this is bbc news. these are the top stories developing at 11am. a seamless border — the government prepares to set out its aims for a post—brexit frontier between northern ireland and the republic. yes, there is work to do and that's why we have also said that we think an interim period is required so there isn't a sudden shift, a sudden cliff edge, with all of the uncertainties and that means. i'm live on the border in county durham. the government says it wants to keep the movement of people and goods across the border as easily as possible. the unemployment rate falls to the lowest level since 1975 — but real wages also drop. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville. if you look at both sides, i think

there's blame on both sides. and i have no doubt about it and you don't have no doubt about it and you don't have any doubt about it either. rising pressure on care homes — the number of places in england for people with substantial needs will need to rise by a third in ten years, a study warns. also — the royal navy's new flagship arrives home. the 65,000—tonne hms queen elizabeth — the navy‘s biggest ever warship — sails into her new berth in portsmouth. britain truly has the best sailors, marines and officers in the world andi marines and officers in the world and i believe you deserve the very best equipment. that is what we have with hms queen elizabeth. and the name is great, daniel craig. the actor confirms he will return as james bond for a fifth and final time. good morning.

it's wednesday 16th august. i'm rebecca jones. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the government has said it does not want border posts between northern ireland and the republic after brexit. a document, published later today, will say ministers back a "seamless" border so people and goods can move freely. but critics maintain there are no credible details on how an open border could be maintained. in a moment we will talk to our ireland correspondent chris page, who is at the border. first to westminster and our political correspondent ben wright. tell us more about the proposals. this is the fourth formal position

paper the government are sharing with eu negotiators. it is one of the key issues they want resolving, before talks can go much further and look at the future relationship between the eu and the uk. both sites are aware of how potent and difficult decision will be. what to do in terms of trade and goods and migration, along the only land border that will exist between the uk and eu after brexit. both sides have strict aspirations about where they want is to end up. they don't wa nt they want is to end up. they don't want a hard ball. they want is to end up. they don't wanta hardball. —— they want is to end up. they don't want a hardball. —— both sides have shared aspirations. they want to protect the good friday agreement. james brokenshire has sketched out the kinds of things that the government is looking for and how they think they can be found. today's paper makes it very clear that the uk government doesn't want to see any infrastructure, border posts, at the border

between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. why does this matter? because of the way that people live their lives. the whole issue of the politics and how much progress we've made over so many years. i'm not wanting to see that going backwards. today's paper sets out a number of details. it builds on the customs papers that we published yesterday. separate proposals in relation to either a streamlined customs arrangement or a new customs partnership. it also looks at regulatory issues. one of the key industries on the island of ireland is agriculture and food. therefore, we are suggesting that we may need to have greater regulatory clearance around that. as well as also goods in transit. it looks at a range of different issues from goods as well as the movement of people and upholding the common travel area, which has served us so well since the 19205. mr brokenshire denied that he was proposing a whole raft of fantasy solutions. he

conceded that this would take some real work and it wasn't difficult. clearly, he thinks there is a path to working this through that can be found. this will depend on a whole jigsaw of issues. the customs questions, questions around regulatory convergence between the uk and eu after brexit. how a free—trade deal might work. all of that will be pouring into the various solutions that the government will be seeking. the outline of where they see this ending up in 3—4 years‘ time, is what we find out today. let‘s find out why the irish border is such a complicated issue. our correspondent chris morris is here to explain the details for us. it's it‘s a very sensitive issue, isn‘t it? it certainly is. all of these brexit issues seem particularly real in northern ireland, arguably the part

of the uk which will be most affected by brexit. and probably standing in northern ireland on the southern shore of a lock and county down. on the other side of the water, that is the republic of ireland. in the past, this castle stood guard over this limit of the sea. there have been any fortifications on the border for some time. in the past, they were customs checks but that ended with european integration in the 1990s. there are also used to be security checks, watchtowers, helicopters often in the sky. for people living in border areas like this, the prospect of any return to border checks brings back some unwelcome memories. that‘s why this issue is so memories. that‘s why this issue is so politically sensitive and why everybody is stressing that they are committed to getting it right. the government says it was a breach in

this, seamless border. the question is whether this can be achieved. there is a customs conundrum here, the uk outside the european customs union, leaving, and the republic of ireland in sight. how do you square that circle? how do you allow goods to cross the border with an old checks, as they do at the moment? —— with no checks. in the paper today, the government sets out a couple of approaches as to how to approach this problem. one would be to have a customs partnership with the european union, where the tariff arrangements on either side by the same, no need for customs checks. the other is what they call a technological solution, a seamless border, some electronic checks on

vehicles and larger traders such cross the border regularly can sign up cross the border regularly can sign up to trusted trader status. smaller businesses, 80% at least of cross—border customs, they could have a extension. all of this depends on negotiations with the european union. how this can be worked out and comply with eu will, the irish government says they welcome the clarity in this paper. critics in the nationalist political parties say that brexit is not going to be good for northern ireland and the majority of people here did not fought for it. many say that the government‘s plans lack of detail. —— did not vote for this. let‘s find out why the irish border is such a complicated issue.

our correspondent chris morris is here to explain the details for us. if they change. when brexit happens, the uk will suddenly have a major land border with the eu. here it is. —— a big change. between northern ireland and the republic of ireland running for 310 miles. during the troubles, there were just 20 official border crossings between northern ireland and the republic. the british army shut down, spiked or cratered the rest. but following the good friday agreement there‘s been rapid change. now there are more than 260 public roads that cross the border. the centre for cross border studies, has estimated that between 23 and 30,000 people cross the border daily for work. while around 170,000 lorries and 1.85m cars are recorded crossing the border each month. which means that every year 31% of northern ireland‘s exports go to the republic, and 27% of its imports come from the republic. so there‘s a lot at stake — delays could lead to huge costs

for business plus there‘s the risk of tax evasion, and various types of smuggling — both of goods and people. but above and beyond that there are massive political issues — creating any kind of hard border would be incredibly sensitive politically — and could do serious damage to the peace process. so what are the possible solutions? well, some new technology that may help the authorities deal with future customs issues already exists. number plate recognition has already replaced toll plazas on the m50 in ireland — it could also be used to help with customs checks. and if you combine smart technology with some pre—clearance and exemptions for local traders, it will help, but it only gets you so far. norway and sweden do manage to avoid long queues at the external border of the customs union, as do switzerland and germany. but these are light—touch borders, they are not invisible ones with no physical infrastructure at all.

so what the uk wants on the irish border is unprecedented. and complicated by history. which is why the government says it‘s crucial to negotiate with the eu on the irish issue and on a future customs relationship at the same time and as soon as possible. donald trump has faced renewed criticism from within his own republican party by again blaming both sides involved in the clashes in virginia last weekend. the us president appeared to distance himself from his own statement a day earlier in which he condemned white supremacists. our washington correspondent david willis reports. he was scheduled to make a statement about infrastructure, only to veer wildly off message and refer to his original assessment of the cause of saturday‘s violence.

i think there is blame on both sides. you look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it, and you don‘t have any doubt about it either. only the nazis...! and, and if you reported it accurately, you would see that. condemned for failing to apportion lame for the violence which left one person dead and more than 30 injured, the president took to the white house on monday to denounce racism and the white supremacist groups that organised the rally. a carefully worded statement which briefly served to cool the embers of outrage, only for the president himself to reignite them 2a hours later. you had a group on one side that was bad and a group on the other side that was also very violent. nobody wants to say that, but i will say it. the remarks prompted sweeping condemnation from leaders of his own party. the speaker of the house

took to twitter to say... a notable source of support came from david duke, the former leader of the ku klux klan. he applauded the president. saturday boots protests were prompted by plans to remove... president trump wondered what would be next. i noticed that stonewall jackson is coming down, i wonder, is

its george washington next week and thomas jefferson the its george washington next week and thomasjefferson the week its george washington next week and thomas jefferson the week after? its george washington next week and thomasjefferson the week after? you have to ask yourself, where does this stop? with police forces around the country bracing for similar protests to the one in charlottesville, there is concern the latest remarks might serve to embolden certain elements at those protests. well, twitter is president trump‘s communication tool of choice, but his predecessor still commands a huge social media presence. so much so this tweet from former president obama is now the most liked post ever. he was responding to the violence in cha rlottesville — the message, quoting nelson mandela, reads... it‘s been liked nearly 3 million times since it was posted on sunday. new figures show that unemployment fell again in the three months tojune. the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, the lowest since 1975. with me is our business

correspondent ben thompson. as ever, some good and bad these numbers. the one that most politicians will look at, the headline rate of inflation is 4.4% the number of people out of work. its lowest level since 1975. let‘s look at the numbers and 109,000, that‘s the number of non—uk nationals coming to work in the uk. a lot has been made about what happens to labour flows after brexit, whether people will still come to the uk, whether it will be easy for them to work. it‘s still an increase but it‘s going up much less than before. it went up by toulouse and 7000 last time. about half the figure system. —— 200 and 7000. the one thing that is important is

wages. they are going up by 2.4%. it sounds like a board and it is a significant jump at yesterday we learned that prices and inflation was going up by 2.6%. there is still a gap and our wages are not quite going up as well as prices are. we still feel worse off and in real terms we are at worse off than we we re terms we are at worse off than we were last year. —— we are 0.5% worse off what about productivity, given the level of unemployment? when unemployment is low, this means that the economy is working properly. you‘d imagine the economy is growing strongly. no one can work out why people are at work but they are not working as hard as before.

