aaa this a a a is bbc news. the headlines: the eu gets tough on brexit. the european council president donald tusk says there'll be no talks on trade until there's a deal on the divorce. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as some have suggested in the uk, will not happen. it's official — nicola sturgeon sends the letter to theresa may formally asking for powers to hold a second independence referendum. michael flynn says he'll talk to investigators examining ties to the kremlin, as long as he won't be prosecuted for it. expect longer waits for hip and knee replacements and other routine operations. nhs england say its a ‘trade—off‘ for better a&e and cancer care. also this hour... launching one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain. the a multi—million pound back from the brink campaign aims to save at least 20 species from extinction.

and a scotsman pays a flying visit to the newly reopened settle to carlisle railway. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the eu has asserted its control over the brexit negotiations by publishing its draft guidelines for the talks ahead. it has rejected the government's plan to begin negotiating a trade deal at the same time as the price to be paid for leaving the eu. the guidelines state that only when there has been what it calls ‘sufficient progress‘ on the separation settlement can trade talks begin. they also say establishing the future status of eu citizens living in the uk is a priority along with keeping open northern ireland's

borders with ireland. our europe correspondent damian grammaticus has more. after all the shadow—boxing, now coming into focus the eu's terms for brexit. they are guidelines for now, but donald tusk made clear the eu will insist the uk sorts out its exit arrangements first. so an outline agreement on citizens rights, on financial liabilities, before anything else. while stand only whilst we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal, can we discuss the framework for future relationship. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the uk, will not happen. so the eu is explicitly rejecting theresa may's position. no trade talks at first, future ties only outlined during a second phase of negotiations.

no special access for industries like cars and banking. the eu excludes a sector by sector approach to its single market, and the transition would be under eu rules, uk required to accept existing union structures. transition periods mean that you are still a member, or at least you still have access to a membership situation. if you have such an access, it is obvious, it goes without saying, that the institutions would have all agreed upon the need to govern that period. there have been months of preparations and lobbying to draw up these guidelines. uk citizens living in the eu, eu citizens living in the uk worried about losing their rights, met the eu's chief negotiator. they are the top priority in the exit deal. ireland has been pressing

its case about the irish border, without damaging the peace process. gibraltar is a surprise inclusion as a result of spanish lobbying. the eu says no future trade deal can apply to gibraltar unless spain agrees. this will require the agreement of 27 members. if that was a shock for the foreign secretary, he didn't show it as he arrived for a meeting at nato hq. he sought to calm fears the uk might thai security into the deal. the security of this region, europe, is unconditional. it is not some bargaining chip in any negotiations that may be taking place elsewhere in this capital. now article 50 has been triggered, it is the eu who can determine what about these negotiations. they want to control not just the sequence, but what the uk can achieve, too. live to brussels and our

correspondent gavin lee. aa a a word about this phrase sufficient progress of the wall. who will stand out for people. what does donald tusk amina ali willjudge it? essentially, he's taking the ball back to say this is in the eu court and if there will be sufficient progress on the idea of a settlement of king reached, that is when britain can start looking at a new trade deal. district. —— it is a tricky deal. if you look at the issue ahead, there four key issues. the idea of ireland on what you do about the republic and how you make that as easy as possible, which donald tusk said required

imagination. i look at the issue of 3 million european citizens in the uk, the million citizens in europe and how you settle their future along with the business is on both sides of the channel as well as the brexit exit bill, there's 50 billion that they say britain has to pay for its commitment. those are the four issues we start with at the beginning. if they get onto the idea of this settlement, hundreds of thousands of legal documents related from everything including citizen rights to pets rights to the sale of seville oranges, they can get this idea of britain starting a new trade deal. at the moment, that seems a long way off. i suppose we look at the priorities, he did identify that land border between northern ireland and the republic and talked about you citizens living in the uk as big a priority for the eu, that those match what has been said in london as well, doesn't it? it does. iwas

talking a couple of days ago in spain for the 3000 british expats there to talk about the idea of their pensions and what happens to their pensions and what happens to their health care. these are big issues for people. citizen ‘s first, that was the mantra of the chief negotiator at the eu. but if you look at what happened today, if we hold back a second, this is the skeleton structure. donald tusk has no mandate to say this is what is happening, he now this onto the other 27 eu leaders, they subtract oi’ other 27 eu leaders, they subtract or add things do it and on april the 29th, they meet again here in brussels and come with one unified negotiating a mantra and that is passed on to be dealed with. —— to be dealt with. hotels, restaurants and the tourism industry have warned they'll face a recruitment crisis if eu immigration is heavily restricted after the uk leaves. the british hospitality association says it relies on 60,000 eu workers a year and it will take a decade to recruit enough british workers to fill those posts.

