british intelligence rejects claims by the white house that it wiretapped donald trump, as "utterly ridiculous". lflashingten agrees—eet—w— 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 the years, and i'm going to continue to play a big part in british public life, and i'm looking forward to it. nicola sturgeon insists the prime minister's opposition to another referendum on scottish

independence is unsustainable. the nobel prize winning poet and playwright sir derek walcott has died aged 87. and daniel kaluuya stars in the horror film get out — vll--1. u._|. |/-..__-j-v- a..|.- on that and much more in the film review at 5:45. good welcome to the good - welcome to the bbc news at five. it's rare for britain's intelligence community to make a public statement about anything. so the fact that gchq felt it had to rebut allegations that it

the comments made by the white house press secretary, sean spicer. gchq said the claims were ‘nonsense, utterly ridiculous, and should be ignored'. downing street says it has been assured by the white house that claims gchq spied on donald trump during his election campaign won't be repeated. richard lister reports. 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. the allegation was first tweeted by president trump. 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. that evidence remains the same, we do not have any evidence that took place. that's what i@ve said,

we have cleared that up, we have seen no evidence of that. so where is the president getting the information about being hugged by gchq? = apparently from fox news. and probably did use a foreign intelligence service to get this ,, ., ,,. . ,, information for him. 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 that was done on a variety of people that came up. if the reporters in the room were sceptical, gchq do you either 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. that forceful language 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. i can speak now to brian lord, former deputy director for intelligence and cyber operations at gchq who is now managing director at pgi cyber. hejoins me from bristol. thank you for joining hejoins me from bristol. thank you forjoining us. the fact that gchq has spoken publicly about this at all, does that suggest to you, from your knowledge of working there, that there is a lot of anger about

this? i think what it shows is, there is a need in an extraordinary set of circumstances, i think, to almost, this is notjust about assuring the public, this is about getting the message straight to the president how absurd these claims are. and i think the fact that breaking with long—standing tradition to make this statement does emphasise the need to kill this nonsense story off as quickly as it possibly can. and is it a damaging, has it been damaging, the fact that these are two nations that are supposed to be allies, that this was even out there. i think the fact that it was allowed to go from a bizarre claim on fox news straight to the white house press machine without appearing to have lodged withoutappearingmave—lodged any degree of common sense with any degree of common sense seems interesting. i think the seems interastiwrtfiflrng. , . in , 7g of the relationship at an nature of the relationship at an intelligence level between the uk

and the us means it will survive this. it has survived a lot worse in the past and i think it will continue to put this rather silly little blip behind it.” continue to put this rather silly little blip behind it. i am struck that you say it is also about reassuring the public. is that because there is a sense, or is there a sense, all had it already been created by the trump organisation, thatthele is no smoke organisation, that there is no smoke without fire? spying agencies exist to spite, so perhaps something went on, is that an image created in the public mind? an interesting point. public mind?§.,— a lwa ys public mind?§.,— always a public perception there's always a public perception when claims and counterclaims go, is there any smoke without fire? we are entering not just there any smoke without fire? we are entering notjust in this case but ina entering notjust in this case but in a wider sense this era of fake news, let news stories can be put out and exaggerated and amplified when they have to basis of truth. i think the trump organisation, the

who sit around, do have a people who sit around, do have a tendency to do this, therefore it is important when you are dealing with such an extraordinary organisation, such an extraordinacy otgénisationr! how governments and even its testing how governments and even its own administration response, you have to be able to deal with these things on the hoof, which is different to - you might have done different to how you might have done it before and i hope that it will settle down and get to and situation that everyone is normal with where they can trust information coming from the white house press machine. is there any indication if you have spoken to people you used to work with, that this was put out with {w deliberately? i think where the anger comes is, dragging into an argument the oldest. closest ally argument the oldest and closest ally of the usa in a way to score a cheap domestic political point and protect personal fqebe'qqiqqe domestic political point and protect personal reeutatien isi domestic political point and protect personal reeutatien ls the domestic political point and protect personal reeutatien is the point personal reputation is the point that has caused the most anger. what

probably worries me in the longer term, if one looks towards the next three years, is this going to be a trend? controlling three years, is this going to be a trend ? controlling information trend? controlling information to protect personal reputation point will transcend national security issues? i think that is an area that the uk and us administration needs to look at very carefully. this is a new situation for all sides. gchq has not been used to dealing with anyone who operates in that way before, is not fair to say?|j anyone who operates in that way before, is not fair to say? i think fairto before, is not fair to say? i think fair to say that most people in it's fair to say that most people in the world have not start of the us administration that behaves in that way! brian lord, thank you very much for your time, former deputy director of intelligence - cyber director of intelligence and cyber operations at gchq, thank you very the former chancellor george osborne has been appointed editor of the london evening standard newspaper. he's due to edit the paper four days a week from may — and says he intends to continue as the mp for tatton in cheshire.

