this is bbc news, i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 2pm: "a seamless border." an unprecedented solution for the border between the republic and northern ireland after brexit is promised by the government. we do wa nt to promised by the government. we do want to ensure that we do not see a return to the borders of the past, a return to the borders of the past, a return to the borders of the past, a return to a hard—fought, —— had 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. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after again blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville. you look at both sides, i think there is blame on both sides and i have no doubt about it and you do not have any doubt about it either. the unemployment rate falls to the lowest level since 1975, but real wages also drop. 600 people are still missing in sierra leone following the devastating mudslide.

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. and theresa may says, "it can't be right for big ben to be silent forfour years". good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the government says there must be an "unprecedented solution" for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit, as it published its proposals on the future relationship with ireland. they've called for a "seamless"

border, so that people and goods can continue to move across it freely, and which protects the good friday agreement. the irish government says the paper is "timely and helpful", but critics say the plans lack credible detail. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. for more than 300 miles, crossing fields and bridges, roads and rivers, there is a political dividing line on the island of ireland. but it is a border that cannot be seen, and many wanted to that way. soft toys and cushions are the latest protest against a hard brexit. they have been placed here between northern ireland and the republic, by people who do not want there talons divided by barriers once one is inside the eu and the other is outside. i crossed the

border quite easily 15, 20 times a day, moving good sometimes, sometimesjust to day, moving good sometimes, sometimes just to manage staff, meet people, whatever is involved in work. if there is any sort of checks that flaw that down or anything else, it is going to provide a lot of logistical difficulties. customs posts were once of logistical difficulties. customs posts were once a of logistical difficulties. customs posts were once a future of the irish border, but these hearts lie derelict now and the british government has made it clear it wa nts government has made it clear it wants them to stay that way. its position paper on calls for more new buildings are barriers at the border, and repeats calls for a temporary customs union with the eu. followed by a deal that would avoid the need for customs checks for the billions of pounds in trade carried up billions of pounds in trade carried up and down these roads every year. as we look forward to brexit, of course, we do want to ensure that we do not see a return to the borders of the past, a return to be had border, and that we are able to ensure that the crucial role of goods and people between northern ireland and the republic of ireland

is able to continue in the future. today's document also calls for the protection of the common travel area, which allows people to travel between the uk and ireland without passport controls. crossing time todayis passport controls. crossing time today is two hours and 25 minutes... and the government says it has ruled out the idea of the customs border are being placed between the island of ireland and britain as unconstitutional and not economically viable. this position paper repeats phrases that have been used by government ministers cou ntless used by government ministers countless times in recent months. like there should be no return to the borders of the past, there should be frictionless, seamless border. but there remain real questions about how that can happen, particularly as some within the eu have described the idea of an invisible border as fantasy. have described the idea of an invisible border as fantasylj think, and i think it is important to the death, this is welcome today. we have more clarity than we had yesterday in relation to the british government's approach to brexit as it relates to northern ireland and

brexit, but there are still unanswered questions and we will be constructive in terms of trying to find answers to those questions, but also berm. yet, there is a will to find solutions. —— but we will also be firm. tied up with the politics and practicalities are concerned about the potential impact to peace and prosperity at this, what is currently the softest of borders. in a moment, we will talk to our brussels reporter, adam fleming, but first, let's cross to our ireland correspondent chris page. as you mentioned earlier, the border between northern ireland and the republic is pretty much invisible. if there are any detail, in your opinion, in the government's proposals as to how that could be maintained after brexit? there is no doubt that the brexit border brainteaser is certainly one of the most difficult issues facing the government in the talks around the government in the talks around the uk's departure from the european union. iam the uk's departure from the european

union. i am standing in the uk, just across the water, on the other side, is the republic of ireland. this border stretches from hair down in cou nty border stretches from hair down in county down right up to the north—west, to londonderry. 310 miles, more than 200 crossings by road. the border is even more porous than that suggests, with no real natural border around —— boundary around the border. normanton, no rivers. quite often, people cannot tell you where it is. it runs through the middle of farms and fields. how do you security border like that if you have a different customs regime in the uk after brexit, whenever the uk leads the customs union? the government has basically set out to mike approaches. firstly, they would like approaches. firstly, they would like a future customs partnership between the uk and eu, where there is an agreement on tariffs. things stay as they are, no need for checks. if that does not happen, there would be a highly streamlined customs