they are not creating as much for the economy. that perhaps is related to the fact of low wage increases. nobody is incentivised to do much work as they are not seeing a pay rise. technologies have made us more productive. that has been a boost for productivity but we are seeing that that has tapered off in the league tables of how we can better other developed economies in europe and the united states. also, the received dollars contract issue. that has been discussed a lot. whether people that are on these no guaranteed our contracts —— zero hour contracts. there are now fewer people on these contracts. perhaps more awareness that people have recognised they are on one of these contracts and they don‘t want to be. there are also more pressures on

employers to guarantee work to staff. it's good to .co. thank you. the headlines. the government says that to avoid checkpoints or physical barriers on the average border after brexit is a top priority in its new position paper. unemployment fell to 4.4% in the three months to june. unemployment fell to 4.4% in the three months tojune. but its lowest level since that isn‘t defined. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville. one person was killed. there is a bit to reach the group stages for the first time in three yea rs. stages for the first time in three years. aleksander almond butter, they pulled one back on 87 instant

share a nervy second leg at anfield next week. the champions league qualifiers continue to die. kazakhstan are coming to celtic park. —— qualifiers... she will play france‘s next. she was to defend her european 10,000 metre title next year first. one to defend her european 10,000 metre title next yearfirst. one month to defend her european 10,000 metre title next year first. one month for her 45th birthday. she missed this during her birthday. we‘ll be back after half—past. rescue workers in sierra leone have recovered almost 400 bodies after a massive mudslide near the capital, freetown.

but the authorities fear another 600 are still missing. homes were engulfed by mud and water when part of a mountain collapsed on monday morning. thousands have been left homeless. greg dawson reports. they may still be hoping to find survivors in freetown but the reality is, most of the waiting ambulances are being filled with dead bodies. from here they are taken to one of the city‘s morgues and officials say they are running out of space. outside, people anxiously wait to see if they‘re missing loved ones are inside. authorities are trying to identify as many as they can survey can be given a dignified burial. it‘s believed entire communities were lost to the dilution of mud that raced down the hillsides on monday. new footage shows the panic as raging torrents of water filled up the streets and washed away homes. witnesses describe how families were overwhelmed within a couple of minutes. all these children and women have lost their lives on a single day. can you imagine?

this is a family matter, it affects so many families, this is so heart—wrenching. the death toll is expected to continue to rise. the red cross says it needs more excavation equipment to try and find some of the thousands still unaccounted for. many of those who survived are huddled together at shelters across freetown waiting for supplies of food and clean water. the un is working to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera. the president of sierra leone says his country has suffered a national tragedy and is now depending on international help. the number of care home places in england for older people with substantial needs will need to rise by nearly a third within ten years because of increasing life expectancy. academics at newcastle university say more than 71,000 extra places will be needed by 2025. with me is our health editor, hugh pym. this is only down to the fact we are

living longer? that is a key part of it but what these academics published is to say, you can live longer but you don‘t get healthier. in fact, your health declines. for every year longer you live, there is a greater care need. looking at a range of daytime, they discovered that the number of years when a person needs substantial care, for insta nce person needs substantial care, for instance visit out of order in a ca re instance visit out of order in a care home. that has doubled. that doesn‘t sound a great deal. it is increasing faster than life expectancy. the consequence is that a lot more care is going to be needed. that is where they get the figure of 71,000 extra places, places.

joining me now is sir andrew dilnot, former chair, commission on funding and support. thank you becomes a doctors. this figure of 71,000 extra. does that sound right? i think it is roughly. i don‘t think that the people written the study would say it is exact. the important thing is it is a big increase. they will be more of us, that‘s something we should celebrate. one of the consequences of people living longer is we need more care, quite a bit will probably be in care homes. the places are not there at the moment. how confident are you they can be provided? they can be provided. as a nation, we are perfectly capable of this. we need a plan. at the moment, social here is

ina plan. at the moment, social here is in a crisis. demands to overall funding that has increased. this sector hasn‘t developed as much as we needed to in the future. that is why the consultation that the government is planning but the next few months is crucial. we need a system that delivers the level of funding that is needed to provide the amount of care we need. does that explain... there may be people listening to this and say, why can‘t ca re listening to this and say, why can‘t care homesjust provide more places? finding is the recent at the moment or two way it is structured. finding is the recent at the moment or two way it is structuredlj finding is the recent at the moment or two way it is structured. i think that finding is a crucial part. —— funding. ithink that finding is a crucial part. —— funding. i think part of the problem is that people don‘t want to look forward to this part of lives. we need a funding regime that works. we don‘t have that at the mod. this is something the government is

committed to. it will take serious action over the next months and yea rs. action over the next months and years. when you looked into this issue for the government, you cold for a tax to fund adult social care for a tax to fund adult social care for everybody that he did. we note what happened with the conservative ma nifesto what happened with the conservative manifesto and how plans to fund social care backfired. is it your view that a tax is the only answer or is there another way?|j view that a tax is the only answer or is there another way? i don't think we could call for a tax, we said this was one of the options. what is absolutely creates we need to have more money spent, a cap on the amount individuals themselves are liable for, so that if the worst case happens, they are not faced catastrophic crusts. changes to national insurance contributions will be important. reducing spending is elsewhere, such as winter fuel allowa nce, is elsewhere, such as winter fuel allowance, is feasible. with the

money comes from in the end is a politicaljudgment. money comes from in the end is a political judgment. —— with money comes from in the end is a politicaljudgment. —— with the money comes from. you mentioned about the ongoing government consultation. how confident are you that it will move quickly enough to solve this problem? one of the things we saw during the election campaign is that there is a clear concern across the whole population to get this sorted. it‘s become a politically important issue. i think we can be confident that government is now recognising this and that a consultation will come forward that will lead to action. we need to recognise that this is a difficult set of issues and that action is going to... not straight forward but we need to take some. otherwise, we will face or older life, which should be something we should celebrate, not as well cared for.

thank you for talking to us. we are very grateful. the long—running bin strike in berlin has been suspended after breakthroughs were made in talks between the city council and the unite union. —— in birmingham. birmingham city council, using agency staff and contractors to clear backlog, had accused the refuse workers are holding the city to ransom and said that the district cost £40,000 per day. a homeless man — hailed as a hero for helping victims of the manchester bomb — has been charged in connection with the theft of a bank card in the arena that night. chris parker ran towards the scene of the attack, which killed 22 people. he is appearing in court this morning. meanwhile it‘s been announced that the manchester arena will reopen for the first time since the bombing on the 22nd may, with a benefit concert to honour

those killed in the attack. the we are manchester concert on the 9th of september will feature noel gallagher‘s band. all money raised will go towards establishing a permanent memorialfor will go towards establishing a permanent memorial for the victims of the attack. now, it became known as the "frankenstein dinosaur" — a fossil skeleton that appeared to consist of body parts of unrelated dinosaur species. and scientists were puzzled. until now — they think they‘ve solved the mystery, as our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. in the mountains of chile, researchers discover a dinosaur, the like of which has never been seen before. back in their lab in buenos aires, they carefully cut through the sandstone to find a bizarre skeleton. they named their dinosaur chilesaurus. this animal had a real mix of features from different dinosaurs. its hip bones were like those of plant eaters such as the stegosaurus.

and its arms and body were like meat eaters such as the tyrannosaurus rex. and so chilesaurus became known as the frankenstein dinosaur. but now a british researcher thinks he has solved the mystery. chilesaurus has been revealed to be the missing link between one group of dinosaurs, including the stegosaurus and triceratops, and another group which contains dinosaurs like the tyrannosaurus rex. it really is the missing piece of the puzzle. tyrannosaurus rex and stegosaurus were thought to be in different branches of the dinosaur family tree. but researchers have shown that they are both in the same branch. the frankenstein dinosaur now fits in perfectly as an earlier animal that came before them, which is why its skeleton is a mixture of both. this reassessment is important, because it will radically change the theory of how dinosaurs evolved and split into different groups.