opposition mps including labour leaderjeremy corbyn have said that the appointment makes a mockery of media independence and have called upon him to quit his role in , . , 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. there are plenty of examples of mps who have edited newspapers and magazines over the years. i'm who have edited newspapers and magazlnes over the years. i m golng to continue to play a big part in british putlic life and i'm looking british public life and i'm looking forward it. he has spent his entire life in politics, six years 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. now he willjump straight into the editor's chair

of the evening standard. since leaving the cabinet he has been busy with lucrative speaking jobs and a role in a major investment firm. he plans to continue thejob while investment firm. he plans to continue the job while continuing as an mpfor continue the job while continuing as an mp for tatton. ludicrous, multitasking taken to an unbelievable degree. this man will be the mp for tatton, director of a bank, running his northern powerhouse operation, and editor of the london evening standard. how many morejobs the london evening standard. how many more jobs does the london evening standard. how many morejobs does he the london evening standard. how many more jobs does he want? the paper ‘s owner said he was proud to eeeez e eeeeez eele ee eeee ezeej i; l . .... l eeeez e eeeeez eele ee eeee ezeej ie l . .... l an editor of such substance and have an editor of such substance and someone have an editor of such substance and someone who is sceptical about the government ‘s approach to brexit. financial centre will count in our favour. the government has chosen not to make the economy the priority his newjob will give him a platform to trumpet london's

quite amazing, i was shocked. i thought it was fake news. why is he doing it? not for the money, he's got plenty from elsewhere. 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. we were in a downing street briefing when the news broke and the prime minister's spokesman was taken unawares, he was totally shocked. no one thought that george osborne would become the editor of a newspaper in london and still be an mp. george osborne may have left government but this extraordinary appointment puts him back on the front line of politics. ben wright, bbc news, scotland's first minister has told the bbc she wants to find a referendum date that both sides

can agree on. speaking at the party's spring conference in aberdeen, nicola sturgeon said she was "up for continued discussion" with theresa may on the matter. the prime minister, who's been speaking at the conservative spring conference in cardiff — 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. at the snp conference it is hardly surprising that the focus is on a second referendum on scottish independence. we don't know when it will take place. legally it is westminster, not scotland's first minister, that takes the decision. but here it feels like the campaign is already under way. the members are delighted at the call for another vote within two years but pro—union campaigners do not want it to happen at all. the snp's deputy leader had a message for them and for the prime minister. people of this country will have their choice. they will not be denied their say.

and no uk prime minister, no uk prime minister, should dare to stand in the way of scotland's democracy. the snp's spring conference in aberdeen was supposed to be discussing a range of issues. the health service, education, skills and training. these will still be debated but there is really only one item on this agenda and that is the arguments in favour of a second scottish independence referendum. next week nicola sturgeon will get the backing of the scottish parliament for a referendum and she will try to broaden support by arguing that she is standing up notjust for scotland but for democracy. what the prime minister has done is not to put herself in opposition to me or independence. she is. 9th“! he rights. ts: 35} ——— , , ~ , ~ ~ eee eee eeeee ee ee eeeelf-e refeeh’ in? fiéééeee‘ieeeeeeeieeeee if"? i will of the scottish parliament.