0ur economics editor kamal ahmed reports from butlins in bognor. the hospitality sector, holiday parks, restaurants, hotels, is all about entertainment, making customers happy. but this is a sector with its fair share of worries, as brexit approaches. it has relied for years on workers from the eu. could that supply be about to the cut off? agniska is from poland and works for buttons in bognor be to. she is concerned about her future. there are lots of questions. my son is eight. he knewjust the basic thing about the brexit. but he is concerned that he will have to leave his school, that he will have to leave his friend.

the hospitality industry employs 3 million people and is the sector the uk. of those workers, 24% are from the eu. in some sectors the figure is higher, 75% of all waiting staff are from the continent. i asked the butlins boss about the challenges are relying on eu immigration. if the tap is turned off straightaway, that would be very difficult. we are where we are at the moment. we rely on a third of our work base from european employees. to turn that straight off and replace it straight off would be very difficult. more than 60% of voters here voted to leave the european union. at least part of the reason while concerns about immigration, one of the big unresolved issues in these brexit negotiations. theresa may knows she has to achieve a delicate balancing act between responding to those concerns, but at the same time allowing businesses to hire the workers they need. whether it's copy shops, hotels that rely on foreign staff or pulling a pint in your

local pub, this is a sector facing criticism. it's not doing enough to train british workers and pay is too low. it is kind of laziness for them to say that if they are not able to recruit migrant workers, there is going to be a crisis for the industry. it is a crisis of their own creation. they need to be focusing on, how do they actually get people to calm into the industry? the hospitality sector says it is looking to new horizons, looking for the british workers it needs. but it will be a long process, ten years before a reliance on millions of eu workers is turned around. kamal ahmed, bbc news. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has formally requested the transfer of powers from westminster to hold an independence referendum. in a letter to the prime minister,

ms sturgeon says there is "no "rational reason" why this request should be declined. but downing street says it would be wrong to hold talks while the details of brexit remain uncertain. and the scottish tories accused the first minister of a "theatrical gesture". 0ur scotland political editor brian taylor reports. 0na on a settee, the very image of shoes of relaxation, the first minister signed a letter urging an independence referendum. an obvious contrast with the prime minister, signing goodbye to the eu at a desk below a portrait of britain's first prime minister. when i sit on the negotiating table in the months ahead... nicola sturgeon says she wishes theresa may every success in brexit talks on promises full and constructive support. yes, 69, no,

59. no abstentions. the motion is agreed. but she reminds the prime minister that holyrood has now vote foran minister that holyrood has now vote for an independence referendum to coincide with the conclusion of the brexit negotiations and the first minister adds there appears to be no rational reason for you to stand in the wake of the will of the scottish parliament and i hope you will not do so. i asked the firm —— first minister y now when she knew the prime minister already said no? i'm writing to her today to set out the rational case for the will of the scottish parliament. let me finish. i'm writing to her to formally request that she respects the view of the scottish parliament. what we're dealing with now is not a request from me or the snp or the scottish government, but the will of the scottish parliament. if she refuses to enter into those discussions as i anticipate in a letter that she might, what i've said is this, in my view, the will

of the scottish parliament must be respected. to the question not of if it is respected but how will. in response, a spokesman for the prime minister said she would not enter into an independence talks now. scottish tories say the focus should be on brexit. it is a highly theatrical gesture that we'd been anticipating. this is a request for anticipating. this is a request for a referendum in which we know the people of scotland do not want and the prime minister has made perfectly clear she does not believe now is the time and so, in many respects, this is pure theatrical politics i will not serve any meaningful purpose. we will not be having a referendum in the immediate future until our future outside of the eu is clear. sturgeon insists scotla nd the eu is clear. sturgeon insists scotland must be given a choice. for now, stalemate. waiting times will be longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements or heart surgery, as a "trade off" for improvements in a&e and other areas according to the head of nhs england. simon stevens outlined the to year plan for the nhs focussing

on improving cancer care, boosting mental health services for children and young people, and better access to gps. but he said choices have to be made because of increasing patient demand. our health editor hugh pym reports. the nhs serves patients from cradle to grave but there are difficult choices. the message today is it offers high quality care in many areas but something has to give. that is waiting lists for routine surgery for patients like christine. she waited 22 weeks from heart bypass, longer than nhs england's 18 weeks target. it has caused a lot of anxiety and she has decided to go private. the sword of damocles hanging over my head, because i couldn't plan my life, i couldn't say categorically, i am going to be able to do something. i feel i am getting, not worse, but more tired. there has definitely been a change