chilesaurus is there at the beginning of one of these big splits. and hopefully, by understanding more about its biology, we will understand what the driving features of those big splits might have been. the skeleton was once a puzzle, but now it might be the key to explain how dinosaurs evolved. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. first we leave you with for a look at the weather. hello. it is not bad out there at the moment. lots of dry weather with some stunning spells. look at this amazing view from north yorkshire. fantastic. cumulus clouds there, a great view. lots of sunshine. not everywhere, though. on the rainfall radar rain is moving into northern ireland and the west of scotland.

that will continue to move its way to radically eastward through the rest of the day, eventually covering all of scotland. a bit of rain in the north—west of england, west wales, south—west of england. most of england and wales dry with sunny spells. temperatures up to 23 degrees. a strong wind here. that wind will transfer its light eastward as that rain continues to march across into eastern areas into thursday morning. many on thursday, a dry day. sunny spells, one or two scattered showers. temperatures 19 to 23. this is bbc newsroom live.

the headlines at 11:30. the uk government has said that it does not want any border posts between the republic of ireland and northern ireland after brexit— ministers will outline their vision ofa ministers will outline their vision of a seamless border shortly. unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months tojune, bringing it to a 42 year low of 4.4% president donald trump continues to face wide criticism, including from many within the republican party, for condemning both sides following the violence at a white

nationalist rally in virginia which left one protestor dead. a report from newcastle university says that the number of care home place will need to increase by a third within ten years as life expectancy rises. let‘s find out what‘s been going on in the sport. liverpool beat hoffenheim 2—1 in their champions league first leg play—off, as they bid to reach the group stages for the first time in three years. they were leading 2—0 courtesy of an own goal, but hoffenheim pulled one back on 87 minutes to ensure a nervy second leg at anfield next week. how about this as a way to mark yourself on the world stage? substitute james milner thought he had got it as it was awarded as an

own goal. if somebody would have told me that i would have won tonight, i would‘ve taken each result, even 8—7. i am tonight, i would‘ve taken each result, even 8—7. iam happy tonight, i would‘ve taken each result, even 8—7. i am happy about the result, yes. i am not overly happy about the gold they scored. i think they deserved a goal. everton have agreed a deal to sign swansea striker. it will become the record signing for everton, overtaking jordan pickford. williams has left

arsenal to go to reading women. as well as picking up a record 165 caps for her country. and jo pavey says she wants to defend her european 10,000 metres title next year, a month before her 45th birthday. pavey missed the athletics world championships in london through injury but says she has no plans to retire. she has ruled out competing in australia at the commonwealth games. simon middleton has made a number of changes in the pool b decider. middleton continues to rotate his

squad. middleton is the only player to have started every match so far. both sides are unbeaten and the winner of the match will automatically qualify for the semifinals in belfast. johanna konta is preparing well at the warm—up event for the us open. she‘s through to the third round of the cincinatti open after beating kiki bertens of the netherlands in straight sets. she‘ll play france‘s alize cornet next. she continues her preparation for the final grand slam of the year which is the us open which starts at the end of the month. the former one—day captain has criticised the views of the pink ball. he said it becomes as soft as plastic after a few overs. one man hoping to get to grips with it is chris woakes who is

getting back after being injured.” haven‘t experienced it much, but it did move a bit. that is the time to bowl. you will have to bat under those conditions. the more you get used to it in these practice sessions, the better for used to it in these practice sessions, the betterfor us. it is a bit unknown as to how it reacts, we will find out. that‘s all the sport for now — we‘ll have more on the bbc news channel throughout the day. more now on our top story. the government has said it does not want border posts between northern ireland and the republic after brexit. a document, published later today, will say ministers back a "seamless" border so people and goods can move freely. i‘m joined via webcam by david cullinane, who is sinn fein‘s brexit spokesman in the republic of ireland. grateful for your time, gratefulfor your time, thank grateful for your time, thank you. would you agree with the british government that it is important that there is no kind of borderfor any

purpose after brexit?” there is no kind of borderfor any purpose after brexit? i think there is reality to what is being proposed by the british government. let‘s be clear, this british government is attempting to take northern ireland out of the european union, the customs union and the single murky outside of the will of the people who voted to remain within the european union. coming out of the european union. coming out of the european union. coming out of the european union and that you would have an open border is nonsense, it isa have an open border is nonsense, it is a fantasy. what we will have is a border and a border between the north of ireland and the european union and britain. that is a com pletely u na cce pta ble union and britain. that is a completely unacceptable thing which will be a eu frontier. it is incompatible with many of the agreements of the good friday agreement. there is no good brexit for ireland, there is no eu frontier for ireland, there is no eu frontier for ireland. to suggest that there will be no suggestions of the

movement of goods and people is a nonsense. what about norway and sweden? that as an example of where there is a border where one country is in the european union and one is out. that works well. what would work perfectly well is that the british government recognises that the majority of the people in northern ireland recognises that the majority voted to stay. we want special status for the north with and the european union. that is best for ireland. why would an irish government and the irish people take a step backwards? that is a retrograde step. that is what we are being asked to do. an eu frontier creates difficulties and challenges for businesses, trade, border support and also for the all ireland

economy and the good friday agreement. why would we go backwards? all of this is to do with the infighting in the british tory party and to placate different elements within the tory party. there are elements of trying to use the unique circumstances of ireland to gain leverage fray wider customs union. that is unacceptable. we want the british government and the european union to respect the mandate of the people of northern ireland to stay with the european union for the entire ireland of ireland to be within the european union as an unit and for us not to have to deal with the negative effects of brexit. as it stands, the uk is leaving the european union so thatis uk is leaving the european union so that is what most people voted for. we will have to work with how it is

at present. would a virtual border make you happier? you talked about norway and sweden, if the political will was there, i think that is the best possibility. it is the only logical outcome because we are not going to be told by a british government that there will be no consequences for trade, for the movement of goods and services, that we have an open border, only to find out that it is untested, impossible. the european union will want to protect its border. we have a responsibility here in ireland to stand up for the interests of the irish people. people in britain can ta ke irish people. people in britain can take their own positions in all of these matters, but we have to stand up these matters, but we have to stand upfor ireland. these matters, but we have to stand up for ireland. it does not make any sense for one part to be in and out of the eu and one part out. we have

an interested stand up for the people in the north. the majority of the people voted to remain, so why can that not be supported and accepted can that not be supported and a cce pted by can that not be supported and accepted by the british government and by the european union? the only viable solution, the only sustainable solution is that you have status in the north with the european union. we are grateful for your time. britain‘s new aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth, has arrived at her new home in portsmouth on the south coast of england. the 65,000 tonne carrier is the biggest warship ever to be built in britain but it‘s not been without its critics. one issue is that the carrier will remain without aircraft until flying trials are conducted in america next year. duncan kennedy‘s report does contain some flashing images. there‘s never been a royal navy vessel like it. 65,000 tonnes, the length of three football pitches and eventually enough firepower to place

us amongst the world maritime heavyweights. first conceived nearly 20 years ago, it has taken 10,000 people eight years to actually construct the queen elizabeth. as high as nelson‘s column, it‘s a vessel that‘s launched 1000 statistics. enough deck space to park 1200 minis, 8000 kilometres of fibre—optic cable, oven capacity to bake 1000 loaves a day. the basic crew will be just 679 strong, much less than previous carriers. all living among decks that include wi—fi, access to a cinema and a full operating theatre. critics say the carrier has cost more than £3 billion. it doesn‘t have a clearly defined role. the government says it will be

a demonstration of british power around the world. speaking on board in portsmouth, theresa may said the country would look to the carrier with pride. this is the biggest and most complex war ship ever built for the royal navy. to test the 17 million components is a big job for the sailors. the fact that she came into port ahead of schedule is testament to hard work involved. as the first generation of sailors have a special privilege and responsibility. you will set the standards for those who come afterwards. decades from now, when the ship is on duty protecting our security, you will be able to look

back on pride and whole country is proud of you. we can cross to duncan kennedy, who‘s live in portsmouth for us now. hello. you join us live for the first time on the deck of the queen elisabeth. this has never been done on television before and i will cite the step to one side and you will get a sense of the scale of this whole aircraft carrier. you are looking at one of two towers, this unique design, the first tower on the right is where all the aircraft will be operated from, like a control tower, and the one in the distance is where the ship will be navigated from and where the captain, commodore kid, will dry the ship. it has ever been done before that kind of design, but they felt that kind of design, but they felt

