this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 12: britain says it will protect gibraltar from any sovereignty claims by spain during brexit negotiations. the foreign secretary borisjohnson tweeted his support — "the uk remains implacable and rock—like in our support for gibraltar". research says that nearly half the people who used a government help to buy scheme to buy a house did not need it. bbc news learns that only 5% of existing prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of £5,000. also coming up: protests in paraguay over efforts to change the rules allowing the president to run for office again. protesters storm congress and set fire to the building as anger grows over moves to change the constitution. and a look at the technology of sound — that's at 12:30 on click. good afternoon and

welcome to bbc news. tensions are rising over gilbraltar‘s position during brexit, after the eu gave spain a potential veto on any future deal for the british territory. last night, the government said it would stand up for gibraltar‘s interests during negotiations. the enclave has accused spain of trying to manipulate discussions in order to further its 300—year—old sovereignty claims. mark lobel reports. gibraltar has been in british hands since 1713. it shares a border with spain, but rejects any spanish claim of sovereignty. the current proposals mean a deal between the eu and uk would not apply to gibraltar without an additional agreement between the uk and spain.

gibraltar‘s chief minister has fiercely rejected this as an attempt by spain to encroach on the rock's ability to control its sovereignty. it singles out gibraltar in a way that is unfair, unnecessary and clearly discriminatory, but i'm very grateful that spain has been foolish enough to play this card very early on in the process, and not five minutes to midnight with an agreement in place bar the issue of gibraltar. the british government has been quick to affirm it commitment to this territory. foreign secretary borisjohnson tweeted: but these are draft proposals due to be finalised by the eu at the end of the month. theresa may has until then to try and persuade them to drop this controversial clause. let's speak now to clare moody, labour mep for the south west and gibraltar. she joins us from southampton.

good afternoon. good afternoon. what is your reaction to developments of the last 2a hours? is your reaction to developments of the last 24 hours? the development started on wednesday, there are two clear issues here. one is the future of gibraltar, and making sure that gibraltar is part of whatever deal happens with the uk. they have a right to self—determination, and have in the past made it very clear that they want to remain with their relationship to britain. almost unanimously clear in the last referendum they had. absolutely, they are very good referendums in gibraltar, it was 96% in favour of remain, and the referendum on the relationship with britain was 99%. what do you then say about the british government's handling of this, especially in the light of what boris johnson this, especially in the light of what borisjohnson has said, namely that the support for gibraltar is

implacable and rocklike? that the support for gibraltar is implacable and rocklike ?|i that the support for gibraltar is implacable and rocklike? i was very pleased to hear that he had made that statement, because actually my first gibraltar shock this week was on wednesday when i saw the article 50 letter, where it appeared that the uk government had glossed over, indeed left out, the interests entirely of gibraltar. and the reason why i am very clear on picking this up is because if the uk government is about to go into the most detailed negotiations that we have seen in decades, and it is vital that they are up to the job, so vital that they are up to the job, so it is really important to say, right, you weren't on the game on wednesday. you now have to step up to the plate for gibraltar, and i'm pleased to see that they have been doing. but in future as well, this isn't just about gibraltar,

doing. but in future as well, this isn'tjust about gibraltar, it is also about representing the interests of all british as is citizens. why would mentioning the gibraltar issue in that letter on wednesday have made any difference to what we have seen since? because it was making it clear that the uk is very firm in its support of gibraltar. i'm glad it has been since then, but the wording of the letter appeared to... it wasn'tjust that it didn't mention gibraltar, it was that it only talked about one land border, where the negotiations cover two land borders. it also made reference to government in terms that did not include the fact that gibraltar has a government as well. let's look forward finally. these are let's look forward finally. these a re d raft let's look forward finally. these are draft guidelines, as was made clear a moment ago. what do you say to the prime minister now about getting to the point where this particular element of these guidelines is removed? now we have to asa guidelines is removed? now we have to as a country, and she has to in