arrangements, a combination of technology and exemptions to make that happen. larger traders would be able to register online, that is the idea, but smallertraders, able to register online, that is the idea, but smaller traders, which account for more than 80% of cross—border trade, well, the government believes they could be exempt from customs requirements altogether. whether all that comes to fruition, whether this conundrum can be resolved, depends on how the brexit negotiations go. briefly, chris, give us a sense of the political reaction north and south of the border to the government's proposals. well, it has been pretty predictable. the two main parties here, the democratic unionists were passionate campaigners for a leave in the referendum campaign. sinn fein firmly in favour of the uk remaining in the eu. the dup leader arlene foster has welcomed the paper, said it had a very constructive piece of work. sinn fein‘s stormont later, michelle o'neill, fein‘s stormont later, michelle 0'neill, has branded it delusional. no meeting of minds on this brexit issue. the biggest issue facing

northern ireland at this time, many would say. let's speak now to the conservative mp theresa villiers, —— on northern ireland correspondent. clearly the border issueis correspondent. clearly the border issue is a priority, so what reaction has there been in brussels? we have not had a tweet from the eu's chief negotiator. we have not had a critical tweet from the mep leading the brexit response to the european parliament. that may be because everybody here in brussels agrees this is a particularly sensitive subject, and that is why it is not being treated in quite the same way as the other brexit related issues, or maybe it is because when you read the uk government position paper today, it is written in a way we re paper today, it is written in a way were the uk is bending over backwards to address the concerns that the eu has raised about this whole situation. for example, the eu says we want a big political

agreement before you start talking about technical things that will protect the good friday agreement so that peace can be maintained on the island of ireland. the first thing in the document from the uk is a pledge to write into the brexit withdrawal agreements that's the good friday agreement will be protected at all costs. tech, if you like. the eu is worried about maintaining the common travel area for uk citizens and irish citizens. the uk government says it is written into eu law already so would not be breaking the law to do that already, and used the language that they like, talking about free movement of people, just not around eu but between the uk and ireland. if the eu is worried about northern ireland becoming a back door for cheap imported goods from abroad to somehow sneak them into the eu, the uk is then, fine, we will work with you to create a comprehensive new custom system that means that does not happen, that the same tariffs are paid to the eu regardless of

what it comes in. if the eu is worried about food safety standards and the standards of food products and the standards of food products and animal products crossing the border, the uk so that is fine. they will create a parallel food safety regime that gets exactly the same standards as the eu has, butjust getting there by different means. this issue about small businesses, small traders on the border being able to continue their work. the uk says that should be fine as well because those traders and that flow of goods is so small, it has absolutely no impact on international trade. that is the case the uk makes. another thing i have noticed in the uk cave, in the last few days a bit of steel entering the uk case. one diplomat suggested yesterday that if there is a hard border introduced on the island of ireland, the only reason that would happen is because the irish government has had to put it in place to comply with eu law, not the british government doing it.

0k, thank you very much for that. let's speak now to the conservative mp theresa villiers, who was northern ireland secretary between 2012 and 2016. she's in our westminster studio. very good afternoon to you. effectively, the government wants an invisible border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, no physical infrastructure. does this not actually mean a need to stay in the customs union? actually, the government has set out some, i think, very constructive proposals, which would enable a frictionless border to continue whilst the uk does withdraw from the customs union. i think this is a very positive contribution to the debate, andi positive contribution to the debate, and i am encouraged by, you know, as demonstrated by some of the reports you have just shown, demonstrated by some of the reports you havejust shown, there is a real will on both sides of this negotiation to try to do everything we can to ensure that we did not return to the hard borders that might have existed in the past. perhaps you could spell out for us,

then, how this frictionless border could be maintained whilst at the same time leaving the customs union? the paper today and the one yesterday set the two options. 0ne isa yesterday set the two options. 0ne is a continuing customs partnership with the eu, which would mean that the land border is not a customs border in a real sense anyway, for thatis border in a real sense anyway, for that is one option which the government is pursuing. i think sensibly. the other option is for a streamlined process of ensuring that appropriate customs checks are done, but they are carried out without the need for physical checks on the border itself. crucial to the government's proposals on that issue is the exemption the proposed for smaller businesses. for larger businesses, there are technological means to ensure that customs declarations can be made remotely, before the trucks get to the border, and looking around the world, there are many, many places where you have