that the designs were getting so, located they would split it up. one amazing fact, the windscreen wipers on those windows up there are two and a half metres long. to give you and a half metres long. to give you an idea of the scale of this vessel. look down, you can see a ramp there. the whole deck is an equivalent of three football pitches end to end and as somebody put it earlier today, it would take you saying bolton 30 seconds to run this entire deck, to give you an idea of how big it is. -- deck, to give you an idea of how big it is. —— usain bolt. the way the british government sees this is that this is a show of power in an uncertain world. in the future we won‘t be able to stand here because we will be in the way of some state—of—the—art jets that the we will be in the way of some state—of—the—artjets that the royal

navyis state—of—the—artjets that the royal navy is purchasing. not yet available, undergoing training in the united states. the first of those planes will be landing on this deck at the end of next year. not even the deck is conventional on this brand—new carrier, it is a thing of the past where there were cata pults thing of the past where there were catapults to propel the plains of an arresting wires to catch them when they tried to land. that has gone on this aircraft carrier. that is why these jets are able to have short and vertical take—offs. these jets are able to have short and vertical ta ke—offs. they these jets are able to have short and vertical take—offs. they can do it by themselves. theresa may saying it by themselves. theresa may saying it isa it by themselves. theresa may saying it is a projection of power and influence in the world. at the —— as you has done have also been hearing is there are critics to this. this is there are critics to this. this isa £3.1 is there are critics to this. this is a £3.1 billion aircraft carrier, another one coming down the stream in two years time, a sister ship,

the prince of wales, and others saying that despite what the prime minister was saying that they can‘t quite see a role for this amount of firepower in the hands of the united kingdom. historic day for the navy. they are incredibly excited about this new addition to their sleet, but a new sleet not without its critics. you have talked us very impressively in terms of the memory through all these facts and figures, but can you give us a sense of what it is like to be there and on boarded? we have just come through the decks to get to this take—off platform, four and a half acre mobile floating enfield and the first send you get is a smell of being ina first send you get is a smell of being in a brand—new car. when you have been on ships before it is oily and dirty, but this really does have the new feel to it. the smell is what you first get. when you climb through the staircase, do you see the 8000 kilometres of fibre—optic

cable. you see the brand—new equipment in amongst the news. computer technology on board this city 5000 tonne ship. it is got a cinema, a bakery, they store 10,000 tins of beans on here to feed the 679 crew, although even that number, commodore kid the man who is the captain of the ship, says that might not be enough. a day of superlatives and statistics and a day of history. thank you, duncan. ina in a moment, a summary of the business news. here are the headlines. the government has said it does not want any border posts between northern ireland and the republic of ireland in its new position paper on brexit. unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months

to june, official figures show, bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4% — its lowest since 1975. wages are not going up enough to catch up with rising prices. wages are not going up enough to catch up with rising prices. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville during which one person was killed. the business news: unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months tojune, according to the latest officialfigures. that brings the jobless rate down to 4.4%, its lowest since 1975. but earnings still aren‘t keeping pace with rising prices. average weekly earnings rose by 2.1% compared with a year earlier. but with inflation at 2.6%, we‘re still feeling the squeeze on our incomes. royal bank of scotland is to cut more than 800 itjobs as part of a major reorganisation.

the bank, which is 72% owned by the taxpayer, says it‘s considering changes to its operating model that would lead to a cut in itjobs. rbs says the move is necessary to becomes a simpler, smaller bank focused on the uk and ireland. uk unemployment has fallen to a new 42—year low. the jobless rate has fallen to to 4.4%, but wages still aren‘t rising enough to catch up with rising prices, and so the squeeze on real incomes continues. joining us now is steve bell, chief economist, at bmo global asset management. first of all, your thoughts on the headline rate, falling to 4.4%, war people in work. great news on jobs. —— more. not so good news on pay.

pay is inching up. slower than inflation. the reason for that is that the pound has fallen a lot in the last year and you are spending pounds that are worth less, so whether you are on holiday abroad or buying an imported good, you are being squeezed. it is not a rising employers aren‘t putting up wages because they don‘t have that in profit. what it means is that we can run this economy with low unemployment, good news. good news is that more is in work, but that is is that more is in work, but that is is we‘re not getting paid more. we are half a percent worse. it doesn‘t sound like a lot, but it affects our pocket quite a lot. it is a squeeze. anyone paying for rail fares is going to find out as we heard from the news yesterday, it will be squeezed again. even when this one of affects of a lower pound dropped out of the index, the rate at which

the overall economic pie is dropping, that has slowed. it seems to be permanent. we can look forward to be permanent. we can look forward to getting back to real pay increases. they won‘t be that big. the good news is onjob, the bad news is the pay packet isn‘t going up. whenever i talk about average earnings going up, the first thing, the biggest response, is about not having a pay rise in the letter x amount of years. some people are getting pay rises, but not a huge amount. the average covers a multitude of sins, but it is still the best way to judge it. multitude of sins, but it is still the best way tojudge it. i can remember periods where pay was more resilient, but unemployment soared and you had a big divide between those in and out of work. although there are divergences, they are rather less. everyone is being squeezed, nearly everyone, pay is

not going up, it is going up slower than inflation, but i think it is much better to have that combination, people can get a job, people in work aren‘t getting paid much more than the reverse. winners and losers, as always. good to see you, thanks will being here. that‘s what the markets are doing. it means the economy is functioning as it should. we‘re not producing as much as maybe we should be and that means that wages aren‘t really going up. that‘s all the business news. actor daniel craig has confirmed he will play the lead role in the nextjames bond film. various names had been rumoured to replace him, such as tom hiddleston, idris elba, tom hardy, james norton. however, in an interview on america‘s the late show, the actor quashed all the rumours with his announcement that he would return for his fifth and final appearance as the spy. the film is due to be

released in 2019. craig succeeded pierce brosnan as bond and made his debut in casino royale in 2006. let‘s get reaction to this with ajay choudry from the james bond international film club. hejoins me now. look here, daniel craig has said he would rather slashes wrists then play james bond again, would rather slashes wrists then playjames bond again, what would rather slashes wrists then play james bond again, what has would rather slashes wrists then playjames bond again, what has made him change his mind? i'm sure he would rather slashes risks —— his wrists then remember that comment. it will was like running a marathon and then having to remember the picture. he is the most critically acclaimed actor to play james picture. he is the most critically acclaimed actor to playjames bond and the worldwide audiences clamouring for a new bond film and for him to return in the fifth 007 film. he will be excellent. his bond in iraq reinvented the franchise and took over from what had been an incredibly successful series. daniel

craig represents a bond of our time and this year we‘ll lost so roger moore, the first bond, who would also representative of his time. the third bond, wasn‘t he? also representative of his time. the third bond, wasn't he? he was the first bond to pass away. he represented in passing.” first bond to pass away. he represented in passing. i think it isa represented in passing. i think it is a microcosm of our time and our cultural heritage. that is key to ours excess. the villains are representative of our time. do you think he was always going to make a fifth film and that all the rumours and speculation around possible su ccesso rs and speculation around possible successors was a waste of time? do you think he had been hanging on for more money? i havejust co-written you think he had been hanging on for more money? i have just co-written a 700 page biography ofjames bond films and we chart the history of when a bond actor changes. sean connery said never again twice,

pierce brosnan was going to do a fifth bond film, he never did it. this regulation as to how many someone this regulation as to how many someone will do is part of the tradition of bond films and the franchise. i don‘t know whether daniel craig was always going to do one. certainly, he was a co—producer one. certainly, he was a co—producer on the last film, specter. the daniel craig, there is no artistic considerations —— there is an artistic consideration. will this script be good and the director? i think they have fallen in place. i think they have fallen in place. i think there is always a risk in any actor playing a james bond film. the bond actor is part of the big team, michael g wilson and others have been producing the films for a long time. the writers, this is their seventh bond film. roger moore said that the actor playing bond is the diamond within the setting. daniel

craig is safe in that. the team have been doing it. it is the reason why the james bond films adi rolls—royce of franchises. time to have a look at the weather. thank you. good morning. a lovely day across much of england and wales. good sunny spells out there. check out this fantastic shot in north yorkshire. lots of blue skies, sunshine, cirrus cloud, cumulus. it is not sunny for all others because there is rain moving its way into there is rain moving its way into the west of scotland at the moment. this rain will continue to move a radically eastward through the rest of the afternoon. eventually, we will see some spots of rain in cumbria, anglesey, pembrokeshire, cornwall. for central and eastern parts of england, staying dry with those sunny spells. 20 or 23 degrees, that cooler further north and west. that is because of a

