this is bbc news at three o'clock, i'mjane hill at this is bbc news at three o'clock, i'm jane hill at westminster. the headlines: the government unveiled its plans to transfer thousands of pieces of eu law to the uk statute book as britain prepares to leave the european union. we've been clear we wa nt the european union. we've been clear we want a smooth and orderly exit and the great repeal bill is integral to that approach. it'll provide clarity and certainty for businesses, workers and consumers gci’oss businesses, workers and consumers across the united kingdom on the day we leave the eu. at a meeting of european leaders in malta angela merkel says post brexit the eu has to put effort into europe to leave it in to put effort into europe to leave itina to put effort into europe to leave it in a good position for future generations. i'm simon mccoy, the other stories developing this hour: search teams in snowdonia looking for a missing helicopterfinds the wreckage and the bodies of the five people on board. new guidelines for the amount of sugar in food published with the aim of cutting children's intake published with the aim of cutting child ren‘s intake by published with the aim of cutting children's intake by 20%. a nasa

astronaut, peggy whitson, on record to break the record for most space walks by a woman. the sculptor of a bust by cristiano ronaldo defends his work after fans set it looks nothing like him. —— afterfans say it. hello and good afternoon. i'm outside the houses of parliament in westminster where the government has been outlining how it plans to transfer thousands of pieces of european union legislation, into british law. the great repeal bill will give parliament, or the devolved assemblies, the power to scrap, amend or improve eu laws. the brexit secretary, david davis, told mps it would ensure the uk's "smooth, orderly" exit from the european union.

but the plans also involve giving ministers the power to make changes without full parliamentary scrutiny, and that's proving controversial. our first report today is from our political correspondent, iain watson. the law that took us into the european union was passed in 1972 and now our eu membership is about to end, not with a bang, but, with a rather complicated process. the government now has 2a months to unravel their relationship that has lasted for 44 years. the secretary of state for exiting the european union, secretary david davis. the brexit secretary set out the first steps today, with the promise of a great repeal bill. we're being clear we want a smooth and orderly exit and the great repeal bill is integral to that approach. it will provide clarity and certainty for businesses, workers and consumers across the united kingdom on the day we leave the eu. it'll mean that as we exit

the eu and seek a new deep and special partnership with the european union, we'll be doing so from a position where we have the same standards and rules. if you were to look at the dictionary definition of repeal it means to reverse or cancel something yet the government's great repeal bill actually seeks to keep in place existing eu regulations. some say it would be more appropriate to call it a cut and paste bill. the government argues by keeping the same rules as the eu it'll be easier to negotiate a trade deal and future governments at westminster will be free to change those rules in due course. labour was worried the government would try to speed through its repeal bill at the expense of scrutiny and wanted guarantees that existing workers‘ rights wouldn't be watered down and eu laws become british laws. there have to be clear principles. all rights and protections derived from eu law must

be converted into domestic law. all rights and protections, no limitations, no qualifications, and no sunset clauses. the snp wanted more detail about what laws might pass from brussels to edinburgh rather than westminster. and accused the government of a lack of preparation. it strikes me the government has pushed the big red button marked brexit with their fingers crossed and very little idea what comes next. historically, parliament hasn't had to change so many laws in their relatively short time. and the process could be painful and longer drawn—out than intended. apart from the repeal bill, major policy changes on immigration and, for example, to agriculture and fisheries, will require entirely new legislation. it's a lot to squeeze in within two years so we asked one of westminster‘s most experienced officials, how long did he think it would take? till everything is absolutely separate and every t

crossed and i dotted, it can years, could be a decade. it's going to be front—loaded. a lot of stuff will happen either up an brexit day or reasonably shortly after that. the government has promised us a smooth and orderly brexit but to achieve that it may find it has little time for anything else. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. let's get the thoughts of chief political correspondent vicki young. smooth and orderly says david davis, but also a massive task. it is, something they can't start doing once we leave, they have to start doing it now to be ready for the day we do leave. if you get rid of the eu law you need to replace it with something. this is the idea you tra nsfer something. this is the idea you transfer it over. no one is entirely sure how many laws and regulations we are talking about, one survey reckons 53,000 laws since 1990 which

shows how much influence brussels has had on every area of our life. some see it as a force for good, they think it means workers' rights, environmental protections, have been a good influence. others say it's a sign of how much it has encroached on our life and how much this place here hasn't had a say. it gets back again to what kind of country will we be after we leave the european union? the thought amongst some, we heard from opposition mps, their fear is that eu law will come across but there will be some who want to start getting rid of it. we heard that from one tory mp. two years from today our sovereign parliament will have the power to amend, repeal or improve all this ghastly e eu legislation. jeering. i will pass on

the assessment of the legislation, but i will of course reinforce the point i've already made, which is the aim of this bill at the end of the aim of this bill at the end of the day is to bring decisions back to this house. a big concern a lot of people raised is the issue of scrutiny. how much scrutiny are mps going to have realistically? because so going to have realistically? because so much of it has to be brought across the government says it can't all be endlessly debated, there will be other mechanisms they can use which means theyjust put it through, no debate in parliament about it. some people have called this the henry viii powers, they say it's seizing powers, not allowing mps to have a say. the minister admitted they'll have to use this up toa admitted they'll have to use this up to a thousand times just because of how many regulations there are. no doubt parliament will get a say, they will get a say on what is replacing things like the immigration system. we are leaving