are many, many places where you have a very fast stream of goods and lorries passing over a border without actually physical checks at the border, because they have done all of their paperwork in advance. the former gb spectre of uk borders says the government's paper is aspirational but, in his words, contains no information on how you hope to achieve this. he talks about u ntested hope to achieve this. he talks about untested ideas and a gamble over this virtual border. clearly, people living on either side of the border, whether in northern ireland or the republic, do not want to be going into 2019 looking at untested ideas and a gamble. it is true that there is uncertainty for the moment, because we do not know the outcome of the negotiations as yet. i think thatis of the negotiations as yet. i think that is one of the reasons why it is sensible to propose a transitional period, but i come back to this point, what makes this issue rather different to one of the —— many of the other questions to resolve with the other questions to resolve with the eu is that both sides realised that it the eu is that both sides realised thatitis the eu is that both sides realised that it is crucially important to

resolve, not just in that it is crucially important to resolve, notjust in terms of prosperity of border areas but also to make sure that we do not introduce unnecessary division into the island of ireland. 0k, thank you very much for that. we will return to the subject of the irish border, of course, throughout the afternoon. but now, a couple of pieces of breaking news to bring you. this first of all from the national crime agency. in connection to the kidnapping of a model, officers from west midlands police arrested one man in connection with the kidnapping. he is 36 and was arrested at an address in birmingham. this was on a european arrest warrant, issued by the italian authorities. we are told he is due to appear at westminster magistrates‘ court on the 17th, tomorrow, and the national brown

agency says it is providing —— national crime agency says it is providing support to the italian police over the kidnapping of chloe. another piece coming from the house of commons, about big ben and the plans to effectively silences for the next four years to carry out essential maintenance work. when parliament returns, the house of commons says after the summer recess, in light of concerns expressed by a number of mps who have been saying that they were unaware that big ben was going to be silent for quite so long, the house of commons commission will consider the length of time that the bills will fall silent. 0f the length of time that the bills will fall silent. of course, any discussion will focus on undertaking the work efficiently, predicting the health and safety of those involved in seeking to ensure resumption of normal service as soon as practical. the bills will cease to ring as planned following are the times at 110011 on planned following are the times at noon on monday the 21st of august.

—— following the chimes at noon. we are hearing that perhaps the house of commons commission will consider whether perhaps that time could be reduced. donald trump is facing a fresh wave of criticism after he again blamed both sides for the violence in charlottesville, virginia, which left one protester dead and others injured. in a carefully scripted statement on monday, he had condemned white supremacists and far right groups. but last night, he said left wing protestors were also to blame. richard galpin reports. this was the biggest protest by white supremacist, including the ku klux klan, in a decade. it soon turned into a violent confrontation, with those opposed to them. an antiracism campaigner was killed. since then, donald trump, whose supporters include members of the far right, has caused further outrage. first arguing both sides

are equally responsible for the violence, and then two days later, after coming under pressure, finally condemning the white supremacists. last night, as yet another news conference, he was asked why he had waited so long. i wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what i said was correct. not make a quick statement. the statement i made on saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement. honestly, if the press were not fake and if it was honest, the press would have said what i said was very nice. unlike you... excuse me, unlike you and unlike the media, before i make a statement, i like to know the facts. the president then repeated his much criticised statement, that responsibility for the violence in charlottesville or solely with those protesting against the far right extremists. —— all solely. i watched those much more

closely than you people watched it and you had a grip on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to see that but i will say right now. do you think that what you call the alternative left is the same as neo—nazis? alternative left is the same as neo-nazis? all those people, excuse me, i have condemned neo—nazis. i have condemned many different groups. but not all of those people we re groups. but not all of those people were neo—nazis, believe me. not all those people were white supremacists, any stretch. all this is barking more condemnation. senior republican politician paul ryan created... —— created. but from the white supremacists who had been at the protests, a very different response. praise for what the former leader of the ku klux klan described as mr trump‘s honesty and courage to tell the truth about

charlottesville. 0ur washington correspondent gary 0‘ donoghuejoins me now. first of all, to that news conference yesterday, that was quite extraordinary, was it not? they are becoming increasingly combated, are they not? let‘s be clear, it was a slanging match. it was this of a completely uncontrolled yelling match between the press and the president. his chief of staff of there, the man who has meant to bring some sort of structure and calm to the white house, clearly unable to control this thing. it took on a life of its own, and the presidentjust sort of yelling at reporters and then yelling at reporters and then yelling back, it was anything but presidential, let‘s be clear. he had intended to talk about it and his infrastructure plans, but he was unable to stick to his own script.