strong wind. that wind and rain will eventually moved to all parts overnight tonight. it will linger in the south and east and then it will clear. a dry day with some sunny spells, maximum temperatures up to about 19 or 20 degrees. one or two showers around across central areas. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday. "a seamless border" — the government prepares to set out its aims for a post—brexit frontier between northern ireland and the republic. yes, there is work to do and that‘s why we have also said that we think an interim period is required so there isn‘t a sudden shift, a sudden cliff edge, with all of the uncertainties that means. i live on the border placement. the

government hasjust i live on the border placement. the government has just published its paper. it brings that the movement of people and goods across the border can be made as free as possible. critics say this is not going to work. the unemployment rate falls to the lowest level since 1975 — but real wages also drop. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville. if you look at both sides, i think there‘s blame on both sides. and i have no doubt about it and you don‘t have any doubt about it either. rising pressure on care homes — the number of places in england for people with substantial needs will need to rise by a third in ten years, a study warns. also — the royal navy‘s new flagship arrives home. the 65,000—tonne hms queen elizabeth, the navy‘s biggest ever warship, sails into her new berth in portsmouth. britain truly has the best sailors,

marines and officers in the world and i believe you deserve the very best equipment. that is what we have with hms queen elizabeth. and the name‘s craig, daniel craig, as the actor confirms he will return as james bond for a fifth and final time. good afternoon. it‘s wednesday 16th august. i‘m rebecca jones. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the government has said it does not want border posts between northern ireland and the republic after brexit. it says that it needs an unprecedented solution. in the last

few moments, a position paper stresses the need to avoid physical border checks and protect the good friday agreement and common travel area. critics maintain there are no credible details on how and open the border can be maintained. in a moment we will talk to our europe correspondent adam fleming and our ireland correspondent chris page, who is at the border. first to westminster and our political correspondent alex forsyth. this paper has just been published. watmore have we learned? here it is. it isa watmore have we learned? here it is. it is a hefty document. it is the first real insight into what the government hopes to achieve. as you say, the priority for the government is avoiding any hard border between northern ireland and the republic, maintaining the elements and protecting good friday agreement and common travel area. we are led to believe that the government thinks

it is tried to set out a form technical blueprint for this but rather is talking about broad principles. —— the government thinks it is too early to set out a form technical blueprint. it might been that small and medium—sized businesses are exempt from customs system. the government is clear that there should be no new border checks from the citizens travelling through the common travel area into the uk but that there will be a future immigration system that will offer control for e europe migrants. we heard earlier from james brokenshire, the northern ireland secretary. the immigration policy is more than what has happened at the border. of course, there are relationships with the irish government on the common travel area. but also, the ability to work,

abilities access public services and open bank accounts. as we move forward for the approach, we will see net migration and the pressures from it are reduced. we will follow through on our commitments on seeing the sustainable system in our long—term interest. the sustainable system in our long-term interest. more details expected on the proposed immigration system with an immigration bill later in the autumn. a couple of other points from this paper. the government suggests it will continue to fund the peace programme that says it doesn‘t have any wider implications for its position on an overall financial settlement with the eu. this is still subject to negotiations. also, in terms of food standards, one suggestion is that the uk could align with eu standards. that poses questions with

whether the uk can afford deals with other countries if they don‘t comply. —— can make deals with other countries. it cost now to chris page, our island correspondent. we are getting more detail. can you give us more of a sense of how a frictionless order can be achieved if the united kingdom is not leaving the customs union. that is the key question. i'm on the border in county down. this stretch of water is known as narrow water. it is pretty blustery today but the attention of people in britain and ireland is on the international frontier and how it can be kept as open as possible.

everybody involved has agreed that is the aim. the practicalities and the legalities could get very, get in. the key issue is customs. —— could get fairly contradicted. customs post were phased out when the european single market came into effect in the 1990s. these days, the border is pretty much invisible. if there was any new border checks, even just customs text, not security installations, to many people it would bring back bad memories of difficult times during the conflict. one of the eye—catching proposals in the government‘s paper is that there might be exception from customs together for small might be exception from customs togetherfor small and might be exception from customs together for small and medium—sized businesses. you see vans driving across—the—board all day. businesses. you see vans driving across—the—boa rd all day. 80% businesses. you see vans driving across—the—board all day. 80% of cross—border trade is taken up by

small to medium—sized businesses. that could be one way of addressing the problem. larger traders could perhaps work under a trusted trade system, the register online, technology is used to monitor goods. this is part of the negotiating progress and the government is clear that the outcome will depend on how the top score with the european union‘s remaining member states. the top score with the european union's remaining member states. we are joined union's remaining member states. we arejoined now from brussels. the eu has based the future of the irish border one of its main priorities before any talks on a trade deal can start. what issues will it be particularly looking for? the european commission has made progress on the irish situation, along with citizens rights and financial obligations, one of the

three priority issues we do has to be sufficient progress made so the drugs can move on to trade and the future relationship with the eu. —— sold the talks can move on. we‘ve just had a statement from the european commission and they say that they welcome the fact the uk government is publishing a series of position papers, including this one, they say it means the dogs can get started. they say they want there to bea started. they say they want there to be a big political agreement about the future of the border, the good friday agreement and the common travel area before talking about the real nitty—gritty of technical solutions like number plate scanning and where to have safety checks. in terms of what the eu wants, they wa nt to terms of what the eu wants, they want to preserve these things but are also worried about usual things like the idea that britain and northern ireland could be, part of a back door channel for cheaper and

lower quality goods to make their way into the eu and undercutting the eu model. the worried about that and animal health, livestock and food products crossing the border and making sure they stick to eu standards. those other properties they have for the talks about ireland and northern ireland. —— those are the parts they have. we will get an eu position on this but i don‘t think it‘ll be because the 28th of august. —— will be before the 28th of august. various people involved in the eu side have spoken about, the leader of the european parliament on exit, he says that an invisible border is fantasy. he is

quite an extreme voice in this debate. he is the representative for the european parliament, coordinating the european parliament possible response to brexit. they tend to be as eu as you can get. the other member states, the countries of the eu, are sometimes more nuanced. the fact is that the eu is clear about these points i mentioned earlier. it does not want a back doorfor cheap goods earlier. it does not want a back door for cheap goods into the earlier. it does not want a back doorfor cheap goods into the eu. they want to protect that aspect of feedback we want. that point about animaland feedback we want. that point about animal and plant safety, which might not seem important, but is a big dealfor the eu. a lot of not seem important, but is a big deal for the eu. a lot of goodwill, as described yesterday, about finding a solution to the situation on the island of ireland. everybody represented your realises it‘s a special case because it affects people‘ to day lives and the future

of the peace process. —— people‘s day—to—day lives. it has notjust been given a bog—standard working party, like other separation issues, it‘s been given a continuing dialogue between two very senior figures, the top civil servant from britain and the deputy in brussels. the eu says that a stigma aboutjust how important that issue is to the whole of the brexit process. —— says thatis whole of the brexit process. —— says that is an indication ofjust how important. you can get all the details you need on the government‘s position on the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland on our website. more reaction here on the channel, so stay with us. new figures show that unemployment fell again in the three months tojune. the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, the lowest since 1975. there‘s also been a sharp slowdown in the number of non—uk nationals adding to the workforce here.

with me is our business correspondent ben thompson. as ever, some good with bad these numbers. i'll i‘ll start with the good. the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%. the lowest level since 1975. it was previously 4.5%. some reductions. that is the bit that all the politicians will talk about and they claim is down to their policies. if you delve down into these numbers, it starts to get more interesting. the number of non—uk nationals working in the uk. this is a big issue to do with brexit. that went up issue to do with brexit. that went up by issue to do with brexit. that went up by100 and issue to do with brexit. that went up by 100 and 9000. that‘s interesting because worst it‘s still up, it is a much slower pace of increase. before that, it was nearly doubled the number. not astonishing given as to why, maybe brexit, remember these people are coming

from outside the eu as well. —— not any confirmation as to why. average wage going up by 2.1%. that is quite significant, one of the highest in a long time, but crucially we had the inflation figures yesterday. this is going up by 2.6%. there is still a gap, we will feel more squeezed in our pocket. over the course of the year, we are about 7.5% worse off this year than last. it is taking a dent on what we have in our pocket. -- 0.5% dent on what we have in our pocket. —— 0.5% worse off. we have been talking about zero—hours contract. there has been pressure on employers to reduce them. issues related to wear wages are not keeping up with

the rise in prices and we will keep an eye on this. many thanks. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the government has said it does not want any border posts between northern ireland and the republic of ireland in its new position paper on brexit. unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months to june, official figures show, bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4% — its lowest since 1975. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville during which one person was killed. let‘s find out what‘s been going on in the sport. hello. thank you very much. liverpool beat hoffenheim 2—1 in their champions league first leg play—off, as they bid to reach the group stages for the first time in three years.