the eu, we won't have freedom of movement, we need a whole new immigration system, that's just one example of a bill that will go through, that will of course be endlessly debated, that is where mps will get a say. theresa may has already spoken to a number of eu leaders, following the triggering of article 50. a spokesman for the prime minister said their response had been "warm and constructive". european leaders are meeting in malta to formulate their formal response, as danjohnson now reports. the impact of six pages hand—delivered in brussels still rippling across europe. political leaders meeting in malta had absorbed britain's brexit message and were ready to respond. a lot of partners are telling now, we're trying to reduce the damage. but i have to say, this decision will create a lot of damage for both sides. germany's the powerhouse of the european project. angela merkel‘s influence is important. she'd already signalled she didn't support theresa may's ambition to

get the divorce and a new relationship sealed within two years. today no direct mention of brexit, instead a defence of europe's refugee policy and calls to work together more closely. in paris the french president also said the uk's ties with the eu need to be untangled first, then britain can work out a new relationship. there was much sadness in brussels yesterday at triggering article 50. donald tusk has seen some positives. paradoxically, there is also something positive in brexit. brexit has made us the community of 27 more determined and more united than before. i am fully confident of this, especially after the rome declaration, and i can say that we will remain determined and united also in the future.

theresa may has reached out through the european press, writing articles denying any rejection of our shared values, giving assurances there was no intention to harm the eu. there are many more disagreements to come down the line as britain's brexit clock keeps on ticking. that meeting continuing in malta. let's bring it back to everything we've been hearing from david davis today. that big debate in parliament about the great repeal bill. let's talk tojill about the great repeal bill. let's talk to jill rutter, about the great repeal bill. let's talk tojill rutter, programme director at the digit for government. good to see you again. we said yesterday today would be a very big day. is there anything david davis said that took us by surprise that might have been different from what we were anticipating today?|j different from what we were anticipating today? i think this is pretty much as expected, what he's confirmed is it will be a great repeal bill, it'll take eu law, put

it into uk law. it's what we expect him to do. he's confirmed the government will seek substantial powers to delegated legislation. secondary legislation, quicker procedures. where does that leave theissue procedures. where does that leave the issue of scrutiny? it was a big topic of debate. were the things i thought was interesting david davis said was he wanted to discuss with parliament to balance the needs, one for parliament to feel it has had a chance to scrutinise this stuff properly, but also, he kept on stressing the need to get this onto the statute book. i thought it was a welcome sign he said he was prepared to open up discussions parliament about the processes that might be put in place to achieve that well. david davis gave a very calm, laid—back, laconic performance. would you are sensibly that behind—the—scenes people are thinking, crikey, this really is an awful lot to achieve in not a long period of time? i think it is, when

we see the queen ‘s speech we see the consequences of the rest of the legislative programme and whether the government achieves what it once through an agreed process with parliament. labour already put down markers it was unhappy about that, we'll see whether it becomes a big battle ground. a thought about devolution, we've interviewed plenty of people in the last 48 hours who express considerable concerns about some laws, some regulations which have been devolved, whether to scotland, to wales, and concerns it would be remembered when it comes back here. yet david davis did address that point. he did mention devolution, so that's good. he said there were no plans to take anything back currently done by the devolved, so back currently done by the devolved, soi back currently done by the devolved, so i don't think anybody expected him to do that. he also said they could expect an increase in power and theresa may has said the same. what is interesting if he was stressing the need to have common uk framework. these are in areas where

until now the eu has provided common frameworks so we could devolve the rest of agriculture, non—eu decisions, straight down to scotland, wales, northern ireland. what he is now saying is, we hope he'll have to agree with the scots, welsh and northern irish, rather than impose a common framework to make sure there isn't divergence, something we've not had to talk about whether members of the eu, the uk single market. we don't open that big differences between how we treat agriculture in scotland orjust south of the border. from your standpoint at the institute for government what would you be looking out for in the next couple of years as all of this progresses?” out for in the next couple of years as all of this progresses? i think what is interesting is the extent to which the uk does what it hasn't been doing obviously today, the collaborative approach with the devolved administrations. there is an issue of will they be asked to consent to the great repeal bill? it's arguable they need to do that.

second question is, do they genuinely come together and agree a common uk framework as a four nation approach? 0r common uk framework as a four nation approach? or is it ultimately something where there is consultation, then the government in westminster decides, and imposes it on the other three nations? the more i listen to you, the more people i listen, you have to question how much day—to—day politics is going to get done for the next two years. we'll see how much smaller the legislative programme is in the queen ‘s speech, see if there are processes that mean this parliament has time to do anything else other than brexit over the next two years. a sobering thought. thank you, jill rutter, from the institute for government. if you have questions about any of that, what we've been discussing today, and that meeting going on in malta, to tell you coming up shortly at 3:30pm we'll go

to another "ask this" session where you can put your questions to former europe correspondent chris morris, who is in malta at the european leaders meeting. any questions you have about anything david davis has been talking about, the eu meeting in malta and article 50 generally, you can send them in. a few more minutes left do that. send in your questions and chris will be with you just after half past three to go through as many of those as he can. back to simon. breaking news from newcastle crown court, we hear the son of the founder of the greggs ba kers son of the founder of the greggs bakers chain has beenjailed for 13 and a half years after being branded and a half years after being branded a sophisticated predatory paedophile bya a sophisticated predatory paedophile by a judge. this is colin gregg, 75. he was convicted of nine counts of indecent assault on four boys over a