yes, of course those reporters were going to ask about charlottesville, but a president that is focused on what he wants to see will stick to what he wants to see will stick to what he wants to see will stick to what he is going to do. he could not resist. the interesting thing is that when we saw him on monday deliver that carefully worded statement that pressed a lot of the buttons that people had wanted him to press on saturday, condemning the kkk, condemning others, we ask ourselves the question at that time, "would it ask? —— would at last? the next time he had an opportunity to go off piste would he be able to resist? he did not, he could not. it was interesting, you were seeing a little earlier that obviously following the chorus of criticism on twitter, we have not necessarily seen that followed through on the morning shows in the us. it begs the question, at what point are the republicans going to say more publicly that this is not

acceptable? we have had, as i say, we have had something your republicans, including the speaker of the house, including the speaker of the house, including senatorjohn mccain, including senatorjohn mccain, including marco rubio, saying some pretty strong stuff in terms of their social media. but yes, cnn we re their social media. but yes, cnn were telling us this morning that they had only been able to get one republican, there was a freshman republican, there was a freshman republican from virginia, a member of the house of representatives, he was the only republican that would come on this morning and i think that does raise questions. this is the dilemma, of course. the republicans have for many years wa nted republicans have for many years wanted to have this ability to control congress, both houses, and the white house. they have that now but it is not delivering for them. they do not know, i think they do not know what to do about that and i think they can see that this is not

working and do not understand how to fix it, because if you control both houses of congress and the white house, you really ought to be able to get your business done, stay on the message you want to. what is happening is that through the actions of the president, and let‘s be clear that the administration is being blown off course day in, day out. thank you very much for that. our washington correspondent. the number of people out of work is now its lowest since 1975. uk unemployment fell slightly in the three months tojune — bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4%. the office for national statistics also reported a slight rise in average earnings. but there was a slowdown in the number of foreign—born workers joining the british workforce. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. for eight years, the british economy has been a job creation machine, and today‘s figures slow little ——

showed little sign that it is slowing down. low unemployment means a tight labour market, meaning it is harderfor companies a tight labour market, meaning it is harder for companies like there‘s more cycle manufacturer in donington to get the stuff they need, especially those with the right skills. the upside for workers is that pay rises may improve, as they have slightly, in the second quarter of the year. the downside is that companies with the order books cannot grow as fast as they like. at the moment, we cannot drive the growth fast as we are able not because of finance, orders, but google. it is frustrating that we cannot get the skilled staff to come in and take advantage of the orders that we have and prototype design work for the next orders. very low on climate makes economists worry that workers will bid up their pay, and up inflation. so far, that view is farfrom being realised. and up inflation. so far, that view is far from being realised. we hope that means that we can run this economy permanently with lower unemployment, and let's hope on

climate keeps falling, which i think it will, until wage inflation starts picking up. in a sense, that is healthy, but it has mystified as economists. today's figures tell us something interesting about the supply of workers from abroad. 0ver the last 20 years, busy line shows you the number of from abroad from outside the eu. the blue line is the number of workers from within the eu, so it has sharply increased over the last seven years. have a look at this number, the increase in non—uk nationals working here. in the first quarter it was up. in the second quarter it was up. in the second quarter of the year, it was up by much less. that is a sharp slowdown. until the financial crisis, investment in skills and machinery meant that each year, each worker could produce more power. that growth in productivity meant companies could afford bigger pay rises. but today, we learn that

productivity fell again for the second quarter in a row. inflation beating pay rises may take some time to return. a man has pleaded not guilty to stealing from victims of the manchester arena attack on the night of the explosion. chris parker — who was homeless at the time — is accused of taking a purse from a woman whose granddaughter died in the attack, and also of stealing a mobile phone from a teenage girl. 0ur correspondentjudith moritz is in manchester and salford magistrates‘ court for us. just take us through what happened. well, it was a short hearing, in pa rt well, it was a short hearing, in part because the districtjudge who was in charge here is said to chris parker that this is a case which is too serious to be dealt with by magistrates, and it has been sent to the crown court. chris parker, 33, homeless at the time of the arena