it's it‘s now the turn of celtic. they host the kazakhstan champions asta na. host the kazakhstan champions astana. they knocked a stand out in qualifying last season. they are just two games away from a lucrative space in the group stage of your‘s premier club competition. space in the group stage of your‘s premier club competitionm space in the group stage of your‘s premier club competition. if you think of the consequence of that, you might not sleep. you have to approach it as another game. there isa approach it as another game. there is a huge consequence but the only way through it is by staying focused. stay in the present and what you have to do. everton have agreed to sign a swa nsea everton have agreed to sign a swansea player. they will pay £45 million. he is from iceland and would be everton‘s record signing, beating the deal ofjordan pickford.

williams won the fa women‘s cup with arsenal last year and has played for everton and liverpool. she has picked up a record 165 caps for her country. and jo pavey says she wants to defend her european 10,000 metres title next year, a month before her 45th birthday. she became the oldest woman to claim european gold when she won it a a few years ago. pavey missed the athletics world championships in london through injury but says she has no plans to retire. she has ruled out competing in australia at the commonwealth games. england women head coach simon midland has made changes to the starting. middleton continues to rotate his

squad. daniel waterman is the only player who has started every world cup match so for. both sides are unbeaten and is able to automatically qualify if they win. that‘s all the sport for now — we‘ll have more on the bbc news channel throughout the day. the government has said it does not wa nt the government has said it does not want border posts between it northern ireland and the republic of ireland after brexit. a document that has just been published says that has just been published says that the government supports a sea mless that the government supports a seamless border. would you agree with the government that it would you agree with the government thatitis would you agree with the government that it is important there is no border of any kind after brexit.

that it is important there is no border of any kind after brexitm is certainly in the interests of both to have no border and have a customs union. naturally, the uk is one of our biggest trading partners. asa one of our biggest trading partners. as a consequence, one of our biggest trading partners. as a consequence, it is important to us as a consequence, it is important to us that we maintain, as far as possible, the most seamless border possible, the most seamless border possible or if possible low border. we have to balance that off with the needs of the european state. there isa needs of the european state. there is a clear balance of needs between ireland as an eu member state and as an island. as a customs and straight over. in terms of the border, how do you think these needs can be balanced? you think these needs can be balanced ? there‘s you think these needs can be balanced? there‘s been talk of a virtual border than a physical border post. the looks as though what we need to do, the eu

commission has said this in the last 20 minutes, we need a political solution for a technical solution. i agree. you‘ve never looked at such an advanced border before. there are over 400 border crossing posts. it will be difficult to police these. in the 1980s, even when it was militarised, we could police it. it is there to say that worst might be able to track the vehicles passing the border it will be difficult to track virtually. —— it would be fair to say that it might be able to track. it will be very, very difficult for ireland. we are grateful for your time. donald trump has faced renewed criticism from within his own republican party by again blaming both sides involved in the clashes in virginia last weekend. the us president appeared to distance himself from his own statement a day earlier

in which he condemned white supremacists. our washington correspondent david willis reports. i think there is blame on both sides. you look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it, and you don‘t have any doubt about it either. only the nazis...! and, and if you reported it accurately, you would say that. our washington correspondent gary o‘donoghuejoins me now. is this another u—turn from president trump? i think it's more serious than that in a way. what he is being accused of destroying a moral equivalent between those right—wing protesters and those that turned out against them in cha rlottesville turned out against them in charlottesville on turned out against them in cha rlottesville on saturday. turned out against them in charlottesville on saturday. he says there was violence on both sides. is that true? there were certainly

fistfights. even some pepper spray. the neo—nazis, when they were marching, they were saying things like, we will not be replaced by jews. blood and soil, and other nazi slogan. the difficulty is when you see things like that from one side, people find it difficult to understand how he can equate the two. it was only a supporter from one side that drove a car into a group of people and killed a young woman. this is such a divisive issue in american politics. how much damage will these comments do to mr trump? that's difficult to say. he has a base that he appeals to and some of that base will have sympathy

with what he said yesterday. many in his own party realise and understand that you have two reach out beyond your base, particularly after being elected, once —— after being elected, once —— after being elected, the general idea in western democracy if you are a president or prime minister is there to govern for everyone and is say that and act like it. and as press conference yesterday, which dissented into a slanging match, and out—of—control slanging match, and out—of—control slanging match. —— which frankly descended into a slanging match. there was still president or control whatsoever. it looks as if he is still behaving like a candidate and that there is a real risk in a country that has been divided over race issues for many years, right

back to the civil war days, that if you have that division and a president... he‘s been praised by the former head of the ku klux klan. that is quite an extraordinary position for a us president to find himself in into thousand and 70. we will hear more from the press conference after 12:45pm. a homeless man hailed as a hero for helping victims of the manchester bomb has been charged in connection with the theft of a bank card in the arena that night. chris parker ran towards the scene of the attack, which killed 22 people. he is appearing in court this morning. meanwhile it‘s been announced that the manchester arena will reopen for the first time since the bombing on the 22nd may, with a benefit concert to honour those killed in the attack. the we are manchester concert on the 9th of september will feature mancunian artists noel gallagher‘s high flying birds, the courteeners and blossoms.

all money raised will go towards establishing a permanent memorialfor the victims of the attack. live to the arena and our correspondent dan whitworth. what more can you tell us? as you say, noel gallagher and his band will officially headline that concept that will reopen the arena. —— that concert on the 9th of december. one of his abrasives songs became a symbol of unity for the city after the attacks. indie bands like blossoms. the ghastly and the forward tony was. tickets go on sale tomorrow and they will cost £30. any money raised will go to the setting up money raised will go to the setting up of money raised will go to the setting upofa money raised will go to the setting up of a permanent memorial to the victims of the attack in may. they

add that they will never forget what happened here but that it‘s important to regret that the city‘s resilient and spit spirit of defiance will be encapsulated. many thanks. britain‘s new aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth, has arrived at her new home in portsmouth on the south coast of england. the 65,000 tonne carrier is the biggest warship ever to be built in britain but it‘s not been without its critics. one issue is that the carrier will remain without aircraft until flying trials are conducted in america next year. duncan kennedy‘s report does contain some flashing images. we can cross to duncan kennedy, who‘s live in portsmouth for us now. also live on board hms queen elizabeth for the first live broadcast on deck, with the captain.

just get an idea of the scale of this vessel, which you can on board. this is the business end of it, the runway, three football pitches one, 900 feet. when the aircraft are on board, the most powerful navy ship ever do. but in the home of the royal navy, portsmouth dockyard,. the one dwarfs those. 4.5 acres, the spec. twice the size of previous carriers. —— this deck. we‘ve been below deck to have a look. it‘s all brand—new. 6—700 group are still getting used to it. they‘vejust brand—new. 6—700 group are still getting used to it. they‘ve just got back from two months of sea trials. we arejoined by back from two months of sea trials. we are joined by the captain. back from two months of sea trials. we arejoined by the captain. thank you forjoining us. it an honour to meet you. you are in charge of under

historic day. we had been tremendous. to arrive your here in the home of the royal navy is tremendous. a sense of pride across many hundreds of sailors. how are the sea trials going? she's a big ship, the biggest ship we‘ve ever had. she‘s a 21st century ship, packed with innovation. we beat off the coast of scotland the last few weeks testing engines. all the other things that we need to live board. galleys, air conditioning, for instance. you have the prime minister on port today. let me pose a couple of tough questions. the defence budget is already under pressure. can this bejustified? every department has to live within

its means. the british armed forces has to have the money to do the job thatis has to have the money to do the job that is expected. against what is it? looking at the world today, there are a whole lot of strategic worries. southeast asia, all sorts of things. you can‘t predict the next war. it‘s important that the british armed forces have a balanced suite of forces and this is part of that. £3 billion for the aircraft carrier, another 100 million each for the aircraft on board. do we need so much firepower to deliver this message that britain is a serious nation? yes, this is about power projection. if you were to be pa rt power projection. if you were to be part of the five in the security council, we are an outward facing global britain. it‘s important to

have a royal navy around underworld protecting interests at home and abroad. is the money was that? absolutely. you can‘t do defence on the cheap. a busy day for you. its first visit to the home port. there have been critics with these things. i they‘ve relevant in 2017? can we afford them? —— i think relevant in 2017. some people say maybe not. maybe this is a ship to four. it will become operational in roughly two years‘ time. a look at the weather. some sunshine there in portsmouth. the breeze is picking up. not sunny for everyone. the best of the

sunshine across england and eastern wales is captured in this weather watcher picture in lyme regis thanks to them for that. in the west, the weather is not as pretty. outbreaks of rain with us in northern ireland, seeping into western scotland. wind is picking up, gale—force gusts across the coasts and hills of the north—west. it will be cold, 16 degrees in glasgow. 26 degrees in the sunshine in london. —— 23. the rain will turn heavy for a time across central parts of england, eastern england, too. the rain will be there during the latter part of the night stop a mild night compared with last night. this rain boundaries quite slow to clear. then it will brighten up. further west, sunshine and showers. could be quite happy with some thunder. temperatures similar to those in the south—east. a bit more sunshine further north. a bit warmer in both glasgow and belfast.