period of decades. he helped build the family business and worked as a social worker, abused his position of trust as teacher and headteacher to sexually abuse the boys. that was the comment from a judge. more on that later. these are the headlines. the government publishes its plans to tra nsfer the government publishes its plans to transfer dozens of eu laws to the uk statute book. the uk secretary says it will ensure a smooth, orderly exit from the eu. at a meeting of conservative european leaders in malta angela merkel says the eu must guarantee prosperity for its citizens or risk driving people away. search teams find the bodies of five people along with the wreckage of their missing helicopter in snowdonia. and its board fever opens proceedings against wales defender neil taylorfor opens proceedings against wales defender neil taylor for his tackle that broke a leg of republic of ireland's seamus coleman. his ban could be extended to three games.

arsene wenger keeps us waiting, the manager still won't confirm whether he will remain at arsenal over the summer. he will remain at arsenal over the summer. judd trump makes the third competitive 147 of his career, reaching the quarterfinals of the china open. i'll be back with more on all of those stories just after half past. an inquest has heard that khalid masood died from a gunshot wound to the chest. fiona wilcox extended her sympathies to his family, who she says are also victims. three people died when he drove his car into pedestrians before stabbing a policeman at the houses of parliament last week. daniel sa ndford parliament last week. daniel sandford is at westminster coroner ‘s court, what else did the court here? doctor fiona wilcox held a hearing of just about 15 here? doctor fiona wilcox held a hearing ofjust about 15 minutes today which she formally opened and adjourned the hearing for further investigation. she heard from john

cross, detective superintendent leading the counter terrorism command investigation into the incident. he said khalid masood attacked a police officer causing grave wounds and killing the police officer, was then challenged by another police officer, and shot. the time of death was around 15:35pm, just under an hour after khalid masood had driven across the bridge and killed the police officer and been shot. the coroner ‘s officer manager said khalid masood was identified through fingerprints and dna and that is the cause of death given at a postmortem examination at saint thomas ‘s hospital was a gunshot wound to the chest. 0n the footage you actually hear three gunshots but it seems one of those gunshots is what killed him. we heard from chris lovett, the ipcc investigator, because the independent police complaints commission is always called when a police officer shoot somebody. they we re police officer shoot somebody. they were informed at 3:47pm, just minutes or so after khalid masood was killed, last week, they are

investigating the actions and decisions from including the use of lethal force last week. he made decisions from including the use of lethalforce last week. he made it clear no individual officer was being investigated for criminal actions or disciplinary offences, it's very much an investigation into the circumstances of what happened that day and they will try to learn any that day and they will try to learn a ny lessons that day and they will try to learn any lessons that should be learned 01’ any lessons that should be learned orany any lessons that should be learned or any good practice. doctor fiona wilcox close to the hearing saying she wanted to make sure her sympathies were passed to the family of khalid masood, who were also victims in this case. prince william has made a private visit to st thomas ‘s hospital to thank medical staff for their work after the westminster terror attack. he spoke to a&e consultants, junior doctors and security staff. doctors and nurses were seen running and security staff. doctors and nurses were seen running from the local hospital to help in westminster bridge. colin gregg,

some of the founder of the greggs ba kers some of the founder of the greggs bakers jane has beenjailed some of the founder of the greggs bakers jane has been jailed for 13 and a half years, as i reported. ! —— greggs bakery chain. what did the court here? during his trialthe court here? during his trialthe court heard colin gregg was a pillar of the local community here in the north—east of england, at least he appeared to be. he helped his family build—up of the greggs bakery chain, make it the high street success that it is today. he was a teacher who was a social worker, he raised millions for a children's charity. but the court heard he abused this position. of trust. 0vera but the court heard he abused this position. of trust. over a 30 year period he indecently assaulted four boys aged between ten and 14 years old. colin gregg always denied this, he said it was a witchhunt, he said because of his position people were looking to make these accusations to

try and gain compensation from him. thejury didn't try and gain compensation from him. the jury didn't believe him and today when he was sentenced at newcastle crown court he was jailed for 13 and newcastle crown court he was jailed for13 and a newcastle crown court he was jailed for 13 and a half years. fiona, thank you very much. a mountain rescue team has found the wreckage of a helicopter — which went missing yesterday afternoon en route from luton to dublin. five people were on board. search teams found the privately owned twin squirrel helicopter in the rhinog mountains. it had disappeared from radar contact while over caernarfon bay. suprintendent gareth evans of north wales police said all five bodies had been found. i spoke to danny savage earlier, who is at the scene of the accident and described the scene. and described the scene. if you looked at a map and looked at the great remote area between north wales and harlech on the coast, it's that mountainous area, the green mountains, where the helicopter came down yesterday afternoon. what we do know is that that twin engined red squirrel helicopter took off from somewhere near luton at around midday yesterday. it was en route to ireland but didn't reach its destination. an alarm was raised,