in me since i had the diagnosis. the head of nhs england explained his immediate priorities, including a&e and cancer care, to help staff today. but waiting lists for routine operations will for a while get longer. might more patients be waiting longer and might they be very disappointed? we need to fix the most urgent problems first. and i think most people can see that ensuring that our a&es and gp services are able to properly look after people across the country that has got to be the top priority. and then having done that, obviously in the period ahead we want to be able to ensure we make —— meeting the waiting time guarantees. but that has worried some medical leaders, who say longer waits for operations can be dangerous. we know that people occasionally dai young waiting lists waiting for heart surgery. the longer you wait, the more the likelihood that will

happen. this health centre where mr stevens was today provides a range of services and treatments to patients. their results or a dentist and pharmacist, as well as gp practice. the idea is to treat as many people as possible away from hospitals. he wants to see more of this kind of thing around the country but that will take time. it will also take time to improve the nation's health. but they are starting young that schools in lancashire. children run the daily mile. the idea came from the nhs. an example of prevention that could reduce the future burden on the health service. we know we want to change things for the future generation. we don't want people to be dying of heart disease in their 50s. we want to tackle some of the major stuff we're seeing around diabetes. we have built a fantastic partnership with schools and we encourage kids to be active. it is both young and

old when it comes to improving health in lancashire. this scheme helps older men who may be isolated and vulnerable to health problems, a sense of purpose which helps their well—being. it is part of a plan among those hailed today as the way forward. the rewards will come in the future. it will not help to repair the nhs's immediate problems. with me is imelda redmond, national director, with health watch england, a watchdog which represents the views and concerns of patients. what is your reaction to what simon stephens has said? overall, an interesting plan and it does tackle theissues interesting plan and it does tackle the issues that the public have raised with us. one of the major things and the public continually tell health throughout the country asa tell health throughout the country as a mental health needs attention and we need to have a greater responsive service for people with mental health problems and that is

covered in the plan. people also talk a lot about the access to gps, timely appointments and that is also covered in the plan. social care has actually become a higher concern for the public in recent years and there is some attention to that as well. so it's a balance of different solutions. if people see the significant concerns being addressed, do you think they will then be able to tolerate, if you like, the concept of having to wait a little longer for the routine operations being talked about? nobody wants to have to wait, especially if you're in pain. and i'm sure on a case—by—case basis, people will have different reactions. what we are seeing is that people at the moment waiting 93v that people at the moment waiting gay bit longerfor that people at the moment waiting gay bit longer for surgery in any case and within the plan, they talk very much about getting back to the 18 week in the future. if you are

that person in pain, you want the surgery, but overall, i deem the public have talked to us and more balanced about it and understand there finite resources. and cancer and a&e we are told will be prioritised. is that the correct approach? yes, i think it is. prioritised. is that the correct approach? yes, ithink it is. one prioritised. is that the correct approach? yes, i think it is. one of the other things people always talk about is the security of having an excellent a&e department available, 24 excellent a&e department available, 2a hours a day, seven days a week. that is a real security for everybody. and cancer is the disease that people worry about and are concerned about more than any other. what of the wider picture and the re—sources picture? what have you heard from stevens today if anything that encourages you? there was nothing new about resources in the plan today. the resource announcements were made a a few weeks ago with an additional billion pound going into social care and

some additional money going to gp practices. it seems too as they are the right places where additional resources should go and social care is stretched to the limit at the moment and it really does need additional resources. thank you. the former us national security advisor, michael flynn, has offered to testify on russian interference in the american election, in exchange for immunity from prosecution. michael flynn was sacked in february after misleading the white house about his conversations with a russian envoy. his lawyer says that general flynn "has a story "to tell", but needs to guard against "unfair prosecution". this morning president trump described the investigation as a "witch hunt" and backed michael flynn's call for immunity. gary 0'donoghue is our washington correspondent and we can speak to him now. what is the latest? the white house press secretary has just been speaking about this in his daily

briefing that he has reiterated the president's view that michael flynn should testify to these congressional committees and he was asked whether or not the president had anything to worry about in terms of that testimony, that michael flynn may have to say, and there was a one word answer, no. so, that seems to open the door, but the problem for flynn and clearly for his lawyers, they are concerned that whatever you might say may incriminate him, because there is an ongoing fbi investigation, as we know comment russian interference in the and potential coordination with the and potential coordination with the trump campaign, and michael flynn is one of those people who will be part of the focus of that investigation by dint of being a senior person in the trump campaign. so, at the moment, things are in a bit of a holding pattern, if you like. we are told that there are rumours in parts of the us media that the senate intelligence

committee are minded to say no to the request for immunity to michael flynn, that hasn't been made official yet. sooner or later, some will want to question him and they can subpoena him, they can make him go to the capital, as can the house committee, but, he could simply sit there and say, i will take the fifth amendment and that means he doesn't have to say anything. clearly, that is true and it struck me when i heard that this morning, that once you have survived something to say, as umpire, there a fair charge you will say it, isn't there? bred he may have to say something that incriminate him, that's why his lawyers are worried. you listen to his own words from last september when he was talking about the cli nto ns when he was talking about the clintons and he said, on television here in america, people are sick of the litter from prosecution here in america, people are sick of the litterfrom prosecution have usually committed a crime. i mean, you know, if that one comes back to