that is not a sustainable position. today in cardiff the prime minister made the case for the uk remaining campaign, whenever it comes. she made it clear that its timing is not even up for discussion before brexit. it is now clear that using brexit as the pretext to engineer a second independence referendum has been the snp's sole objective ever since lastjune. but it would be bad for scotland, bad for the united kingdom and bad for us all. in the united kingdom. so far the arguments have not been so much about independence, more about the timing of an independence referendum, but it is not a trivial dispute. in politics, as in comedy, timing can often be crucial to success. iain watson there. a mother who admitted covering up

the death of her child for 12 years has been sentenced to 2! months in prison. victoria gale admitted preventing the decent burial of her son who is thought to have been around 18 months when he died. this report from kingston crown court. over a decade victoria carried a terrible secret, her baby son died, she had his body and over the years it seems no one in authority investigated with the child was. 11 yea rs investigated with the child was. 11 years old, the body of the little kaiser, was found hidden in a boy, kaiser, was found hidden in a box ina boy, kaiser, was found hidden in a box in a garden shed at the home of relatives of victoria. they say they did not know what happened. his leg was bandaged although it is not clear how he died she's always denied any involvement in his death. the postmortem determined that it was inconclusive and that's due to the passage of time, over ten years. ‘he ‘ he left park after he left northwick park hospital as a newborn the authorities had a minimal contact

with the child and - there was a with the child and then there was a tragic family accident. one decade later victoria's two—year—old daughter became ill and died. an inquest found she had swallowed a tiny battery. it was then that police beggg investigating what had police began investigating what had happened to kaiser. it emerged that some of his short life was spent in a bedroom withjunk and a bedroom crammed withjunk and victoria gale's. on his birth certificate she did not name his father but she claimed she had handed him over to his father, one the of lies she told her family of the of lies she told her family and the authorities. - eventually and the authorities. she eventually admitted that after he died she kept his body in the bedroom for years before moving it to the shed. a former neighbour never knew kaiser but asked victoria about him. she implied that she had no contact with kaiser and that was the best way kaiser audihat wasfthebesuuay! because that was how the dad wanted it. it was, if the dad wanted kaiser she was not allowed any contact. i think it's absolutely disgusting because the child has - missing

because the child has been missing and nobody knew. how can nobody know? victoria's local council, barnett, in north london, - in a in north london, said in a statement, the death of any child is tragic. we are working with the borough children's tragic. we are working with the borough child ren's board tragic. we are working with the borough children's board to provide information for their serious case review and establish any learning from our involvement with the family. the police watchdog vip cc is examining whether there were any police failings. this is a deeply disturbing, troubling case that raises questions that will have to e: e e z; ff“; 5, egg 51155333- a nswered e, e e e eh; e, =eeee§e ee'ijeeee’e- answered by e e e e ii—ii e =eeeeeee ee'ijeeee’e- answered by the e e e e ii—ii ei =eeeeeee ee'ijeeee’e- answered by the serious case be answered by the serious case review and by the ip cc investigation. the met police are now looking for people who knew victoria between 2007 and 2013. they are trying to discover whether she had any more children during that time. june kelly, bbc news. this is bbc news at 5.17. the headlines. the white house has agreed not to repeat its claims that british intelligence wiretapped donald trump during his campaign for president.

labour leaderjeremy corbyn says george osborne's appointment as editor of the london evening standard newspaper makes a "mockery" of media independence. the snp insists it will not be denied a second on denied a second referendum on scotland's independence but theresa may shows no sign of giving way in her opposition. and in sport a stellar performance to win the cheltenham gold - my to win the cheltenham gold cup, my local river followed him to win the cheltenham gold cup, my local riverfollowed him home to win the cheltenham gold cup, my local river followed him home with the favourite for. the last british side in the champions league, leicester city, will face atletico in the quarterfinals, whilst madrid in the guarterfinalsr. whilst! madrid in the quarterfinals. whilst! madrid have a clash with bayern real madrid have a clash with bayern munich. manchester united face belden league leaders anderlecht in the last eight of the europa league.

the lest eight of the europe leege‘e: the lest eight of the europe leegfie: will the lest eight of the europe leego‘e: will be back with more sports i will be back with more sports stories just after half past five. the nobel prize winning poet and playwright sir derek walcott has died at his home in st lucia at the age of 87. sir derek first gained international attention in the 1960s, with poems that explored the history e and culture of the caribbean. he was considered one of the key voices of west indian literature heritage of st lucia. lets talk to our arts correspondent lizo mzimba. he had very wide ranging interests and was prolific. absolutely, he wrote dozens of plays but it is his poetry that he is best rememberee: but it is his poetry that he is best rememberee for, it brought the but it is his poetry that he is best rememberge for, it brought the most remembered for, it brought the most attention during that prolific career. he started early, he's published his first poetry aged 18, it was called 25 poems. his big break, the one he will be remembered