concerns raised about it not arriving, then it was found it had disappeared off radar screens somewhere over north wales. initially there was concern it had ditched into the sea. that search was narrowed down to a lan search overnight and early this morning in atrocious weather conditions. it's raining hard at the moment. upon the mountains visibility is down to less than ten metres. despite that this volunteer mountain rescue team managed to locate that helicopter this morning along with the five bodies of the people on board. the whole area has been sealed off with the police sort of blocking the few narrow roads that run into the mountains here. this is what north wales police have had to say today. he'll be aware north wales police have been needing a land—based search and rescue operations and yesterday evening. there is very difficult and hazardous terrain involved in the area of south snowdonia. poor weather has been hampering the search, with some

horrendous conditions reducing visibility to less than ten metres at times. all of our volunteer mountain rescue teams from snowdonia are involved, along with the raf mountain rescue team and air assets where we have been able to deploy them, where weather has allowed us. as i've already said, a crash site has already been located along with five people, all of whom are deceased. we're now preserving the scene forjoint deceased. we're now preserving the scene for joint investigation deceased. we're now preserving the scene forjoint investigation with the investigation branch. in the last few minutes a convoy of raf vehicles has gone through the police blockade here along the lane up police blockade here along the lane up into the mountains with raf personnel on board, to take part in this crash recovery and investigation phase. the focus will be on what went wrong and why. we probably won't know for some time

about that. the police haven't mentioned or identified the five people on board but say they have family liaison officers working with the families of those involved at the families of those involved at the moment. an awful day for them. and a big operation underway here still in the mountains of north wales to establish what happened here. new guidelines for the amount of sugar that should be in everyday foods have been published by public health england. the aim to cut the amount of sugar children consumed by 20% by the end of the decade. —— cut him out. thank you for coming in, ed morrow. a step thank you for coming in, ed morrow. astep in thank you for coming in, ed morrow. a step in the right direction? definitely, it's a good target, an ambitious target, but crucially we think it's achievable and hugely important as part of all the measures we take to tackle the massive childhood obesity crisis we face in this country, that industry

stepped up to the plate and lives up to these targets. if companies produce smaller chocolate bars do people not buy more of them? not necessarily, if these happen gradually people may act out the same behaviours are not notice changes. industry has been given options in terms of how it meet its targets, it's not just options in terms of how it meet its targets, it's notjust reducing portion size, its bible formulating those portions and reducing sugar. we've seen nestl , in recent weeks and say they will be reducing sugar content in a lot of their products by 10% without losing portion size 01’ by 10% without losing portion size or taste, so it can be done. looking at the wider issue a huge problem which has been the focus of health m essa 9 es which has been the focus of health messages recently, what else needs to be done? we've seen proposals to alter the tax data, to also look at the way advertising of these products is done. some would say

it's a step too far but you are taking away people's responsibility for themselves if you like. we don't wa nt to ta ke for themselves if you like. we don't want to take away responsibility, or freedom, we want to create a level playing field for healthy choices. at the moment people live in and environment where the unhealthy choices are the easiest ones, the unhealthiest foods are pushed most in supermarkets and on tv, advertising, deals, price promotions. we want to see the healthy options become an easier choice, we see healthierfoods advertised and put on promotion. isn't the difficulty that while these things taste as good as they do and kids and others love them, it's going to be a problem. perhaps but if we look at the way we can reduce sugar gradually, it can alter people's preferences without them noticing. we are very used to a lot of sugar in our diet at the moment. as we bring the level down gradually

people weren't necessarily noticed the difference, it'll end up tasting the difference, it'll end up tasting the same. if we look at reductions in salt in foods, which there have been targets for, bred for instance, bread, salt content has gone down 40% in recent years. nobody notices the difference in that taste. if you do it gradually people won't notice and will be happy. is sad moment for me because this is john hammond's last broadcast on the bbc news channel. he doesn't want anybody to know that i spoilt his day. your last one... a sunny afternoon across the london area, temperatures have peaked around 21 degrees, one or two places could reach 22 over the next hour. much coolerfurther places could reach 22 over the next hour. much cooler further north and west and here we've got some rain. pretty wet today so far across north—west england, parts of wales, and this rain will surge northwards, wet for northern ireland, much of

scotla nd wet for northern ireland, much of scotland overnight tonight. further western areas. further east it stays dry. mild night out there, temperatures no lower than 11 or 12 degrees. all night long. 0ne start, one morning across eastern england. —— warm up morning. a few showers turning up but the real action is further north, a wet day across scotland, further showers into western areas. in between, reasonable sunshine, then showers. mid to high teens. we cant up and down. saturday a bit dodgy, there will be showers around. cold overnight. sunday looking much drier and finerforjust overnight. sunday looking much drier and finer for just about overnight. sunday looking much drier and finer forjust about all of us. good afternoon. you are watching bbc news with me, simon mccoy. the headlines... the government has outlined plans to move thousands of pieces of european union law onto the uk statute book as britain leaves the eu. search teams have found the bodies of five people along with the wreckage of a helicopter in snowdonia. west midlands police say a mother

and her 13—year—old son have died after being stabbed at their home in stourbridge. american astronaut peggy whitson has made a new world record for the most spacewalks by a woman as she walked outside the international space station. it's time for the sport. let's rejoined jessica at the bbc sports centre. thanks, simon. fifa has opened proceedings against neil taylor following the wales defender‘s tackle on the republic of ireland's seamus coleman last friday. taylor was sent off and received an automatic one—match ban for the challenge, but that could now be extended, potentially to three games. everton defender coleman needed surgery on a broken leg following the incident during the two sides' world cup qualifying match in dublin. it's not yet known when he'll be back playing. arsene wenger says his future as arsenal manager isn't completely sorted — despite saying recently he would inform everyone of his decision "very soon". arsenal's recent poorform — where they've lost six of their last nine games — means the frenchman has come under pressure from some fans to leave