haunt him,... as you say, the sounds on the white house or as you would expect and that is presumably the defiant tone that will continue?” think so. any attempt by them to stop him talking would look like they had something to hide, too. donald trump may not mind how it looks, but i think they know they have this ongoing fbi investigation and they have no idea it will cast a pall and they have no idea it will cast a pa ll over and they have no idea it will cast a pall over things, because it is the only thing really being talked about in the newspapers and on television, what donald trump is doing an executive orders on trade and things like that, barely getting a look in on the news agenda. and that's the kind of thing that his they selected him to do, so they know that sooner or later, they will have to deal with this russian think in order to

get their own news agenda out there. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: west midlands police have charged a 23—year—old man with a double murder in stourbridge. aaron barley is alleged to have fatally stabbed tracey wilkinson and her 13—year—old son pierce. he's also charged with the attempted murder of the boy's father, peter. a nigerian self—styled bishop and a female church leader have been jailed for sexual attacks on worshippers during private prayer sessions at a london church. benjamin egbujor was sentenced to three years and four months for sexual assault against a woman and causing a teenage girl to take part in sexual acts. his church's secretary, and "prophetess", rose nwenwu, was jailed for three years. the pair told their victims they would "engage god's wrath" if they reported the crimes. the former mayor of london, ken livingstone, will find out next week if he'll be expelled from the labour party. mr livingstone is facing an internal

disciplinary hearing over his controversial claim that hitler supported zionism in the 1930s. a two—day misconduct hearing finished for the day in the past hour and a decision will be announced on tuesday afternoon. the driver of a bin lorry that crashed in glasgow killing six people in 2014, has been banned from driving for three years. harry clarke was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and will be tagged forfor months. the 60—year—old had already admitted culpable and reckless driving. lorna gordon reports. three days before christmas and in a glasgow street packed with shoppers, a bin lorry driven by harry clarke ran out of control. he'd lost consciousness and for 19 seconds the vehicle careered through the busy city centre thoroughfare knocking down pedestrians. six people died. erin mcquade, her grandparents jack and lorraine sweeney,

jacqueline mortan, stephanie tait and gillian ewing. the fatal accident enquiry that followed found the tragedy could have been avoided if clarke hadn't lied about his history of blackouts. he had his licence revoked on medical grounds. nine months after the crash though, clarke was spotted by neighbours driving out of a car parked near his home. he pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless driving. in sentencing him, sheriff, martinjones, said clarke had been wholly irresponsible and reprehensible his vehicle while his licence was revoked. he said, in so doing, the 60—year—old had placed the public at risk. are you sorry, mr clarke? harry clarke was never prosecuted over the bin lorry crash and an attempt by some of the families of those who died to bring a private prosecution, failed. clarke stated through his lawyer today that nothing said in mitigation was intended

to diminish the losses suffered by so many people as a result of that accident and said it was a gross error ofjudgment to drive his car nine months later, knowing he was unfit to drive. lorna gordon, bbc news at the sheriff court in glasgow. households in britain are saving less than at any time since records began, more than 60 years ago. new figures from the official for national statistics say the so—called household savings ratio, which measures how much available money households have to save, shrank to 3.3% in the last three months of 2016. that a sharp drop from the 5.3% recorded in the previous three months. so what does this mean? and how serious is this for the uk economy? joining me now is louise claro, an independent financial adviser with circle financial services. why is this happening?” why is this happening? i think there

to macro issues at stake. it is that affordability people have got to deploy in into savings plans and i think it is the motivation to do so. we have inflation hovering at about the 2% mark and yet we have in some cases negative interest rate returns on investment funds. there is limited availability to get anything that can at least keep pace with inflation for your savings. that is a starting point. there are issues of job security, a starting point. there are issues ofjob security, householders do not feel comfortable to make a commitment on a month by month basis. we have zero hours contracts under the lack of security in people's households. they are living month to month of the two or three months leeway in expenditure, so people are failing to save for the future. that's another reason. i also think that we have not seen this wash through yet, perhaps this is emergence. but in the early part of 2013, there was quite a big

legislative change into the way financial institutions would give financial institutions would give financial advice to the mass market. and the perception of free financial advice came to an abrupt halt. used to go into the bank or building society and you would have bank tellers hovering around, trying to get your money and encourage you to save. there were obviously commission payments there as an incentive for the bank, but those have all been abolished and i think this nudge factor has also been taken away. people are not being nudged into it in quite the same way and you need to be forced into a position to save unless you got the discipline to do so yourself. you've outlined some of the elements combined that perhaps explain why we are here, but what are you hear from the government that suggest they are across this and trying to do something about it? we are now starting to see the emergence of some government legislation coming through. in fact, they are giving money away almost to try and