for, is omeros, which is a retelling of the iliad and the odyssey, with hector and achilles fighting over helen of troy, he set it in a different context, two fishermen fighting over the same woman. people remember the vibrancy of his writing and the colour it evoked. he was probably the major e’e’e of and the colour it evoked. he was probably the major e1? of west probably the major voice of west indian culture. that's how the swedish academy described him when swedistacademy describedhimwhen ee awarded him the nobel prize for they awarded him the nobel prize for! in1992, they awarded him the nobel prize for! in 1992, perhaps the literature in 1992, perhaps the highest accolade someone can get in that field. and he has been writing for many, many years, a prolific amount of work. there was of course controversy as well, people might remember in 2009 he was considered the front runner to become oxford professor of poetry but accusations of sexual harassment in the past came into the public domain and eventually he stood back from putting himself forward for that position. he will be remembered for

a huge body of work. he explored so many different from a huge body of work. he explored so many different - from love to many different themes from love to racial and cultural exile. perhaps the major force racial and cultural exile. perhaps the majorforce in racial and cultural exile. perhaps the major force in west racial and cultural exile. perhaps the majorforce in west indian poetry and culture, a loss to the world of poetry today. lizo mzimba, many thanks. remembering sir derek president trump is holding talks with the german chancellor angela merkel at the white house. there are considerable differences between the two leaders, before he was in office, mr trump called mrs merkel‘s open—door policy towards refugees a ‘catastrophic mistake'; she has criticised his decision to impose a travel ban on the citizens of a number of mainly muslim nations. let's speak to our washington correspondent barbara plett usher. our correspondent. waiting for a news c0 nfe re nce our correspondent. waiting for a news conference between the two to begin. it is very striking, the differences between these two when we think what an excellent

relationship angela merkel had with barack obama. she's probably thinking about that as well. she has said in the past but he missed him. although she is also pragmatic and she had a pretty good working relationship with george i bush so relationship with george w bush so thatis relationship with george w bush so that is what she hopes to establish with president trump although he is much less predictable than mr bush. they are very different in personality and worldview yet both sides have emphasised that they will stress common ground where they can work together. one of those areas might be nato, something we might not have said a couple of months ago, when europeans were worried about mr trump's statement saying it was obsolete. they have since been reassured by his cabinet secretaries. mrs merkel‘s been reassured that his demand for companies to pay their dues is legitimate and cheese says germany will do that by 202a. they can be roughly on the same page there, although the big stickler might be

trade because the us is upset about the surplus of trade on the german side and the germans are worried about a possible import tax that the us is talking about which could affect them strongly so that will probably be the most contentious issue. trade is key and angela merkel is travelling with some senior business leaders, one interesting aspect. in terms of defence spending, president trump has been so bullish about that issue on many occasions. it could be interesting to see whether he continues to push at that. he may mention it in the press conference but as i said, angela merkel has suggested that the germans are on target to meet the requirement, which is 2% of gdp by 202a. they are paying about 1.2% now. there's pushbackin paying about 1.2% now. there's pushback in germany because that would significantly increase their

defence spending, she has at least acknowledged that publicly so perhaps there won't be so much to disagree about whether she here. another issue that has been contentious is russia. the germans, in fact the europeans, were worried i"; 5.23? flee fg'reeeeee-ee eeere eej£§":e‘:‘57 ee ~ ——e that i". 5.3.3? flee fg'reeeee-ee eeere eeerriefif ee ~ ——e that mr i'e see? flee fe're'eee-ee eee—e eee—rieef ee ~ ——e that mrtrump, given i'e see? flee fe're'eee-ee eee—e eee—rieef ee ~ ——e that mr trump, given his positive that mr trumfi. eivéfifils easltlve ' about mr putin, might statements about mr putin, might make a deal with mr putin of ukraine, sidelining the process that the germans and french are leading. in the past parisse weeks they have been reassured by mr trump's cabinet secretaries, who have come up with current policy on russia. mr trump trump's aids say he wants to talk to her about mr putin because she knows mr putin well and speaks russian and he wants their views on ukraine. they will presumably have a reasonably productive discussion about that. that will be very interesting. thank you, barbara. we're waiting for that news conference, as soon we're waiting for that news conference, as soon as we're waiting for that news conference, as soon as it begins will will be back in washington. will will be back in washingten.——=