this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines at 12:30. the government has said there must be an "unprecedented solution" for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit, as it publishes a paper outlining its proposals for a "seamless and frictionless" border. unemployment fell to 4.4% in the three months tojune, the lowest level since 1975. president donald trump continues to face wide criticism, including from many within the republican party, for condemning both sides following the violence at a white nationalist rally in virginia which left one protestor dead. the number of care home places will need to increase by a third within ten years as life expectancy rises, warns a new report. theresa may has been visiting the

new aircraft carrier in portsmouth and a little earlier she had this to say. we work for all sides in northern ireland, committed to the belfast agreement and ensuring decisions that we take our decisions for every community across northern ireland. looking forward to brexit, we will ensure that we don‘t see a return to the borders of the past, not a hard border, and that we are able to insure the crucial flow of goods and people between northern ireland and the republic by and are able to continue in the future. there are more than 100 crosses between the republic and northern ireland, only a handful of airports and ports in northern ireland. doesn‘t it make sense to have port control in northern ireland? we don‘t want to see border between parts of the united kingdom. what we wa nt to parts of the united kingdom. what we want to see is an arrangement in

relation to customs and border is with the european union that can enable us to see no return to the ha rd enable us to see no return to the hard borders of the past, to enable that flow of goods and people between the ireland and the goods of... that is in the interests of the republic ireland and the european union. theresa may talking about the government‘s proposal for about the government‘s proposal for a seamless and frictionless border whilst in portsmouth. the government has said it‘s determined that border posts between northern ireland and the republic will not return after brexit. critics maintain their plans, released this lunchtime, fail to contain credible detail. let‘s find out why the irish border is such a complicated issue. our correspondent chris morris is here to explain the details for us. yes, the paper pledges to uphold the good friday agreement in full and to maintaina good good friday agreement in full and to maintain a good travel area which allows irish and uk citizens to

travel freely. but the proposal to avoid a hard border after brexit is at the heart of the matter. and that‘s because when brexit happens, the uk will suddenly have a major land border with the eu. here it is? between northern ireland and the republic of ireland during the troubles, there were just 20 official border crossings between northern ireland and the republic. the british army shut down, spiked or cratered the rest. but following the good friday agreement there‘s been rapid change. now there are more than 260 public roads that cross the border. the centre for cross border studies, has estimated that between 23 and 30,000 people cross the border daily for work. while, each month, around 170,000 lorries and 1.85m cars are recorded crossing the border. which means that every year 31% of northern ireland‘s exports go to the republic,

and 27% of its imports come from the republic. so there‘s a lot at stake — delays could lead to huge costs for business plus there‘s the risk of tax evasion, and various types of smuggling — both of goods and people. but above and beyond that there are massive political issues — creating any kind of hard border would be incredibly sensitive politically — and could do serious damage to the peace process. so what are the possible solutions? the government is keen to pursue technological fixes , although it said it wouldn‘t be setting out a blueprint at this point. but some options that could help the authorities deal with future customs issues already exist. number plate recognition has already replaced toll plazas on the m50 in ireland — it could also be used to help with customs checks. and if you combine smart technology with some pre—clearance and exemptions for local traders it will help, but it only gets you so far. norway and sweden do manage to avoid long queues at the external border of the customs union,

as do switzerland and germany. but these are light—touch borders, they are not invisible ones with no physical infrastructure at all. so what the uk wants on the irish border is unprecedented. and complicated by history. which is why the government says it‘s crucial to negotiate with the eu on the irish issue and on a future customs relationship at the same time, and as soon as possible. earlier, i spoke to david cullinane, who is sinn fein‘s brexit spokesman in the republic of ireland, and asked him what he thought of the proposals. let‘s be clear, this british government is attempting to take northern ireland out of the european union, the customs union and the single market outside of the will of the people who voted to remain within the european union.

coming out of the european union and that you would have an open border is nonsense, it is a fantasy. what we will have is a border and a border between the north of ireland and the european union and britain. will be a eu frontier. it is incompatible with many of the agreements of the good friday agreement. there is no good brexit for ireland, there is no eu frontier for ireland. to suggest that there will be a frictionless border for the movement of goods and people is a nonsense. what about norway and sweden? that as an example of where there is a border where one country is in the european union and one is out.

that works well. what would work perfectly well is that the british government recognises that the majority of the people in northern ireland voted to remain. we want special status for the north within the european union. that is best for ireland. why would an irish government and the irish people take a step backwards? that is a retrograde step. that is what we are being asked to do. an eu frontier creates difficulties and challenges for businesses, trade, border support and also for the all ireland economy and the good friday agreement. why would we go backwards? in the british tory party. there is also a fair that they are trying to use the unique circumstances of ireland. that is also unacceptable. we wa nt

we want to not have to deal with the negative aspects of brexit. would a virtual border satisfied you in any way? with respect, you talked about norway and sweden, if the political will was there, i think thatis political will was there, i think that is the best possibility. it is the only logical outcome. we are not going to be told by the british

government that there will be no consequences for trade, goods, services, having an open border, only to find out it is untested and impossible. the european union will wa nt to impossible. the european union will want to protect its border. we have a responsibility here in ireland to stand up for the interests of the irish people. people in britain can ta ke irish people. people in britain can take their old positions —— own positions, but this does not make any sense for one part of ireland to be in the customs union, one part out. the same with the european union. with respect to any british government, we have a responsibility and a mandate to respect the interests of the people in the north. the majority of the people in the north voted to remain. why can that not be supported and accepted by the british government and by the european union? the only viable and sustainable solution is that you have starters for the north with the european union. that is sinn fein's

brexit spokesman in the republic of ireland. the number of dead from the devastating mud slides in sierra leone is still rising with fears 600 people are still missing. so far, the rescue operation has been chaotic, with workers struggling to dig people out of the debris. nearly 400 people have been confirmed dead. our correspondent martin patience sent us this update from sierra leone. families of those buried by the mudslide are gathered outside here at the main mortuary in freetown. since we‘ve been here, a fleet of ambulances have arrived. the stench of corpses is overpowering here. workers in the mortuary say there are too many bodies, they need to bury them as quickly as possible. there are concerns about a possible outbreak of typhoid or cholera. there is a real sense of grief here as well as tension. people want more to be done.

they feel that authorities have not been quick enough in terms of the rescue operation. this is a nation in mourning. they‘ve declared a week of national mourning here in sierra leone. there has been a lot of criticism of authorities because many of the families believe that this was a preventable disaster. the number of care home places in england for older people with substantial needs will need to rise by nearly a third within ten years because of increasing life expectancy. academics at newcastle university say more than 71,000 extra places will be needed by 2025. the department of health says councils have been given a £2 billion boost over the next three years to put social care on a sustainable footing. earlier on i spoke to sir andrew dilnot, the former chair of the commission on funding and support, i asked him if the numbers added up.

i think it is roughly right. i don‘t think that the people who‘ve written the study would say it is exactly accurate. the important thing is it is a big increase. i think that‘s what we need to recognise. there will be more of us, that‘s something we should celebrate. but one of the consequences of people living longer is we will need more care, quite a bit will probably be in care homes. there is going to be a need for a greater supply. the places are not there at the moment. how confident are you they can be provided? i think they can be provided. as a nation, we are perfectly capable of this. we need a plan. at the moment, social here is in a crisis. the increasing demands, allied to overall funding that hasn‘t been increasing and a funding structure that leaves people with a great deal of uncertainty and fear, means that this sector hasn‘t developed as much as we need it to in the future. that is why the consultation that the government is planning over the next few months is crucial. we need a system that delivers

the level of funding that is needed to provide the amount of care we also need. so does that explain... there may be people listening to this who say, why can‘t care homesjust provide more places? funding is the recent at the moment, or the way it is structured? i think that funding is a crucial part. part of the problem is that people don‘t necessarily want to look forward to this part of lives. although it can be a part of life that is great fun. but a crucial element of getting this result will be having a funding regime, for local authorities but also for individuals, that works. we don‘t have that at the moment. this is something the government is committed to. it will take serious action over the next months and years. when you looked into this issue for the government, you called for a tax to fund adult social care for everybody that needs it. we know what happened with the conservative manifesto and how plans to fund social care backfired. is it your view that a tax is the only answer or is there another way?