when his contract expires in the summer. at his weekly press conference today, though, he wasn't giving anything away. i'm very clear in my mind, but anyway, but i stay two months or two yea rs ? my commitment will be exactly the same. all the time i have spent here does not influence at all my attitude. well, our reporter david 0rnstein was at that press conference and says wenger didn't look like a man under pressure. he was relaxed. he was the most comfortable in a pre—match news conference that i've seen him for quite a while. he looked refreshed after the international break, a bit of colour in his face, plenty of laughs. i think we know the direction in which we could be travelling here. it seems that arsene wenger to stay as arsenal manager and the club wants him to stay. on the table for him,

a we know that there is a contract offer on the table for him, a two—year deal. that is perhaps why he mentioned two months or two yea rs. another manager facing challenging times is slaven bilic at west ham. they're had three straight premier league defeats, and despite names such as rafa benitez, claudio ranieri and roberto mancini being linked with the job in the media, bilic was in defiant mood this morning. my head is clear. and i'm totally motivated and focused, and i'm long enough here to know what to do. over 1.5 years, we have done a good job here, and there is still a good job to do. i have my contract, and at the end of the day my contract is not running out. i have another year here, which is for a manager, i'm not a player that needs a new contract. a big match for manchester city's

women this evening. manchester city's women take a 1—0 aggregate lead into their champions league quarter final second leg at home to danish side fortuna yerring this evening. it's city's first season in the competition, and they're the only british team remaining. they're hoping to become the first domestic side since birmingham city in 2013—14 to reach the last four. what we wanted to achieve when we started was to become a really exciting team to watch and a team that definitely the manchester city fans can be proud of, but also that england can be proud of. we are well aware that there is a perception that women's football may not be that good to watch, and we want to challenge that perception and show that we can play with a real high intensity, real quality, and people enjoy coming up watching us. we know that we are beating teams in the champions league and winning trophies, that will give us that opportunity. finally to snooker, and defending championjudd trump made a maximum 147 clearance on his way to the quarterfinals of the china open in beijing today. playing in the fifth frame against china's tian peng—fay, trump potted the pink but was faced

with a difficult black for the maximum. watch this... sublime! that's his third competitive 147 in his career, and went on to win the match five frames to three. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. thanks, jess. we return now to our top story — the government has today been outlining how it plans to transfer thousands of pieces of european union legislation, into british law. the great repeal bill will give parliament, or the devolved assemblies, the power to scrap, amend or improve eu laws. the brexit secretary, david davis, told mps it would ensure the uk's "smooth, orderly" exit from the european union. but the plans also involve giving ministers the power to make changes without full parliamentary scrutiny, and that's proving controversial. earlier we spoke to our scotland correspondent lorna gordon, and asked her to give us a sense of how the scottish parliament is reacting to what's been happening.

well, i think the scottish government are sceptical of what's on offer. they are suspicious of what's on offer. they fear that the great repeal bill risks undermining the devolution settlement. nicola sturgeon was taking first minister's questions in the chamber behind me as david davis were standing up in the house of commons. and she said she was suspicious that actually there might be a power grab from the scottish parliament, power flowing to westminster instead of in the other direction. but as you say, david davis did at several points touched on devolution issues. he emphasised that the uk government saw a significant increase of decision—making powers coming to the devolved government as a result of the brexiteer process. —— the brexit process. he believed that the powers coming back from brussels would sit

better within the uk wide framework. he gave an example of that, saying it would be bad if scottish farmers we re it would be bad if scottish farmers were separated from a uk wide market. he also rejected accusations made by one snp mp that the uk government was doing nothing to demonstrate that it wanted to work with the devolved administrations. he accused the snp of maximising grievances, and said he had attended six meetings in an area like employment rights and environmental rights, he said there was agreement. but i think as this very complex and incredibly complex bill moves forward , incredibly complex bill moves forward, the devolved government here will be watching very carefully how it applies to them. and they are extremely sceptical of what is on offer. welcome to bbcaskthis — where all this week we'll be putting your questions to the bbc‘s

editors ahead of the triggering of article 50 by theresa may. you can send in your questions to use using the hashtag #bbcaskthis or text on 61124. we're joined by our former europe correspondent chris morris, who works with the reality check unit, from malta, where european leaders are meeting. chris, this question from the newman in trowbridge. wales, scotland and northern ireland all have representation, who is representing england's interests? they don't actually have formal representation. the uk government is representing the uk as a whole. what is happening of course is there is consultation with the devolved governments, the scottish parliament and the welsh and northern ireland assemblies. england doesn't have an assembly so it doesn't have that level of consultation. but there is dispute

between the devolved government and the central government in westminster about when powers are returned from brussels. do they all go back to london or should some of them go directly to the devolved governments? that is a big issue, particularly in scotland. the short a nswer particularly in scotland. the short answer is that england is being represented by the westminster government in london. the other nations of the uk have an additional layer of government so that level of consultation as well. this one is from neal in sandwich in kent. that is relevant, because he writes, does somebody explain where our borders are going to be at dover and calais? at the moment they are in the latter, but the french will want them but the backs of the former, and how will this impact of gridlock in kent? this is going to be a really big issue. it is not a border in cali but the robben detects an calais, uk border checks. —— but there are border checks in calais. they are under a bilateral agreement that the uk and france signed in