encourage investors to save. next week for example we will see the launch of something called a lifetime isa. that's an individual savings account that is tax—free. the next week, we will sue the government save you put money into a savings plan they will give donated 2596 savings plan they will give donated 25% on top of that, so that's free money if you meet certain criteria. the only other place or product that the government will give you more money in addition to that that you put in is personal pensions. for a long time, we have had something called tax relief where we are saving for pensions, but i think the statutory requirement for employers to actually put in place pensions savings for its employees and if you don't do so there will be heavily fined this, i think that is also evidence that the government is really wanted to make sure that

people do if people don't save and take some sort of accountability for their long—term welfare, it's going to impact on the state. people will be reverting to the state system, and we can't afford to keep the state system going as it is.” we can't afford to keep the state system going as it is. i want to clarify that briefly. you talk about the effect on the state, what are we talking about in terms of the wider economic implications of the picture we are talking about? we have poverty gaps. this is the emergence of people failing to save for the future, so if things go wrong, if they are out of work for a matter of weeks or months they revert to the state. they go to these food banks. they try and get benefits. all of this is having a knock on effect as to how we as a country can perform. in the advent of brexit, it's very important we make sure we can look after ourselves and maintain a state welfare system that we can really

only afford to look after a certain amount of people and people should ta ke amount of people and people should take responsibility. thank you very much. let's check on the weather forecast for the weekend. thank you, the better half of the weekend will be the second half of the weekend. april fools' day tomorrow, april showers to come. showers over night. driving its way to the northern isles. the driest weather is likely to be in eastern england, where we will have some clearer skies. a bit cooler than last night that seven or 8 degrees, not cold at all. showers from the word go in wales and west of england, striding down the north—west and into northern ireland and showers will develop further east as well. some sunshine in between no showers and feeling warm

enoughin between no showers and feeling warm enough in the sunshine this. temperature is a little lower than today but the showers could be heavy and slow moving. they should be gone by sunday. very small chance of a shower in northern england but a dry day, good spells of sunshine, the wind will be light and when you get the sunshine it should feel quite warm. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines at 7.30pm: the eu rejects the government's brexit plan. president tusk says there'll be no talks on trade until there's a deal on the divorce. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the uk, will not happen. it's official — nicola sturgeon sends the letter to theresa may formally asking for powers to hold a second independence referendum. the head of nhs england has warned of longer waiting times for routine operations like hip and knee replacements.

he says it's a "trade off" for improvements in other areas — like a&e and cancer treatments. president donald trump's ex—national security adviser, michael flynn, says he wants immunity to testify on alleged russian election meddling, his lawyer says. a senior democrat source says it is too early to consider an immunity deal. and doctor who returns, we hearfrom the time lord's new companion. let's get more now on our main story. the eu has published draft guidelines setting out its approach to the brexit negotiations. the document suggests talks on a trade deal can only begin once "sufficient progress" is made on a separation settlement. speaking in malta, the president of the european council donald tusk acknowledged the talks ahead could be tough. only when we have achieved

sufficient progress on the withdrawal, can we discuss the framework for our future relationship. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the uk, will not happen. and when talking about our future relationship, we obviously share the uk's desire to establish a close partnership between us. strong ties reaching beyond the economy and including security cooperation, remain in our common interests. let me conclude by saying that the talks, which are about to start, will be difficult, complex and sometimes even confrontational. there is no way around it. the eu 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive approach. brexit in itself is already punitive enough.

after more than a0 years of being united, we owe it to each other to do everything we can to make this divorce as smooth as possible. donald tusk speaking in malta. let's discuss more on the intricacies of striking a trade deal. jason langrish is the executive director of the canada europe roundtable for business. he worked on the canadian trade deal with the eu, and joins me via webcam from toronto. good evening. good evening. remind us how long it took for that specific trade deal between the eu and canada are to be realised. and canada are to be realisedm practical terms it took about ten yea rs. practical terms it took about ten years. about seven years of negotiations in about three years of ratification. why did it take so long? that's the nature of trade deals these days. if you look at the

wto negotiations, inconclusive. the ttip negotiations inconclusive, all of those took about ten years. this was successful, which differentiates it from the other is. it doesn't have to take that long, if there is willingness on both sides to bring forward the discussions and arrive ata forward the discussions and arrive at a solution more swiftly? i suppose anything is possible, however if we're referring to brexit, it's an unusual arrangement. this is not a negotiation where you are building on what you have and going further. this is a divorce settlement, as you said in the preamble. it's politically loaded and will be very difficult to make trade—offs and concessions. and will be very difficult to make trade-offs and concessions. as far as the eu is concerned, the trade talks will not begin on day one. they will have to follow, at least toa they will have to follow, at least to a degree, the divorce talks, meaning the timetable looks a long