trump and angela merkel, the donald trump and angela merkel, the pressroom very full indeed. when that kicks off we will go back and hear from them both. that kicks off we will go back and hearfrom them both. back that kicks off we will go back and hear from them both. back to that kicks off we will go back and hearfrom them both. back to matters at home. some schools in england may be receiving more government money, but research out today suggests it will be all but cancelled out contributions. the government says funding for all schools is at a record £40 billion. will hit every school — and particularly those in deprived areas. here's our education correspondent, gillian hargreaves. ivydale primary school in southwark in south london has been well funded compared to other schools, something the government ivydale faces a shortfall of 14% in its budget between now and 2020. it's the additional

staff 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 those things in the first instance. ultimately we are looking at job cuts, however. the government says it is spending £40 billion on schools in england this year. 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. it is a very tricky time for the government, 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 qqlegggiim' ' 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. gillian hargreaves, bbc news. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in paris as part of a diplomatic charm offensive ahead of britain's departure from the eu. the royal couple met the french president francois hollande at the elysee palace —— at the start of a two—day trip on the bataclan. dramatic pictures have emerged of the moment a woman managed to escape a mudslide in peru. you canjust see her, covered in mud, in the middle of this picture, dragging hereer ee eateé heavy rains triggered the slides, which have killed at least a dozen people.

time for a look at the weather. hello, good afternoon, pretty cloudy across hello, good afternoon, pretty cloudy a cross m ost hello, good afternoon, pretty cloudy across most of the uk and that cloud is producing quite a bit of rain. most of the rain as you can see on the radar is in the north and west of the uk, drips and drugs getting the radar is in the north and west of the the drips and drugs getting the radar is in the north and west of the the drips ar side, 1s getting the radar is in the north and west of the the drips ar side, plenty ng the radar is in the north and west of the the drips ar side, plenty more come overniht, snow over come overni . ht, snow over the to come overnight, snow over the higher ground of scotland, plenty of rain further south and most of it reinrfer’therrseethene meshefifik will be across the west of the again will be across the west of the uk. it's not particularly cold from he lee ree eeee'eeieele eele‘e—eee he !ee eee eefe'eelefle eeleee—eee places, northern scotland should see a touch of frost in a few

places. saturday looks quite cloudy from most places, some breaks in the cloud east of the pennines, further rain in northern ireland, west of scotland, western england, - and scotland, western england, west and wales, further eased a little rain in the afternoon but many places staying mostly dry. temperatures reaching 15 degrees at the best, some places, north east scotland in particular, similarfigures. good evening. this is bbc news at five. the headlines: the white house has agreed not to repeat its claims that british intelligence wiretapped donald trump during his campaign for president. former chancellor george osborne is facing calls to stand down as an mp, following his appointment

as london evening standard editor. he says he can do bothjobs. there are plenty examples of mps who have edited newspapers and magazines over the years, and i'm have edited newspapers and magazines overthe years, and i'm going have edited newspapers and magazines over the years, and i'm going to continue to play a big part in british public life, and i'm looking forward to it. the snp insists it won't be denied a second referendum on scotland's independence, but theresa may show no sign of giving way in her opposition. the nobel prize—winning poet and playwright sir derek walcott has died, aged 87. and daniel kaluuya stars in the horror film get out, we'll get mark kermode‘s take on that and much more in the film review, in fifteen minutes. before that, we'll catch up with all the latest sports news, and that comes this evening from hugh. hi. there was a fantastic race in the

cheltenham gold cup as the 7—1 shot sizing john came home to take it for the trainerjessica harrington. it made it a big race double after winning the irish gold cup last month. he finished two - three month. he finished two and three quarters lengths ahead, with native river in third. the first female jockey in 30 years fell at the second jump. cue cards fell three fences from home. we spoke to the winning jockey and trainer.m fences from home. we spoke to the winning jockey and trainer. it was unbelievable. i appreciate this more than the - national, it's a than the grand national, it's a fantastic feeling. when it was announced and i went up onto the "2 f as , ,, announced and i went up onto the "2 f as a ,, announced and i went up onto the "z 7 as a gold announced and i went up onto the as a gold cup winning jockey, podium as a gold cup winning jockey, it sounds sweet. tell us about the closing stages. what was