2003. it has nothing to do with the european union. legally brexit has no affect on that agreement. but politically of course it can be difficult. we have already heard politicians in northern france, particularly regional politicians around calais, saying, hang on a minute, if the uk doesn't want to cooperate with us and wants to leave the eu, why should we continue cooperating with them on the issue of border checks? it has to be negotiated. if border checks moved back to dover, there would be more gridlock in dover, and certainly if we don't manage to establish a good agreement, an arrangement on future customs arrangements, that would be even worse, because if you have many more border checks in terms of passports, visas and so forth and more customs checks, that will be a massive concern for a port like david. a lot of questions about immigration. would we be allowed to

control european immigration if we had associate membership of the eu, like switzerland ? had associate membership of the eu, like switzerland? like switzerland... switzerland doesn't have associate membership. i know what the question means. switzerland is part of the european free trade area, it has close links with the single market. but in return for that, it has too abide by what are known as the eu's four freedoms. that is the freedom of movement, goods, services and capital, and numberfour, goods, services and capital, and number four, free movement goods, services and capital, and numberfour, free movement of people. switzerland has no restrictions on eu migration. a couple of years ago in 2014 there was a referendum in switzerland in which people voted to introduce some quotas and restrictions. in response, the eu said, if you are going to do that you are going to lose billions of euros of funding of various kinds. so those quotas have never been implemented. at the moment, switzerland has no restriction on eu migration. the short answer is, if we were like

switzerland, we would not be able to restrict eu migration. bob says, one of the main reasons for the brexit and vote leave winning last year was immigration. as a date, the control of eu migrants? again, the short a nswer of eu migrants? again, the short answer is no mac it hasn't. it certainly won't be in the next two yea rs, certainly won't be in the next two years, because certainly won't be in the next two yea rs, because as certainly won't be in the next two years, because as long as we are members of the eu we have to abide by all of the rules, the rights of being in the eu, we also have responsibilities, that means freedom of movement of people is part of that. will those restrictions coming on day one that we leave? still can't say that either because there is also lots of talk about a transitional arrangement. how do we get from former ship of the eu now to a totally new trading relationship, another kind of relationship in the future? the eu will argue that as part of the transition there is going to be free movement of people. there is no date. the government is well aware

that immigration was a big issue on the referendum campaign. it will be looking on how to do it, will it be through work permits or other measures? still no date so far. david davis says this is a priority, this question says, my husband and i are both swedish, we have lived in england for 20 years running a company. will we be kicked out in two yea rs ? company. will we be kicked out in two years? absolutely not... i can't imagine any conceivable way in which that would happen. i mean, probably the highest priority both the david davis and the uk but also very much in the european union is to preserve the rights of eu citizens who are in the rights of eu citizens who are in the uk, but also british citizens in the uk, but also british citizens in the rest of the eu. politically there is an enormous amount of goodwill to get that done. again the problem is, technically, you talk to the experts and it is fiendishly promulgated. you might say, let's just make a declaration. we predict your right. what does that mean in practice? does it apply to your kids? if you had a three—month—old baby and you were two months

pregnant, would it apply to both your kids or what the second child born after the deadline not have those rights guaranteed to them? also the big issue once again of the law, if you are going to have rights you need an ultimately go louise recourse. 0ther you need an ultimately go louise recourse. other eu countries are saying —— legal recourse. they say that their citizens should have the right to refer things to the european court of justice. right to refer things to the european court ofjustice. theresa may says she doesn't want the ecj to have a role in british life any more. these are the complex issues that the boffins and experts will have two iron out. this one looks just as complicated but i will put it to you! this one is from gordon, he says, if the eu refuses to pay the billions of pounds demanded by the billions of pounds demanded by the eu for divorce, could the eu seek compensation through the european court? and not through the european court? and not through the european court, because if we just walked out and left then the european court couldn't apply for us so we couldn't be chased down for

the bill. there is certainly the possibility, both sides would move heaven and earth to avoid this, but the possibility of going to the international court of justice the possibility of going to the international court ofjustice in the hague, this is the ultimate legal arbiter for massive international disputes. if the uk we re international disputes. if the uk were a walk—out paying nothing with the eu waving a bill as we disappeared from the room, that would feel like the mother of full legal disputes. in theory, yes, this could go to international arbitration. but both sides will try very, very hard to avoid it. we have heard all of these numbers. the idea of 60 billion euros from the eu as a settlement, they want a financial settle m e nt settlement, they want a financial settlement when we leave. some people in the brexit can say we shouldn't pay anything at all. it is a negotiation, they will probably meet somewhere in the bill. white just two more to go, chris, you are doing very well! david mcguigan asks, can the triggering of article 50 be revoked by the uk at any stage? now mike this is the subject ofa stage? now mike this is the subject of a genuine legal dispute. the