terms of leading this country and leading the government, she absolutely has to demonstrate that she is up to negotiating in the interests of our country into the future, and this will be a very clear test for me about her ability to deliver for the uk clear test for me about her ability to deliverfor the uk in clear test for me about her ability to deliver for the uk in these negotiations. the eu now, the government in madrid, are going to be allowed a voice in this in the eu 27. the uk government has to make sure that it delivers in terms of securing the interests of gibraltar, both for them themselves quite rightly, but also in terms of demonstrating what we are going to see in the coming years in these negotiations. thank you very much for coming on, claire moody, mp for the south west and gibraltar. around 4,000 households in england earning more than £100,000 a year have received taxpayers' money to help them buy a home. official figures also reveal that the help to buy equity loan scheme has assisted more than 20,000

households who were not first—time buyers. labour said it showed the initiative was "badly targeted", but the government insisted it continued to make home ownership a reality for thousands of people. with me is henry pryor, who's an independent housing expert. do those figures indicate to you that this wasn't as well targeted as it should have been?” that this wasn't as well targeted as it should have been? i fear we may be judging it should have been? i fear we may bejudging it it should have been? i fear we may be judging it perhaps with the benefit of some hindsight. we have to remember, take ourselves back ten yea rs, to remember, take ourselves back ten years , we to remember, take ourselves back ten years, we were in the midst of a terrifying financial situation, the credit crunch of 2007/2008 took many of us to the brink as far as economists are concerned, and it is to the credit of the government at the time and subsequently that they managed to pull us out of what could have been an incredibly painful situation for all of us. the coalition government, george osborne when he was chancellor, brought in this help to buy scheme, there have been many flavours of it since then, in order to encourage lenders to

have the confidence to get back out and lend money in the shape of mortgages to homeowners, and they did that by effectively putting a floor under the sorts of losses that the lenders could experience if house prices were to have fallen further. clearly the government at the time was keen to avoid having to bail out the banks for a second time, and the help to buy scheme did, to the government's credit, plug that credibility gap, and helped everyone to move on. but it wasn't supposed to fund people who we re wasn't supposed to fund people who were earning more than £100,000 per year could therefore get the mortgage themselves? it was never specifically capped at any level, and no political party suggested that it should be. it is not surprising if we look at london, for example, remember the united kingdom isa example, remember the united kingdom is a patchwork quilt of different housing market with different average values. in london where the cap has been raised 12 months ago to 40% of the guarantee from the government, with a £600,000 cap, the average household and remember this

is not an individual salary, betty combined income of £50,000 between a couple would only allow them to borrow roughly £400,000, si woo kim see the government is trying to come up see the government is trying to come up with a scheme that would help everybody, —— so you can see the government is trying to come up with a scheme that would help everybody trying to get on the housing ladder. so how would you reform the system now? i think every body now agrees that the system has done and delivered what it was intended to deliver, and lenders are happy lending that money. we have seen according to the government statistics 113,000 people take advantage of this particular flavour of help to buy, and not surprisingly, some of those people we re surprisingly, some of those people were high earners and perhaps arguably didn't need the assistance, but we have to remember that over the last two or three years, there has been a strong argument that it has been a strong argument that it has been a strong argument that it has been less of a help to buy and more of a help to build scheme, developers have done very nicely, thank you, from it, and perhaps the time has come for us to re—evaluate necessity and regard it where

exactly the help to buy goes, and the mayor of london, sadiq khan, has talked about repurposing the government assistance to wear people need to buy homes. thank you very much indeed. a homeless man accused of murdering a woman and her 13—year—old son has been remanded in custody. 23—year—old aaron barley appeared at birmingham magistrates charged with killing tracey wilkinson and her son pierce, and faces a further charge of attempting to murder the boy's 47—year—old father, peter, at the family's home in stourbridge. a government briefing note seen by the bbc shows that only 5% of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. the money was announced by the justice secretary, liz truss, two months ago to deal with a recruitment crisis, amid claims it would give thousands of staff an immediate pay boost. the document reveals the number benefiting straightaway is 1600. but officials say the allowances will be available for at least four years. they deny they have given out any

