of the newspaper, what will have been the thinking behind them a figure like charles seeking a figure like charles osborne —— george osborne? seeking a figure like charles osborne -- george osborne? they low wa nted low wanted to make some noise, certainly wanted toamake some noise. |. i heard they were looking for an and i heard they were looking for an eye—catching candidate. no one tips george osborne. news brands, newspapers, need to try and punch above their weight as much as possible. it's tough. the standard, it is suddenly being talked about in a way that... they have a former government minister. it helps to have access, but the question is whether someone like george osborne as editor would be willing to challenge authority. you touch on that point, and it is a big issue. do you think his appointment could shift the editorial direction of the

paper? i think it's bound to? -- i think it's bound to. editors are appointed by owners, and owners sometimes have opinions. i will say one thing, in my time at the evening standard, which included when the current owner don't it, i think the editor does have her say in the opinion pages. if sadiq khan can congratulate him this morning —— does have a say in the opinion pages. if sadiq khan congratulated him this morning, it may be as a sign that he will be evenhanded. could it have other knock—on effects, such as on advertising, for example? before i came here, i asked one of britain's's biggest advertising agencies, and they were enthusiastic. george osborne met the editorial team and the advertising tea m editorial team and the advertising team at the standard. it makes almost all of its money from

advertising. if you were in advertising, you would want a meeting with the chancellor. the former chancellor. yes, the former chancellor! it's uncharted territory, that's the truth. i think it's very unpredictable, but we learned with brexit and donald trump that weird things happen, and much as some people perhaps want it as some people don't perhaps want it to happen, this is the reality for now. i think the bigger test, frankly, for george osborne is going to be at westminster, where the opposition will be, i think. interesting times. dramatic pictures have emerged from the root of the moment a woman escaped a mudslide. she dragged herself to safety. heavy rains

triggered the slides, which have killed at least a dozen people, but she managed to escape, as you can see, got out of that and was then helped to safety. those mudslides killing at least a dozen people. some schools in england may be receiving more government money, but research out today suggests it will be all but cancelled out by increases in the cost of pay, pensions and national insurance contributions. the government says funding for all schools is at a record £40 billion. but according to the education policy institute, budget pressures will hit every school — and particularly those in deprived areas. here's our education correspondent, gillian hargreaves. this primary school in southwark in south london has been well funded compared to other schools, something the government is determined to change to make the system fairer. it faces a shortfall of 14% in its budget between now and 2020. it's the additional stuff we have in school, the additional opportunities

for children, sports coaches, the services we bring in to support learning, such as speech therapists, art therapists, sports coaches, we would have to look at cutting a a , the government says it is spending £40 billion on schools in england this year. according to the education policy institute, even with a fairer funding formula, all schools will find they have less money. the real—terms loss will be on average £74,000, rising to £291,000 for secondary schools, equating to two teachers for every primary school and six for secondary schools. because they are introducing this long—awaited reform, yet it comes against a backdrop of much wider funding pressures for schools. a very simplistic, but perhaps

not realistic solution, would be to put more money in the pot. the government says it does recognise the pressure schools face and will help them make savings that should not impact on the quality of teaching. ina in a moment, we will show you how the financial markets have closed in europe, but first, the headlines: the white house has confirmed it will not repeat allegations that gchq wiretapped mr trump. the fashion industry is worth £28 billion to the british economy and provides around 880,000 jobs. but a survey of fashion executives

before the brexit vote showed 84% were concerned about the impact ' as the prime minister prepares to invoke article 50, what does the fashion industry want to get out of the brexit negotiations? vishala sri—pathma is live and training college to see what brexit means for that's right, ben. in north london, not something you would expect to lla .7 a a, not something you would expect to ‘ad when a , a a aa not something you would expect to ‘ad when you're aa a a a aa not something you would expect to g when you're walking . not something you would expect to g when you're walking around the find when you're walking around the streets, this is a factory that makes clothes for retailers such as marks and but predominantly for online retailers. uk clothes manufacturing employs about 105,000 people in the country. i am with the managing director. let's start off

by talking about skills, simon. we hear about a skills gap in the country, lots of retailers we have a; to country, lots of retailers we have $5 to tell country, lots of retailers we have $1“; to tell us there will be a spoken to tell us there will be a negative impact brexit. there are a lot of people in our industry who come from europe, who have been and they are used to the fact here, and they are used to the fact that we work with people from don eu as well. i cha'lr a countries as well. i chair a competitionfi countries as well. i chair a competitionsir students to get competition for students to get apprenticeships. and we will continue to do that. you are on saddle road — how are people feeling about business there? with the change in the exchange rate, it is very buoyant and we are doing very well. trips abroad and export business as it stands, we are about