explosion, he did give an address in court today for accommodation but was homeless at the time, he is accused of two offences of theft. as you say, it is said that he stole a purse and also a mobile phone, and the details we have is that the purse is said, according to the prosecution, to belong to the grandmother of a 14—year—old who died in the arena explosion. the mobile phone is said to belong to a different teenage girl, and chris parkeris different teenage girl, and chris parker is accused of having stolen both of those in the wake of the explosion. he pleaded not guilty to both offences, and was told that the case would go to manchester crown court on the 13th of september. then he was led away. as he left the dog, he was led away. as he left the dog, he muttered under his breath, "i have done nothing, absolutely nothing," he was taken away, because

he was remanded in custody. thank you for that update. the manchester arena will reopen for the first time since the bombing in 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 memorial for the victims of the attack. dan whitworth is outside the arena and has the details. a concert with a cause, it is bound to bea a concert with a cause, it is bound to be a strange atmosphere, however, when the arena does reopen. yes, and as you say, noel gallagher and his band will headline that we are manchester concert that will officially reopened manchester arena on the 9th of september. it was one of the star‘s 0asis tracks, don‘t look back in anger, that became a

symbol of unity and the spirit of the city in the days and weeks following that attack sought no doubtan following that attack sought no doubt an eagerly anticipated performance from the man himself. some other big mancunian acts on the bill so far. rick astley, the 80s p0p bill so far. rick astley, the 80s pop star, and the poet tony walsh among the performers. tickets go on sale tomorrow, we will be around about the £25 or £30 mark, with organisers saying any money raised is going to help set up a permanent memorial to the 22 victims of that attack. 0rganisers added whilst they will never forget what happened here back on that horrific attack on the 22nd of may, as the reopening of this 21,000 capacity arena will be a big symbol of the city‘s resilience and defiance in the face of terror. dan, thank you for that, in manchester. the long—running bin strike in birmingham has been suspended after a breakthrough in talks between the city council and the unite union. the strike began injune over a row

over working conditions and pay. birmingham city council, which is using agency staff and contractors to try to clear the backlog, had accused refuse workers of holding the city to ransom and said the dispute was costing £40,000 a day. let‘s have a look at the weather. it has not been a bad start to the day. most of us have seen the morning sunshine, but change south west with thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain on the way. sunny skies earlier on in the day. lyme regis endorse it. i have this weather fronts that is already bringing wet weather to northern ireland and it will make inroads across scotland through the afternoon. wind is picking up in strength, with gale forced gusts around the coast until. largely dry across east wealth and the bulk of england, with sunny skies lasting throughout much of the day. 0vernight, the rain band pushes

eastwards, turning heavierfor a time as well. still loitering across the midlands and eastern england towards the end of the night. something a little drier for a time in scotland and northern ireland, ahead of the next batch of showers continuing to work across thursday. sunshine and showers across western areas, outbreaks of rain slowly clearing from south—west england but those skies gradually clearing throughout the afternoon. temperatures similar to those of today. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: 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 police have arrested a man over the kidnapping of model chloe hayling. of model chloe hayling. president trump continues to face

criticism, including from within the republican party, for condemning both sides after violence in cha rlottesville which left one protestor dead. unemployment is at its lowest level in 42 years, having fallen to 4.4%. at least 600 people are still missing following a mudslide and flooding in the capital of sierra leone. the president has declared several days of mourning now the sport. after liverpool beat hoffenheim last night to claim a first leg advantage in their champions league group stage qualifier, it‘s the turn of celtic, who are in action tonight. they host kazakhstan champions astana at celtic park. brendan rodgers‘ side knocked astana out in qualifying last season and are on a great run, unbeaten in 50 games domestically and are just two games away from another lucrative place in the group stage of europe‘s premier club competition. if you think too much of the

consequence of that then of course you may not sleep and you may not eat, but to have to approach it as it is another game. there is a huge consequence on the game but the only way you can get through it is by staying focused. stay really very much in the present, which is what we have to do. stoke have signed spanish striker jese rodriguez on a season—long loan from paris saint—germain. a two—time champions league winner with real madrid, jese failed to establish himself in paris and spent the second half of the season on loan at las palmas. the ligue 1 side have left the option open for a return and haven‘t included a clause to make the move permanent once the loan spell is over. the 2a year—old is stoke‘s sixth signing of the season and will replace fellow spaniard joselu, who agreed a deal as calls grow for the summer transfer window to close before the start of the season in england, it appears that premier league managers are divided on the issue.