inaccurate or misleading information. mark fairhurst from the prison officers association said giving some staff pay allowances and not others was demoralising their members and failing to get to the heart of recruitment problems. those of us who our experienced are demoralised because we haven't had a pay rise in seven years, and those new recruits, for example a new recruit at the new jail in new recruits, for example a new recruit at the newjail in wrexham will be receiving £21,000 a year, yet someone with the same level of experience as them with only ten weeks in thejob experience as them with only ten weeks in the job working in experience as them with only ten weeks in thejob working in brixton will be receiving £31,000 a year. that is no incentive to stay in the job. they need to tackle the real issue. the real issue, we can't retain staff, is because of the violence, the working conditions, and because of the severe lack of support from management when we deal with the violence. the other issue

is the starting salary throughout the country apart from the 31 sites that have been identified simply isn't sufficient enough. it doesn't compete with other industries. mark fairhurst of the poa. two young boys who have gone missing with their mother had been removed from her care on the day they disappeared, it has emerged. nottinghamshire police are becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of the children. 42—year—old samantha baldwin from newark has not been seen since monday, and is believed to be with nine—year—old louis madge and dylan madge, who's six. police say they are treating the case as an abduction. demonstrators in paraguay have stormed the congress and set fire to the building as anger grows over moves to allow president ca rtes to stand for a second term. the head of the opposition party said that an activist has been shot dead. the country's constitution limits the president to a five—year term. but the sitting president, horacio

ca rtes, but the sitting president, horacio cartes, is trying to remove the restriction and seeks a second term. greg 0lsen reports. this was a night of violence in paraguay after months of speculation about the country's future. the protesters were directing up their anger at the riot police and politicians who they believe are steering the country towards dictatorship. hours earlier, a secret vote had taken place here to approve a new bill which could allow president cartes to run for another term of government. the offices of lawmakers were set alight, with computers and tvs becoming missiles. reports say dozens of people, including police and politicians, were injured. this is the man at the centre of the dispute. horacio cartes came to power in 2013, but paraguayan presidents have been banned from re—election since 1992 to try and stop returned to authoritarian regimes in the country.

president ca rtes wants the restriction removed. trouble began earlier in the day, with tears and tear gas on the streets of the capital. rubber bullets were also fired at demonstrators. translation: the people of paraguay can fight against these rubber bullets. they have installed a dictator in this country. the bullets against paraguayans will soon be metal. the controversial bill still needs further approval, with another vote in the congress. that was due to happen on saturday, but has now been postponed as lawmakers and the president appeal for calm. the headlines on bbc news: the uk says it will stand up for gibraltar‘s interests after the territory accused spain of using brexit to forward its territorial aims. research says that nearly half the people who used the government help to buy scheme to buy a house did not need it. bbc news learns that only 5%

of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. patients referred to the nhs for fertility treatment in scotland will be eligible for three full cycles of nf treatment. from today, the scottish government is increasing the number of cycles funded by the health service for women under 40 from two to three. it's expected to cost around a million pounds a year, as helena lee reports. it is thought that around one in seven couples experience difficulty having children. in scotland, up until now, women under 40 have been offered two cycles of nf on the nhs. that is now changing to up to three. older women between 40 and 42 will also be offered one cycle if they fit certain criteria. in other parts of the uk, the number of nf cycles on the nhs for women under 40 varies.

in england, up to three full cycles are recommended, but local clinical commissioning groups decide, and in over half the areas in england, only one cycle is offered. in wales, women under 40 are entitled to two cycles. in northern ireland, just one. the ivf programme in scotland is expected to cost the nhs around £1 million a year, money which has been put aside already. the public health minister says the changes make access to ivf treatment in scotland the fairest and most generous in the uk. the authorities in hungary are ready to start transferring asylum seekers to container camps on the border with serbia. the prospect of being held there has already put off some migrants and refugees from transiting the country. the camps have also attracted criticism and could be delayed by rulings in the european court of human rights. nick thorpe reports from the hungarian—serbian border.