government is operating on the assumption that it cannot be revoked. but you cannot find a government minister to say that explicitly. the justice government minister to say that explicitly. thejustice secretary said, my understanding is it is irrevocable. david davis said he didn't know. so, the lawyers are going to have to sort this out. you have people on the other side, or example lord kerr, a senior british diplomat who drafted article 50. 0f course he says, you can change your mind, nothing in article 50 says you cannot change your mind. as long as you are still in the club they cannot kick you out of you decide not to leave. in the end once again it comes back to a court of law. it isa it comes back to a court of law. it is a piece of european law. if this became disputed it would have to go to the european court ofjustice. there is a legal case underway in dublin at the moment we british barrister is trying to persuade an irish court to take exactly this question, is article 50 remarkable, can we change our mind, and send it to the european court ofjustice for

a legal decision. barbera has my favourite question. why do we have to negotiate terms for leaving the eu at all? good question, barbara. i mean, we could just walk out, repeal the legislation that makes as members of the european union and leave. that would be pretty chaotic. for a start on trading relationships, paris would appear overnight. import and export tariffs would hit by jewish overnight. import and export tariffs would hit byjewish business is very hard. —— would hit british business is very hard. the car industry relies massively on parts of cars which cross borders between britain and europe through four times as they are being made. a car door will go from england to france to back to england and then poland and back to england and then poland and back to england before it is put onto a car. if you can't do that,, new factoring could grind to a halt. it is the things that regulate what we do. some eu regulation is necessary. a

couple of examples. like we are regulated by the european medicines agency, deciding which medicines are safe to put into the market. if we leave the eu without replicating the european medicines agency, we will not know if new drugs are safe or not. that's not a very good idea. we are part of something called the european singles guide, which regulates aircraft safety, how aircraft can take off and land —— european single sky. if we do not replace or agreed an extension of that, it is possible that aircraft taking off from the uk, heathrow and manchester, would not be allowed to land in european apples. so we could work on —— walk away but it would be a hell of a mess. i have a question. i know you don't have time to go out and socialise when you are on jobs like this, but when you bump into people and see what from britain, what is the sense? is there a sense is that ms or anger or what? --

sadness. most ordinary people are getting on with life, brexit is happening in the background. politicians and people who care about a united europe, there is definitely a sense of sadness and regret. i think people weren't quite prepared to accept that yesterday was going to come. they knew the referendum result had been there but they thought that something would change. but it has happened. article 50 has been triggered and we are on the path towards leaving. donald tusk, the president of the european council, was speaking yesterday. in his face he was genuinely shocked. some people in europe feel like that. others think, we have other things to think about. my favourite quote from yesterday, somebody in britain but it summed it up, a fisherman in sunderland talking on the today programme. he said, we've got biggerfish to the today programme. he said, we've got bigger fish to worry about! you have been storing that one up! thank

you, chris morris in malta. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour, but first, the headlines: the government has outlined plans to move thousands of pieces of european union law onto the uk statute book as britain leaves the eu. angela merkel says the eu must guarantee prosperity and security for its citizens or risk driving people away. search teams have found the bodies of five people along with the wreckage of a helicopter in snowdonia. in the business news this afternoon... lloyds of london... and brussels! the world's biggest insurance market confirms it's moving some of its business to the continent in response to brexit. we will hear from the boss in just a

moment. hennes & mauritz is launching its eighth brand and is investing heavily to get its clothes faster into shops. the announcement comes after it reported sluggish sales growth. the new brand, arket, will be launched this autumn, starting with a shop in london, and will offer more expensive clothes than h&m for men, women and children the us economy grew faster than initially estimated in the final months of 2016. the economy grew at an annualised pace of 2.1% in the fourth quarter of the year, up from an earlier estimate of 1.9%. the upward revision was partly due to stronger consumer spending. good afternoon. the world's biggest insurance market — lloyd's of london — has confirmed it will establish a new european base in brussels to avoid losing business when the uk leaves the eu. it will be up and running by january 20 leaves the eu. it will be up and running byjanuary 2019. lloyds has warned that without the move, brexit could have a significant impact on

its continental business — which generates £2.9 bn a year— that's11% of its business. lloyds also says it made pre—tax profits of about £2 billion. earlier we spoke to the chief executive of lloyds of london, inga beale. she explained why they chose brussels as their new european base. we wanted to have a really top—quality, robust regulator. brussels and belgium fits that bill. we wa nted brussels and belgium fits that bill. we wanted to have great access to talent, so we need to hire some really good people and we thought that was an excellent place to go. and also we have to think about things like access ability, how easy is it to get from london to somewhere on the continent, and from elsewhere on the continent to get to that place? we also wanted to consider the likelihood of the country staying within the eu in the future, that is an important factor. financial fraud losses across payment cards, remote banking and cheques totalled just over £768 million in 2016. that's an increase of 2% on the previous year. according to figures from financial fraud action uk, banks and card companies prevented £1.38 billion of fraud last year, that's equivalent to £6.40 in every £10 of attempted fraud being stopped. jon sacker is from

financial fraud action uk. he explained why the rise in cardboard had happened. —— card fraud. i think there's a range of things that are happening, but primarily the rises are happening within the card space, and that is being driven by a range of factors like malware. but more things like social engineering, people having their details taken, and also we have seen a big rise driven by data breaches, outside the control of the banks and the payment industry, where data is being taken, sold on the dark web or people's details being used to scan them. some other business stories today... the bank of england is to consider using palm oil in the production of the new £20 note, following criticism of the use of animal fats in the plastic £5. the new £20 note is due to be introduced by 2020, but the tender for production has been put on hold. dfs, the furniture store, has reported a 6.8% rise in revenue for the half—year results to the end of january. now, dfs have been quite vocal about their concerns of a slowdown