jurgen klopp and paul clement are among those who support the idea, which the key stakeholders are to discuss and vote on next month. and arsene wenger says he too feels the league would benefit from the change. i think for the regularity of the seasonit i think for the regularity of the season it is better because you can have a player who you can play three times against if the transfer window is not closed when you start the season. it doesn‘t look normal. as well, for the psychological comfort of the manager and the focus it is better to start the season with a tea m better to start the season with a team and have some players in the squad that are not completely on board. so you can understand that once everybody is on the train they stay on the train. england captainjoe root has confirmed that toby roland—jones

will keep his place in the england side for the first test against west indies which begins at edgbaston tomorrow. chris woakes is sidelined with a side strain and mason crane also misses out. 0pening batsman mark stoneman will make his england debut replacing keatonjennings for the historic day—night test. captainjoe root has been talking about playing under the lights for the first time in the uk. it is happening across the world. 0bviously, it is happening across the world. obviously, it gets a lot darker elsewhere. that might not have as much of an impact as early as it did in australia but i like being around longer. 0bviously, in australia but i like being around longer. obviously, the temperature being slightly different as well, whether the ball perform slightly differently. but it is interesting. it's differently. but it is interesting. it‘s great that we are giving it an opportunity to work un england and will be interesting to see how it is viewed from fans across the country. jo pavey says she‘s looking to defend her ten thousand metre title at the european championships in germany next year — just a month before her 45th birthday.

pavey became the oldest woman to claim european gold when she won in zurich 3 years ago, aged a0. the british five—time 0lympian missed the athletics world championships in london with a heel injury and has ruled out competing at the commonwealth games in australia next year, but pavey insists she has no plans to retire. that is all the sport for now. at least 600 people are still believed to be missing after a mudslide engulfed dozens of homes on the outskirts of the capital of sierra leone, freetown. the country‘s president has declared seven days of mourning and said entire communities have been wiped out. the united nations is preparing to deal with the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid. martin patience sent this update from freetown. the families of those that have been buried by the mudslide have gathered here at the main mortuary in freetown. since we‘ve been here a fleet of ambulances have arrived.

the stench of corpses is overpowering. workers in the mortuary say there are too many bodies, they need to bury them as quickly as possible. there‘s concerns about a possible outbreak of typhoid or cholera. there is a real sense of grief as well as tension, people want more to be done. they feel that the authorities haven‘t 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 the authorities because many families believe that this was a preventable disaster. a hospital trust being investigated over the deaths of babies has been criticised for failing to learn the lessons of past mistakes. there were at least seven avoidable deaths of newborn babies at shrewsbury and telford hospital between 2014 and 2016. the trust claims it‘s made

improvements, but the nhs standards watchdog, the care quality commission, says there are deficiencies in maternity services. come on, then. i‘m coming to get you! for years, richard stanton and rhiannon davies have been campaigning for safe maternity services following the avoidable death of their first daughter, kate, just hours after she was born. go on, see if you can do it. a review of their case found the trust had failed to investigate kate‘s death properly. now a new report finds that eight years on, the shrewsbury and telford trust is still 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. it is worrying that eight years from kate's death,

change is so slow and so chaotic that the cqc deem this to be a trust that still requires improvement and one that is questionably unsafe. an inspection by the hospital regulator found that safety in maternity services needs improvement and that 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 have 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. in a statement the trust says things are changing and serious incidents are being reported. but the question will be asked why so many years after families first raised concerns, issues around safety and culture are still being raised. a wider nhs investigation into a cluster of deaths among

newborn babies at the trust, ordered by the health secretary, is under way. but despite the long—running campaign by those parents who have lost children, the nhs regulator clearly believes that safety at the trust needs to improve. dominic hughes, bbc news, telford. the government has said it has determined that border posts between northern ireland and the republic will not return after brexit. critics maintain the plans, released this lunchtime, fail to contain credible detail. wel, let‘s find out why the irish border is such a complicated issue. 0ur correspondent chris morris is here to explain the details for us. it is going to be one of the big changes when brexit happens. the uk will suddenly have a major land border with the eu, between the republic of ireland and northern