this container camp is still empty. there is space here for 250 asylum seekers. so far, it is home to just two families. the government says it is locking them up to close a loophole, to stop those who seek asylum in hungary slipping away, deeper into europe. but detaining asylum seekers automatically is illegal. they should never become illegal, but they are treated as if they were illegal, from the first moment. whereas the european union's law requires to accept that they have a right to stay until the first decision, they are treated, first as if they are illegal, second as if they had not entered hungary. call it a reception centre, call it a container camp, by building it the hungarian authorities have issued a direct challenge to the international community.

no—one can tell us, they say, how to deal with asylum seekers. yes, this is our food warehouse, one of two that we have... just across the serbian border, volunteers provide food to refugees. they used to rest here on their way to hungary, now they are looking for alternative routes. this is a time of experimentation. the refugees in serbia, i think, are trying to see if there are any better routes, trying the croatian border, the romanian border, and many have gone back to belgrade to get a rest. in a ruined brick factory on the edge of the town, this pakistani refugee contemplates his next move. maybe i will try from the croatian side, from the romanian side, because this border is now totally closed. they built another fence there, which is why it is a problem for us. hungary, at great cost, has sealed its southern border, so zarar and his friends plan to travel through romania instead. two million people are set

for a pay rise today, as the national living wage goes up to £7.50 an hour. the change has been broadly welcomed by unions. but employers have expressed concern about the strain of additional costs, as our business correspondent, joe lynam, reports. 23—year—old lewis davidson is already paid more than the national living wage by his employer. lewis certainly notice is the difference from his previous company. i was struggling for money. it was a big concern for me. it was very much go to work, come back, spent the night in front of the telly. now i can afford to have a social life, and i can afford to do stuff in my local area. enjoy myself a bit more. from today, all workers over 25 must be paid at least £7.50 per hour. if you work a full week,

you will now get at least £281.25. employers are worried. many of our members were already paying staff more than the national living wage, but for those that were not, it is adding significant costs to their businesses, around £900 per year. on average, and a further £120 per year with the knock—on consequences for national insurance payments as well. much of that cost will be absorbed by the businesses themselves rather than passing it on as higher prices. and that is not the only change. controversial new business rates come into force today. while most companies will be paying less, some, especially in the south—east will be facing much higher bills, and a new system for calculating car taxes starts. hybrid car owners will be paying more than they did. two people are now known to have died and tens of thousands of australians remain stranded following the aftermath of cyclone debbie earlier this week. more than 100,000 homes were left without power and six large rivers were still rising in several areas, causing the authorities to order more evacuations.

the state of queensland is expecting record levels of flooding next week. the two deaths were confirmed by the prime minister late on friday night. we have had two fatalities, two women in new south wales have died as a result of these floods. our thoughts and prayers are with their families. this is going to be a tough time for them, but the important thing is, everyone should stay safe, take care, look out for your family, look out for your neighbours, but do not go into those flooded waters. that is the most dangerous part of these natural disasters, getting caught up floodwaters, as we have seen. the prime minister of australia,

malcolm turnbull. curling is one of team gb's most successful winter 0lypmic sports. but that's all thanks to scotland. in the future, though, they could be getting help from south of the border. mike's been to a farm in kent where they've built england's first dedicated curling rink. where once they milked cows, they are farming a new breed. down in kent, the garden of england, they are milking something very rare outside of scotland, curling talent of the future. it is all thanks to a farmer who moved here from scotland and brought the game with him. now staff here split their time between farming, the remaining animals and tending to the ice. it was really because there was nothing in england, i came down from scotland, where curling was something that all the family did and all the neighbours did. it was really a community thing. i always say, when i had the cows, they made a mess, they did not make any money. i brought the curlers in, they make a mess and they still don't make any money! but he has stirred the passion for the sport in southern england, helping to nurture future

curling stars who could one day help the scots to strengthen the british team. at the moment this is the only dedicated purpose—built curling rink outside of scotland, but later this year, another one will open in preston, in lancashire. it's such a simple game, pushing a rock up the ice. it slides up. at any level you can enjoy it. it is straight, but it could be short. annabel has a lot of sweeping to do there. it's actually straighter than i thought it was going to be. next year's winter olympics will be the first to feature a mixed doubles competition. not sure i will be getting the nod from annabel or any of the young curlers here, though. i really like sliding. you have to have a very specific technique to get it right. it takes time to perfect. it's definitely all down to tactics, it comes down to knowing what the opposition is thinking and where you can put your stones to win the game. they do say this game is like chess, so i am going to give annabel a couple of tactical signals.