way into the future? exactly. i think the wisest thing... this is unusual trade negotiations ina this is unusual trade negotiations in a sense, if you want to call it that. it's very politicised from the outset. typically a negotiation will be technical at the beginning and the negotiators, the technical people will try to get as far as possible before political intervention is required. this is doing it exactly the opposite way around. what i would urge both sides to try and do is find an accommodation and buy more time. the two year time frame is not sufficient. which could mean an interim trade deal, in your mind? in two yea rs ? i don't see what an interim trade deal would look like. i suppose it is possible but it strikes me the interim deal is an agreement to lengthen the time that is available for discussions. that in essence is the deal. this week there and could be looking at uk trade falling back

on world trade organisation rules. that's been debated here extensively in recent weeks. you will hear differing views as to how much difference that will make. what is your take on it? it's a leap into the great unknown. it's a leap into the great unknown. it would definitely have an impact. 0ne it would definitely have an impact. one would think detrimental. the uk will have to negotiate a common customs tariff of its own. it utilises the customs tariff of the eu currently. those are higher than what the eu would otherwise face, in terms of dealing, what the uk would face, in terms of dealing with the eu. 0ne face, in terms of dealing with the eu. one would assume, unless there is some kind of terror relief discussion. dot. though it be an impact. the government does not take on that, this is david davis the brexit secretary speaking in the last few days. he said they would not have to fall back on pure wto

rules because other substantive agreements could help simplify trade. he has a point? i would like to know what they are. it was a nice line... he didn't elaborate. precisely. he didn't elaborate. precisely. he didn't elaborate for a reason. i doubt he knows what they are. it is a vague statement as far as i'm concerned. you can't know what they are at this point. he said, there are always relationships between major economies, even in a non—outcome i would expect some arrangements to be made. again, i would say, would expect some arrangements to be made. again, iwould say, point would expect some arrangements to be made. again, i would say, point to some tangible examples where that has occurred. i suppose arrangements could be arrived at, but it will ta ke could be arrived at, but it will take a long time. what if any lessons do you think can be learned from the canadian experience here? expect the unexpected. things will ta ke expect the unexpected. things will take longer than you think they're going to take. a lot of political promises are being made at the outset, but it's going to be very

difficult for the negotiators to meet the timeline that's been laid out. there will be a lots of ups and downs through the course of this thing. everybody will want to have their say and that will have political ramifications. again, i come back to the point, i believe it is in the interests of both sides to buy time. just a word finally about the level of expertise of the trade negotiators on both sides. how important is it that you've effectively got a fair match between both sides, in terms of them knowing what they're doing and what they are trying to achieve? it is quite important. you need to have experience. you need to have been there before. you can say that about any profession. what's also important is understanding how these negotiations are going to interact with the other things the uk and eu will want to do. also, what is the level of understanding of trade negotiations at the political level?

0ne negotiations at the political level? one of the things that will be unique about this is this is the first time at the political level the uk will be forced to sit down and make tough decisions about the trade—offs they're willing to swallow to get a deal done. they haven't had to do that in the past because that business has been handled by brussels, by the eu. thank you very much for coming on. the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, has denied a report that a funding shortfall has left the armed forces trying to find an extra billion pounds a year in savings. the claim's based on an analysis by the national audit office and conversations with seven serving and former senior officers. richard galpin reports. the armed forces are in the midst of a major upgrade. new aircraft carriers, planes and submarines on order. but all this now reportedly leaving a £10 billion hole in the defence ministry's budget. the report's come just as the defence secretary,

michael fallon, holds talks here with his us counterpart, james mattis. the americans want all nato member states to have well funded defence budgets, and, therefore, effective military forces. and there are now fears that the reported budget problem here could lead to cuts to the royal marines. and sir michael has not ruled this out. the royal navy is growing overall, growing by around 400, because the royal navy is getting new ships, new submarines, and then and then it is then up to the first sea lord as to the exact balance, the number of sailors he has and the number of royal marines he has. the estimated price tag for the royal navy's dreadnought submarines increased by £620 million between 2015 and 2016. the project will take several decades to complete. and the cost of the f—35 joint strike fighters, bought from the united states,

has increased by £843 million. it is still not known when the new aircraft carriers will be commissioned. some of our major potential opponents, like iran, china and russia, are improving their capabilities day by day. we are not matching those capabilities, nor are we providing the technologies that are needed to suppress some of their systems. at a separate meeting today in brussels, nato foreign ministers are holding talks with the us secretary of state, rex tillerson. britain is one of a minority of member states which does meet its commitment of spending 2% of gdp on defence. right now, hundreds of british and other nato troops are in estonia and other areas bordering russia. part of an operation to counter moscow's current aggressive foreign policy. this is a time when nato needs to be particularly strong.