ireland, running for 310 republic of ireland and northern ireland, running for310 miles. during the troubles, there are only 20 official crossings. following the good friday agreement, there has been considerable change and there are no more than 260 public roads across the border. the centre for cross—border studies has estimated that between 23000 and 30,000 people across the border daily for work, while each month around 170,000 lorries and 1.85 million cards are recorded crossing this 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 is a lot at stake. delays could leeds to huge costs for business plus there is the risk of tax evasion and various types of smuggling. above and beyond

that there are massive political issues. creating any kind of hard border would be sent to the politically and could do serious damage to the peace process. what the uk wants, and invisible border with no physical infrastructure at all, doesn‘t happen anywhere else in the eu. it is unprecedented and complicated by history, which is why the uk says it wants to discuss the irish issue and a future customs relationship with the eu at the same time and as soon as possible. hms queen elizabeth has sealed into her home port of portsmouth but the first time after sea trials. she cost more than £3 billion. huge crowd started gathering before sunrise to watch arrive. ship's horn blows.

part ship, part history. this is a vessel and this is a day that redefines britain‘s naval forces. squeezing into the home port of the royal navy, this is the 65,000 tonne queen elizabeth. eight years to complete, 10,000 people to build. and one enormous milestone in our defence history. for families of the crew the excitement of seeing their loved ones after its two—month sea trials was matched by the novelty of this first homecoming. i think it makes the country feel a lot safer. it puts you, you know, above everybody else, really, doesn‘t it? a stressful day for the 679 crew began in the early hours of this morning. as she navigated the final few miles of the solent. she will eventually be able to travel 10,000 miles around the globe. projecting what the government and the navy says is unprecedented power. i think the nation should be really proud of what they have done in purchasing this ship

and of course prince of wales. for the 10,000 people who have been involved in the build, you know, it is a national endeavour. today the prime minister went on board and said this was a ship to help protect britain‘s future for decades to come. britain truly has the best sailors, marines and officers in the world and you deserve the best commitment. that is what we have with hms queen elizabeth. the queen elizabeth itself has cost more than £3 billion. an investment in british world influence, says the government. but a drain and a strain on the resources of a middle ranking power say the critics. ships were never going to be as cheap as originally advertised but they should not have been expensive as they turned out. a number of culprits are involved in that, politicians, the way the design changed over time. with hms queen elizabeth due to be in service until at least 2067,

its last captain may not yet have been born. this is a symbol of british power for decades to come. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in portsmouth harbour. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc news: 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. 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. in the business news:

unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months to june, according to the latest official figures. 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 rising faster, we‘re still feeling the squeeze on our incomes. shares in admiral sank 7% after the insurer said the rising cost of personal injury claims hit profits. the firm‘s pre—tax profits rose 2% to £193 million in the six months to the end ofjune 2017, as the number of uk insurance customers rose 11%. however, changes to the way payments are made to accident victims, the 0gden rate, meant higher costs. north american trade between the us, canada and mexico is worth more

than $1 trillion a year. but donald trump isn‘t happy with the free trade deal, called nafta, he‘s called it a job killer. today, us, mexican and canadian officials are meeting in washington for the first round of talks to renegotiate the deal. joining us live from washington is michelle fleury. during the presidential campaign, donald trump said he would repeal nafta. he‘s now back tracked to renegotiating it, but what are his issues with it? he has put his agenda forward on the basis of america first, saint up manufacturing jobs across the board are from america to mexico, and one way of doing that is by reducing trade deficits. they have a big one with mexico. there is a press conference going online in the

building behind me and canada‘s trade minister has basically said that canada does not view the surplus or deficit says the most important part of any trade agreement. it gives you a sense of how difficult these talks are going to be. we are talking about a trade deal that is the biggest agreement in the world, it covers about a quarter of the global economy, so i huge chunk of the world‘s wealth and growth involved and is at stake here. what with canada and mexico wa nt to here. what with canada and mexico want to get out of these re—negotiations? want to get out of these re-negotiations? there has been a dispute between the us and canada over derry, softwood lumber. the us feels that too much of those products, or in some cases that the and canadians have their market too close to the american dairy industry, that there is too much softwood lumber heading into the united states. the united states