the great thing about this sport is you don't need to be able to ice skate. it's one of the few ice sports where you don't need any skating ability to take part. myjob is to sweep as soon as they say sweep. here we go, to try to get it the extra few feet and centimetres. get it into the circle. come on, knock the other stone away. that is our own stone! you don't need to be a typical athlete to get involved with curling. there are lots of different types of curlers, and it is a great sport because there is individual skill involved, but you need to play as a team. in this sport, it is never quite over until the last stone. the artist gilbert baker, who created the rainbow flag that became an international symbol for gay rights, has died. he was 65. baker was asked to come up with a flag design for the lgbt community in 1978 by harvey milk,

who was california's first openly gay elected official. bob dylan will finally accept his nobel prize for literature in stockholm today. the american singer won the award in october but failed to travel to pick it up or deliver the lecture that is required to receive the prize fund of around £700,000. if he doesn't fulfil the conditions byjune, he will have to forfeit his winnings. people living in 0rkney enjoy the best quality of life of any rural area in the uk, according to a new survey. the study by the bank of scotland praised the islands for their stunning scenery, low crime rates and good choice of pubs. it is the first time they have topped the poll, having jumped from 46th last year. they beat wychavon in the west midlands into second place. time for a look at the weather now, here's tomasz schafernaker. todayis

today is going to be one of these days where we quite often use the classic phrase, a mixed bag. it is otherwise known as sunshine and showers. there is a real mixture of weather on the way. some of us will miss the rain together, others will be caught in downpours with ha ilstones be caught in downpours with hailstones and thunder. the showers will be dotted anywhere around the uk today. it will be cool because of the cloud and the showers. in the sunshine, up to 16 degrees in london. more like 14 degrees for most of us. the showers will clear to leave dry night morning. temperatures will be around 5 degrees in the north to seven or 8 degrees in the north to seven or 8 degrees in the site. sunday promises to be sunny. no showers in the forecast, drive from dusk until dawn. there might be the odd shower developing a eastern parts, but overall, it is a fine day. good afternoon. this is bbc news.

the headlines. the uk says it will stand up for the interests of gibraltar at the territory accused spain of using brexit to forward its territorial aims. research says that nearly half the people who use the government help to buy scheme to buy a house did not need it. bbc news learns that only 5% of prison staff in england and wales will get new pay allowa nces in england and wales will get new pay allowances of up to £5,000. sport now and the full round—up from the bbc sports centre. this isjohn watson. the merseyside derby between liverpool and everton at anfield kicks off the premier league action. both sides are missing key players. no adam lallana orjordan henderson for the home side, but roberto firmino and philippe coutinho in the side after returning from international duty with brazil. mason holgate replaces the injured seamus coleman for everton and

defender matty pennington starts in a three—man central defence for the visitors. lu ka ku will a three—man central defence for the visitors. lukaku will be a major threat for the away side with 21 goals. he is the top goal—scorer in the league this season. tiger woods will play no part in golf‘s first major of the year, the masters after pulling out of next week's tournament with ongoing fitness issues. he says he is not tournament ready as he continues his struggles with his back. he has been sidelined for 15 months. he returned to action earlier this year. he won his first major at the masters 20 yea rs his first major at the masters 20 years ago. in a statement on his website, he says, i will not be competing, i did everything i could to play, but my rehabilitation did not allow me time to get tournament ready. i have no timetable for my return, but i will continue my diligent

effort to recover, and we'll get back out there as soon as for. roger federer will play rafa nadal in the final of the miami open tomorrow. he beat nick kyrgios over three tough sets, each went to a tie—break. the 18 time major winner won the decisive third, and continues his good start the, having won 18 of 19 matches in 2017. the final will be a repeat of