richard galpin, bbc news at lancaster house. the headlines on bbc news: the president of the european council, donald tusk, rules out initial discussions on a future trade deal with the uk, until progress has been made on the terms of separation. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon sends a letter to theresa may formally asking for powers to hold a second independence referendum. president trump's ex—national security adviser, michael flynn, says he wants immunity before he'll testify on alleged russian election meddling. the market numbers for you, close of play in london saw a drop in 0.5%. the dax still up. the dowjones down and the nasdaq up narrowly. in a moment, it's full steam ahead for the flying scotsman at the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. teaching assistants are facing fresh

challenges as a result of growing financial pressures across the education system. teaching unions say staff shortages and budget cuts mean too many assistants are being left to teach classes on their own. jayne mccubbin has been speaking to support staff. john, not his real name, is not a real teacher, but he's frequently called in to cover a class when a real teacher is off. 0riginally it was only meant to be a few days. what it turned into was month after month. he said he's used as a cheap alternative to a substitute teacher with no qualification and no authority. mis—behaviour meant you spent your time firefighting, that's what you're doing, you're controlling behaviour, you're not teaching. it can happen as well where the kids will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson they'll have another unqualified member of staff in a different subject, so they could have two or three hours of this in the same day.

i'm not furious at the head teacher, the budget‘s just not there. teacher: good lad. remember what you need to do to this? in scotland, only a qualified teacher can lead a class. in english and welsh state schools, it's at the discretion of the head and all heads are facing financial pressures. here in burnage they value tas more than most because many students speak english as a foreign language, many have special educational needs but even here they are increasingly used to fill gaps. that added pressure is taken away from the role that we have to do, which is incredibly valuable. it has the domino effect of one child is not understanding something, they then feel they can't cope within that situation, it then affects other children, it then affects the teacher, the whole environment there is not one for learning. in other schools, financial pressures are more intense. hilton primary is £120,000 in the red. tas like jill aren't just filling

gaps, they are being axed. a third of the a0 employed here have just received a redundancy notice. it's very upsetting. very, very upsetting. the elastic now is stretched as far as it is going to stretch. losing these tas is a disaster, it really is a disaster. seven years ago, three in ten secondary schools were in deficit in england. today, the national audit office say it's more than six in ten. and with a further £3 billion of cuts ahead, that will get worse. the department for education told me they believe efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff, without an impact on education. there was a time when we didn't have teaching assistants. yes, in years gone by we had one teacher to teach a class full of pupils but now we expect more from our education system and we're going to let a generation of pupils down if we don't provide this support for them. parents‘ expectations might be for more, but in terms of funding, the reality is less.

head teachers will have to decide how they strike a balance. jayne mccubbin, bbc news. it's one of the most ambitious conservation projects of its kind in britain — and aims to save 20 species like these from extinction — creatures such as the black click beetle, the shrill carder bee and the chequered skipper butterfly. the back from the brink campaign is launched today — an £8 million scheme backed by the heritage lottery fund. and it's hoped thousands of people will volunteer to help. duncan kennedy reports. they're the most striking, the most elusive and the most endangered species in britain. large, round, dark eyes. but today, 20 of them, including the grey long—eared bat, have become part of a project to save them. jenny clarke, who has protected bats for 30 years, is among those behind the campaign called back from the brink. if this one were to go

to extinction, what would that mean to someone like you? it would be an appalling loss and a great tragedy. and it mustn't happen. we would be absolutely bereft if we lost the grey long—eared. the natterjack toad is another facing extinction. so too, the ladybird spider. £8 million of heritage lottery and otherfunds has been put into the project. but the organisers say the public‘s help is vital. the ambition is to involve 1.3 million people, engaged, over 5000 volunteers actually going out, surveying, recording, monitoring species. so there will be lots of opportunities for the public to really get involved. here in dorset, some of the first of those volunteers have just started work. this looks like a suitable area, here. the public is needed to find and manage the threatened species. why do you want to save the species?