i don‘t think we did call for a tax, we said that a tax was one of the options to address this. what is absolutely clear is we need to have more money spent, we need, in my view, a cap on the amount individuals themselves are liable for, so that if the worst case happens, they are not facing catastrophic costs. a specific tax is one of the options. changes to national insurance contributions will be another option. reducing spending elsewhere, such as winter fuel allowance, is also feasible. precisely where the money comes from is, in the end, i think a politicaljudgment. but there is no doubt that we are going to need more money spent. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the government has said it does not want any border posts between northern ireland and the republic of ireland

in its new position paper on brexit. unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months to june, official figures show, bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4% — its lowest since 1975. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville during which one person was killed. a hospital trust at the centre of an inquiry into a number of avoidable deaths among newborn babies, has been criticised for failing to learn the lessons of past mistakes. a report by the nhs standards watchdog, the care quality commission, found that safety still needs to improve in maternity services at the shrewsbury and telford hospital nhs trust. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. come on, then. i am coming to get you! come on.

for years, richard stanton and rhiannon davies have been campaigning to save maternity services following the avoidable death of their first daughter, kate, just hours after birth. a review of their case found the trust had failed to investigate kate‘s death properly and now a new report finds eight years on, the shrewsbury and telford trust is failing to learn from past mistakes. it is still failing on the basics to this day. from our point of view, it makes you want to bang your head against the wall. an inspection by the hospital regulator found safety in maternity services needs improvement and patients are still not receiving the proper standard of care. we have seen some improvements in some areas but some ongoing areas such as maternity, which is not what we would expect, and we‘ve made it very clear to the trust that we need to see these improvements made in a much more robust manner and in a timely way. the trust says serious incidents are being reported and investigated and a new management team is working

hard to bring about improvements but a wider nhs investigation into a cluster of deaths among newborn babies at the trust is under way and those parents who lost children are asking why questions are still being raised about safety at the trust. dominic hughes, bbc news, telford. theresa may has reacted to donald trump‘s comments about the violence last weekend. theresa may says there can be no equivalence with the violence of fascism. following the horrific scenes we saw in cha rlottesville, horrific scenes we saw in charlottesville, i pour the violence and racism that we saw by these groups. the united kingdom has taken

action to ban far right groups here, we action to ban far right groups here, we “— action to ban far right groups here, we——i action to ban far right groups here, we —— i see no equivalence between fascist views and those that oppose them. and i think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views where ever we hear them. he‘s facing criticism from his own party for blaming both sides for the violence , and in a fiery press conference last night, attacked the media for not reporting the facts accurately. why did you wait so long...? i didn‘t wait long. i wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, but what i said was correct. not make a quick statement. the statement i made on saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement was up but you don‘t make statements that direct unless you

know the facts. it takes a little while to get the facts. you still don‘t know the facts. and it‘s a very, very important process to me. and it‘s a very important statement. so i don‘t want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement. i want to know the facts. honestly, if the press were not fake and if it was honest, the press would have said what i said was very nice. but unlike you, and unlike... excuse me. unlike you and unlike the media, before i make a statement, i like to know the facts. was this terrorism, and can you tell us how you're feeling about your chief strategist steve bannon? well, i think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself and his family and his country. and that is... you can call it terrorism, you can call it murder. you can call it whatever you want. i would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict, that is what i would call it. because there is a question. is it murder? is it terrorism? and then you get into legal semantics. the driver of the car is a murderer.

and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing. when you say the alt—right, define it to me. you define it. go ahead. senator mccain defined them as the same groups... what about the alt—left that came charging...? excuse me. what about the alt—left that came charging at the come as you say, the alt—right? do they have any semblance of guilt? this was senator mccain's statement... let me ask you this. what about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs, do they have any problem? i think they do. so, you know, as far as i‘m concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day. wait a minute, i‘m not finished. i‘m not finished, fake news. that was a horrible day. i will tell you something. i watched this very closely, much more closer than you people watched it. and you have... you had a group on one side

that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. and nobody wants to say that. i will say it right now. you had a group of the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent. you think that what you call the alt—left is the same as neo—nazis? those people, all of those people... excuse me. i have condemned neo—nazis. i have condemned many different groups. but not all of those people were neo—nazis, believe me. not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch. for race relations in america, do you think things have gotten worse or better since you took office? i think they‘re better or same. look, they have been frayed for a long time. and you can ask president obama about that‘s

because he made speeches about it. but i believe that the fact that i brought in... it will be soon millions ofjobs, you see where companies are moving back into our country. i think that is going to have a tremendous positive impact on race relations. mr president, are you pitting what you're calling the alt—left and why to premises is on the same moral plane? i‘m not putting anybody on a moral plane. what i‘m saying is this, you had a group on one side and you had a group coming at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible, and it was a horrible thing to watch. but there is another side. there was a group on the side, you can call them the left, you have just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. so you can say what you want, but that is the way it is. mr president... on both sides, you said there was hatred, there was violence on both sides... i do think there is blame. i think there is blame on both sides. you look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides. and i have no doubt about it and you don‘t have any doubt about it either. and... and if you reported accurately, you would

say that. some of the key moments from that news co nfe re nce some of the key moments from that news conference from president trump last night. tens of thousands of elvis fans have been at a candelit vigil at his home in graceland in tennessee, to mark the 40th anniversary of his death. his daughter lisa marie and his former wife priscilla thanked the crowd for their decades of dedication to his memory. laura bicker reports from memphis. at just 21, elvis changed the face and sound of rock and roll for ever. record labels said they were looking for a white man with a negro sound. they got it. some saw his music as dangerous as crossing racial boundaries. his death broke the heart of thousands who gathered outside his mansion. this is the moment fans have been waiting for. lisa marie presley

stands at the gates of graceland to welcome them in. solemnly, they light a candle and make a pilgrimage up the hill to pay tribute at elvis presley‘s grave. elvis was the coolest person in the world, you know. he loved all the people, you know, it doesn‘t matter where you come from, no. my mum was an elvis fan, so she had music playing in the womb, so i owe it to my mother to be an elvis fan. what is so special about elvis? i like his snarl. his what? his snarl. can you do it for me? that's pretty good. 40 years on, a visit to graceland is a pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of people. so elvis does live on, his influence on modern music and his fans who believe that his spirit will never die.

here is the weather. it is an east—west split. breaks of rain on the way for many. largely dry with some sunshine. here is the picture to take us through the afternoon. wet and windy. gale —force the afternoon. wet and windy. gale—force winds in the north—west. breezy everywhere. some areas of high cloud filtering across england, for most of england, eastern areas of wales, it should statements lead dry. temperatures reaching a highs of 23. overnight, the rain band measured eastwards. heavy bursts of rain working in free time. becoming a bit drierfor a time in scotland and northern ireland ahead of the next batch of showers which will move in on thursday. a clear south—east england through thursday morning, a few showers mainly across

the northwest and similar temperatures to those today. 19 or 23 degrees. what about thursday night? heavy downpours working across northern ireland and scotland, northern england. they will still be around on friday, hail and thundered mixed in with some of these showers. fewer showers generally to the south. temperatures are little lower, feeling cool in the blustery winds that we will have. look at the atlantic, right the way over here at this cloud. this is hurricane gert. these two systems will do battle and influence our weather this weekend. by the time you get to friday, the two areas of low pressure combined. hurricane in gert is no more, but the moisture is heading our way. that will bring heavy rain to the north—west of the united kingdom as

we had through the second part of the united kingdom. blustery winds, showers most frequent... 16 degrees in glasgow. sunday that the moisture from gert could bring a spell of very heavy weighing in northern ireland, west scotland in north—west england, too. that is the weather. for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit. a position paper published in the last hour has proposals for avoiding a hard border. as we look forward to brexit, of course we do want to ensure that we don't see a return to the borders of the past, we don't see a return to a hard border, and that we're able to ensure that the crucial flow of goods and people between northern ireland and the republic of ireland is able to continue in the future. we‘ll have reaction to the proposals from both northern ireland and the republic.

also this lunchtime... another wave of criticism for president trump as he goes back to blaming both sides for the violence in charlottesville. you had a group on one side that was bad and you had