in the british economy, but the resilience of the great british consumer has kept sales healthy. although they still feel that this year will see slower sales. the company also talked about how the lower pound has impacted profits. but, for now, the business looks like its in good shape, with sales rising to £379 million and pre—tax profit growing by 3.1% to £16 million. toyota has issued another recall of vehicles because of faulty airbag inflators. this time, it's recalling 2.9 million cars across japan, china and oceania. the models include the corolla sedan and rav—4 suv models. let's have a look at markets before we go. trading this morning in europe was extremely sluggish but the dax and cac both picked up in afternoon trade.

the ftse in the red at the moment — but analysts have been pretty optimistic about the london market following the trigger of article 50. some even predicting the ftse to hit highs of 8000 by next year. sterling has reached a one—month high against the euro. that's all the business news for now. capturing a true likeness and character in a portrait can always bea character in a portrait can always be a bit tricky for an artist. so there was an understandable air of expectation when portugal's star footballer cristiano ronaldo turned up footballer cristiano ronaldo turned up in his hometown of madeira to unveil a bust of himself. joe wilson reports on a work of art that hasn't met with everyone's approval. for the local hero, everything was arranged. just one thing, why have they unveiled a new bust of the

former northern irish international niall quinn! 0h, former northern irish international niall quinn! oh, that's cristiano ronaldo, 0k! the man himself was full of gratitude. to see my name given to this airport is very special, he said. everybody knows i am very proud of my roots. roots meaning homeland, not his hair. that at least looked suitably solid. the social media mockery based around the bust has quickly followed. football does have a long association with statues. wembley, bobby moore. at ipswich town's portland road, bobby watson. and that full—on's river cottage. michaeljackson. this idea was from then chairman mohammed fired and it was not universally appreciated at the time. really bad! after a couple of years, fulham took the statue down. and then, deep breath, there was ted bates. southampton supporters were so angry by this depiction of their former player and manager that it was replaced immediately, and expensively. much

better. statues are supposed to be tributes, and the madeira airport is an honour, well in tended for a genuine star. that's him! joel wilson, bbc news. a fifty seven year old flight wilson, bbc news. a fifty seven year old flight engineer peggy whitson is breaking the record for the most spa cewalks breaking the record for the most spacewalks to be conducted by a woman. peggy will be outside the station for over six hours, finishing cable connections and checking over the station in preparation for a new docking adapter. this is flight engineer whiston's eighth space walk, and beats the record set by sunita williams. let's have a look at the weather on the other side of the newsroom, darren bett. thank you, simon. it is the warmest march date since 2012. the south—east of the uk has seen the highest temperatures as we are drawing up warm airona temperatures as we are drawing up warm air on a southerly breeze, breaking up the cloud and leading to sunny skies like this into gardens.

22 degrees across the south—east of england, particularly around gravesend. sunny skies across england and wales. further north and west we do have this area of rain that has been affecting lancashire on mind of right the way through the day. still here, even with cloud, 16 or 17 degrees. a warmer day across the north—east of scotland, sunshine to end the day in northern ireland. turning wet across western and all the parts of the uk overnight. 0ne or two showers further ease. scotland, northern ireland, into wales, heavy rain over the health. and it will be very —— over the hills. while once again tonight, in 11 or 12 degrees. heading into tomorrow morning, a few showers extending across the midlands towards the south—east of england, early brightness across east anglia and some sunshine. wet weather further west, easing away from the south—west of england, pushing away from wales, into northern ireland, the far north—west of england and

cumbria, central and southern parts of scotland. something drier in the far north of scotland, especially towards aberdeenshire. through the day it will turn wet across the whole of scotland. the rain clears northern ireland and away from wales, it stays wet in scotland. 0ne or two showers across eastern parts of england. 0therwise, although the air is fresh, temperatures will be lower, with some sunshine. for many parts of the uk is should feel pleasant, 16 or 17 on the cards. saturday looks like archetypal april showers, the first day of april. chilly night overnight. much better weather on sunday. stick with it, the weather improves on the weekend. quite a few showers developing in the west, not much wind to blow them through, they could be heavy and bunbury. temperature is low on saturday. the trough of low pressure bringing showers on saturday gets squeezed away by a ridge of high

pressure, hence the low temperatures. the rich should keep the weather fronts at bay until late on sunday. —— the ridge. the best of the sunshine in the morning after a chilly start. cloud in the afternoon. decent temperatures, 16 or 17 degrees. warmer in the south—east on monday. rain in the north—west. this is bbc news at 4pm. i amjane hill at westminster. this is bbc news. i'mjane hill, live in westminster. the headlines at four. the government outlines plans to move thousands of pieces of european union law onto the uk statute book, as britain prepares to leave the european union. we have been clear that we want a smooth and orderly exit and the great repeal bill isn't central to that approach. it will provide clarity for everybody across the united kingdom on the day we leave the eu. rights and protections deriving from eu law must convert it

into domestic law, all rights and protections, no and no sunset clauses. at a meeting of european leaders in malta, angela merkel says post—brexit, the eu has to "put effort into europe" to leave