70% export, so the exchange rate is helping. you are in the luxury end of fashion, so how reflective is your business to the rest of the market? i wouldn't say we are untouchable, and in some ways, we go into a recession earlier than some. when things are getting better,... it changes now and then, i must say. what about markets beyond europe? is that a viable way to fill the gaps? we have about 40% united states and 30% uk production, and the rest are in the middle east and the far east. that is where orders have come from for years. it can change. what are you worried about? any concerns? the biggest part is equality. we have

quality and service, and that's where we have to remain in savile quality and service, and that's when looking e to remain in savile quality and service, and that's when looking at o remain in savile quality and service, and that's when looking at serving n in savile quality and service, and that's when looking at serving those vile row, looking at serving those customers. if we can maintain that, we should be fine. the industry will do so, and colleges will always seek to produce the best, and we will find that flow. if you make great szzé saa at the = find that flow. if you make great siege? at the end of the day, the will find you. ‘will find you. thank you, customermllfindayama thank you, we will leave it there. it will be interesting to see what the prime minister does in terms of negotiations for fashion, minister does in terms of negotiations forfashion, going forward. the poet and play it —— playwright,

derek walcott, has died at home in saint lucia, aged 87. we'rejoined by glyn maxwell, a poet.|j saint lucia, aged 87. we'rejoined by glyn maxwell, a poet. i started reading his work at welwyn garden city library. i thought he had read all of english literature. i didn't like poetry very much, and here was someone who could sound like pope but who was talking about the world 4.7l. flu, . w, l,!-,-,, ,-,, all, , w 7! -— j,aal. ,',, . .,, l,!-,-,l ,-,, lll, , ,, 7! -— i had j,aal. ,',, . .,, l,!-,-,l ,-,, lll, , ,, 7! -— ihad an j,aal. ,',, . .,, l,!-,-,l ,-,, lll, , ,, 7! -— i had an amazing year where he now. i had an amazing year where he taught me to take it seriously. how would you define his poetry — what made it different and special?” think it is that sense that he encompasses poetry a long way back,

that broad stream of english literature. his mother was a teacher and had him on shakespeare very early on. he very much grew up with a lot of the british greats as well as the american greats and so on. feel ou are readin his work, you feel you are reading his work, encompassing what we've learned over 500 yea rs encompassing what we've learned over 500 years in terms of rhyme and meter. while years of the present, he is the past. years very much associated with saint lucia, the caribbean, so we talk about him in an american and european context, but he was very much of his origin as well. it is perhaps the most beautiful place on earth. what i got from reading him was a sense from him that the language was adequate

to him. the beauty of saint lucia ‘a'a ei-a tea eaal't'l! a! caai-l‘; tl-a’aa aa a a7 a77 requires intense ‘a'a ei-a tea eaal't'l! a! caai-l‘; tl-la’aa aa a a7 a77 requires intense focus, and he had the resources to do the sights and sounds and aromas. he wrote the whole spectrum in a way that may be no other poet of his time had. you talked about how well—educated, how well read he was. his epic poem was in the style of ancient greek poetry. that's right. he grew up poeth mass-gins the classics. as i say, he had with the classics. as i say, he had all but quite young. i think he was conscious. people said that he wrote an of the caribbean, conscious. people said that he wrote an- of the caribbean, and he an odyssey of the caribbean, and he was conscious of doing that, and i think he saw himself that way. he was the poet of his people, in that sense. could you compare him to anyone else, or was he completely unique in the style of his poetry? of contemporaries, there are similarities with seamus heaney, to

whom he was very close. he was very stricken when seamus died. the two back of them were very close. he knew —— seamus also had that ability to capture what things look like and sounded like in the natural world, and somehow, you can hear breathing in the poetry of derek walcott and of seamus heaney. what was he like asa of seamus heaney. what was he like as a person? he was hard work, he great. when i was a student, was great. when i was a student, eve ryo ne was great. when i was a student, everyone was afraid of him. he was tough, but he had a great sense of i was the only student in my humour. i was the only student in my class it wasn't an american. because i was the only brit, i got that he was the master and i was the pupil. it was her democracy. teaching wasn't a democracy, and i didn't have the right to argue. i was a