i think they're beautiful. i think they're important, in ways that maybe a lot of people don't recognise. and i think that overall they deserve to be kept the way they are. the project aims to save everything from adders to the shrill carder bee. many put at risk by activities like house—building and farming. but wherever they live, these creatures are vulnerable. unless the four year project works, some could end up beyond the brink. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in dorset. the tenth series of doctor who begins next month, and the timelord peter capaldi will be joined by a new companion. west end star pearl mackie will be taking on the role of bill, the first gay assistant in the programme's history. she's been speaking to our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba, about on—screen diversity in one

of tv‘s biggest family shows. that is a robot. it speaks emoji! for more than half a century, doctor who has travelled across time and space. now the show is exploring new territory. actress pearl mackie will be playing bill potts, her character will be the doctor's first openly gay companion. bill's gay. and, yeah, ithink, you know, it shouldn't be a big deal in the 21st century, really. yeah, i think within the series it's not made a massive thing off. it's just... you know, our representation matters, doesn't it, so... yeah, i think it's great. why do you think keep coming to my lectures? because i like them. everybody likes them. they are amazing. why me? her sexual orientation is a significant step, particularly as the doctor's companion is a key aspirational figure for the show‘s younger viewers. i hope it will help to push things in the right direction

and help to broaden the diversity of race and sexuality. i wish i'd never met you, doctor. the show has had gay characters in the past, including john barrowman's captain jack, but bill potts will be the first permanent, full—time companion that's gay. the relatively unknown pearl mackie recognises the huge career boost that being cast in doctor who carries. it's an amazing platform for me to be able to... it would open a lot of doors that might not necessarily have been opened before. it's very exciting. peter capaldi, who plays the doctor, has said the new series of the show will be his last. the decision over his latest companion's sexuality is likely to increase speculation that the programme could break more boundaries by making the next doctor a woman. lizo mzimba, bbc news.

the flying scotsman was back on one of britain's most scenic tracks this morning as it marked the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. the route was closed by a landslip a year ago. danny savage reports. steam train hisses. one of the most famous names in the world of steam on one of the most famous railway lines in britain. the settle—carlisle route runs through the beautiful upland countryside of yorkshire and cumbria. but, for 16 months, there's been no through—traffic because of a landslip. today, the line reopened and hundreds of people came along to see the celebratory service and to breathe a sigh of relief. it's absolutely wonderful, because it's my lifeline to get from appleby up to carlisle. i'm a non—driver, but i do love to escape to the shops at least once a month. although this wonderful old locomotive is attracting all the headlines today,

the big issue for the more remote communities along this line is that they've got their main transport link back, and that means a return of visitors and business. £23 million has been spent repairing the line. it's the biggest fix network rail has ever undertaken, which is why it took so long. built in the 1870s, threatened with closure in the 1980s, this old—fashioned but much loved railway route is open again. a new era, celebrated old style. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. now time for a look at the weather forecast. hello and good evening. for many of you i am sure the weekend has already started. the best of the weather this weekend will be in the second half. we start the new month with sunshine and april showers. they fade away overnight and should bea they fade away overnight and should be a generally fine day on sunday.

some wet weather this evening and overnight, particularly in wales, western parts of england, possibly the midlands. some showers towards north west of the uk, although mainland scotland should be drier and clearer skies for a while in eastern england. a bit chillier than last night but nowhere cold by any means. heading into saturday morning, showers from the word go. some sunshine in the south—west and into wales, and main shower band in the midlands and north west england. some brighter skies and sunshine for eastern parts of england, where many places are still dry at this stage. trierfor places are still dry at this stage. trier for eastern areas of northern ireland. shower bands coming down from the north—west, some sunshine and showers for the north—west. those showers probably developing more widely. they could be heavy, possibly with some thunder. with light winds they won't move on very quickly. if you get the sunshine in between, it will feel quite warm. temperatures are little lower than

today, 13—111, a touch higher before the showers alive in east anglia and the showers alive in east anglia and the south—east before the showers right. pressure will be rising, this ridge of high pressure building in across the uk overnight, keeping these weather fronts at bay on sunday. a chilly start early on sunday. those that temperatures in towns and cities. maybe a pinch of frost in rural scotland and northern ireland. the boat race on sunday. the wind much quieter than they were last weekend. the terms should be a little quieter as well. not a bad day. there will be some sunshine. for most of us, fine and dry with some good spells of sunshine. a very small chance of a shower across northern england as we head into the afternoon. essentially a fine day. the winds will be light so in the sunshine it will feel warm, 13—16. 0n sunshine it will feel warm, 13—16. on monday, temperatures could be higher in england and wales depending on how much sunshine there is. a dry day. the scotland and northern ireland, some wind and rain

on the way. this is bbc news. the headlines at eight: the eu gets tough on brexit — european council president donald tusk says there'll be no talks on trade until there's a deal on the divorce. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as some have suggested in the uk, will not happen. gibraltar accuses spain of manipulating the european council for its own political interests. it's official — nicola sturgeon sends the letter to theresa may formally asking for powers to hold a second independence referendum. expect longer waits for hip and knee replacements and other routine operations — nhs england say its a ‘trade—off‘ for better a&e and cancer care. also this hour: launching one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain.

the multimillion pound back from the brink campaign