kind of lazy young man, and i hadn't picked up all that much, but i knew i really wanted to be a poet, and he took me seriously, but also made me feel i didn't know anything. what we re feel i didn't know anything. what were the most important thing is he taught you? were the most important thing is he taught you ? what were the most important thing is he taught you? what do you remember now that you might use? well, i remember him saying, you are a poet — don't get a job. and when you are at university, that's what you want to hear! everyone else is telling you the opposite! exactly! were you influenced by him? we are from different places, so visually, there are things that are different. certainly, i was always interested in writing formally. he was a great teacher in of in writing formally. he was a great teacher in - of that. a great teacher in terms of that. a great teacher, period. and his writing was recognised. like all singular

writers who are totally committed, it was never enough. there was a lwa ys it was never enough. there was always something to be frustrated about the restless about, like, why hasn't this happened to me? and i was like, quite a lot happened to you, derek. he didn't do too badly! he had a long career — how do you think he would want to be remembered? frequently! suddenly! long! he was somebody who had a sense of loyalty to beauty and to truth, i suppose like any poet, he would want to be remembered as someone who could write beautifully but who wasn't doing it for the sake of it, who was trying to find the truth about things and impart information beautifully. to win the nobel prize for literature, obviously an astonishing achievement. yeah. ifeel obviously an astonishing achievement. yeah. i feel it made him happy. that's the most you can

ask, that it would have made him happy. - somehow gave him happy. and somehow gave him fulfilment. with derek, a lot of it would have been about his mother, that his mother taught him, and he loved and respected her enormously, and to reach that point, i imagine she was what he was thinking about. great to talk to you. thanks for coming in to discuss derek walcott. glyn maxwell, friend and colleague of derek walcott. now, the weather. for the middle of march, we will all have seen a - weekend. it will have seen a better weekenais—tt wi, be have seen a bettef weekenait—tt wi, be windy and rainy. things will be driest in the east. there is a lot of cloud out there today, producing quite a bit of rain. thanks for these pictures. we will take a look at the satellite sequence, which shows we are covered in a it of

shows we are covered in a lot of cloud. out in the atlantic, plenty more cloud heading our way. it's going to bring some rain to many of us. over the next few hours, plenty of rain, most of it in the west. snow over the high ground in scotland, a keen breeze as well. it is that little bit drier the further you are. some rain overnight in east you are. some rain overnight in wales and the south west. not particularly cold, - or nine particularly cold, eight or nine celsius. in the north of particularly cold, eight or nine celsius. in thl that:h of particularly cold, eight or nine celsius. in thl that bitf particularly cold, eight or nine celsius. in thl that bit lower, and a temperatures that bit lower, and a touch of frost here. tomorrow morning, still quite mild. through the midlands and much of east anglia the midlands and muchof eastangfra the midlands and muchof eastangt'ra the south—east, not particularly and the south—east, not particularly wet but cloudy and - the wet but cloudy and breezy. the western - of the country stays western side of the country stays fairly cloudy, and there will be rain in northern ireland through the morning. not much rain in scotland in the morning, a few showers here

ie lea aaa—eiaaa a eall! aealaaaa eaaa a and there. ie lea aaa—eiaaa a lall! aealaaaa eaaa a and there. as you go through the day, it looks like the north—east of scotla nd day, it looks like the north—east of scotland will see the best of the brighter weather that is on offer, iaaa'aaaaa {aaaaa'aaaa a'aaaa aa aaa allaa . , temperatures will struggle after but temperatures will struggle after a chilly start. most of the rain be on the western side of will be on the western side of england, wales, and into northern ireland as well. with all the cloud, relatively mild — 16 celsius ireland as well. with all the cloud, relatively mild a16 celsius or so in the south—east, 10—12 for glasgow in belfast. a big day in the six nations. most venues should stay drive. it is relatively mild in ireland and france. into the second pa rt ireland and france. into the second part of the whee kim, a similar sort of day — windy and cloudy. some rain will make it to the eastern side of the but it luigi“ be the country, but it shouldn't be persistent. next week, it is all change. cold are north—westerly wind bringing cooler conditions and a good rash of showers as well. as

always, more details online. british intelligence rejects claims by the white house that it wiretapped donald trump, as "utterly ridiculous". lflashineten agreesaaet—aa7 spokesman in what's seen as a damaging row between two intelligence allies. you either believe the gchq spokesman or do you believe president trump's spokesman? i think which one you choose to believe rather depends on your we'll have the latest, and we'll be talking to the former gchq deputy director of intelligence. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. former chancellor george osborne becomes the editor of the london evening standard — but will remain an mp. there are plenty of examples of mps who have edited newspapers and magazines over