wa nts to united states. the united states wants to re—negotiate a mechanism for resolving disputes. canada says thatis for resolving disputes. canada says that is a red line, they don‘t even wa nt to that is a red line, they don‘t even want to have that open to debate. they want continued access to the canadian and american markets. all three countries are concerned in open markets for each of their respective energy industries. there is room for compromise but there are areas were you could seek confrontation. 0ne industry worth watching is the car industry. significant manufacturing in all three. the unions are not happy about the deal that workers in respective countries are getting, so the car companies are worried that big changes could hurt them negatively. given the complexity of theissues negatively. given the complexity of the issues at stake, how long will these negotiations last? men would we see any conclusions? that is the trillion dollar question. the trade between these three countries is

supposed to be worth over $1 trillion. there is talk that they wa nt to trillion. there is talk that they want to try to get this done in a very quick timeline, before the mexican elections next year, before mid—term elections here in the united states. if you look at past trade deals from the transatlantic partnership that was scrapped by donald trump, or if you look at the trade deal between the us and europe that still hasn‘t been finished, those have taken years. the ideas that you could do this in as little asa that you could do this in as little as a year is a tough sell, but that certainly is the ambition going into these talks which have just started, these talks which have just started, the first round of what was expected to be several rounds. in other business news: 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 is considering changes to its operating model that would lead to a cut in itjobs. rbs says the move is necessary to become a simpler, smaller bank focused on the uk and ireland.

whilst its president trump‘s communication tool of choice, it‘s a tweet by former president barack 0bama that has become the most liked in twitter‘s history. the tweet quoted nelson mandela with a picture of mr 0bama with a group of children from different racial backgrounds. it has been liked almost three million times since it was posted on 13th august following the attack in charlottesville, virginia. nestle is launching three new varieties of the walnut whip, its oldest chocolate brand, without a nut on their peak. the question is, has the maker of the walnut whip gone too far in removing the famous nuts, from a new version of the chocolate? shares in admiral sank as much as 7% earlier today after the insurer said the rising cost of personal injury claims hit profits. shares in construction firm

balfour beatty have jumped 5% after a strong set of results implied its turnaround was on track. the drop in the number of unemployed people in the uk plus a nudge up in wage growth have help sterling to recover a little from yesterdays falls. it‘s up against both the dollar and the euro. that‘s all the business news. the government has said it is determined that border post between northern ireland and the republic of ireland will not return after bragg said. critics maintain that the plans, released in the last couple of hours, failed to contain incredible detail. we can speak to labour‘s shadow ministerfor northern ireland, stephen pound. he‘s in our studio at westminster. can you envisage how it would work

without a hard border? i've tried, but it is a fantasy frontier. the idea of having some sort of virtual reality border is just nonsense. it is completely clueless. the problem i‘ve got is there were two major flaws. 0ne i‘ve got is there were two major flaws. one is the idea that you can use technology in an untried way, where it has never happened before. even david davis came out with this marvellous expression of ambiguity. the second thing is that it is about goods, not people. it is about... you can stop lorries coming across from holyhead, but we‘re talking about people as well. there has been no consultation with the political parties in northern ireland. i appreciate that the executive is not

in place at the moment but is it right that we don‘t talk to the people, worth 30,000 people across the border every day, you‘re not talking to the northern irish parties? how would you deal with that, stay in the customs union? yes, absolutely. we believe in supporting bad until we can have a valid alternative. at the moment we are facing a cliff edge and debris 2019. it is bad for business, bad for ireland and the united kingdom and especially bad for northern ireland. if we can negotiate for the content within the customs union until the transitional period after 2019 has been agreed, then we are not talking about a cliff edge but the managed transition. the government yesterday in its position paper on the issue of customs post brexit talked about an interim period to avoid exactly that. brexit talked about an interim period to avoid exactly thatm there was going to be an interim period, when would it be? the single

market regulation and say we cease to bea market regulation and say we cease to be a member in the debris 2019. under the agreement we stop being a member of that under the lisbon treaty. that is the cliff edge. what we are saying in the labour party is that there has to be further room for negotiation. it is not in the interests of europe to see us fall of the cliff. it is in everybody‘s interest have said the managed transition. the labour party accepts the people. the country has voted to leave. that will have to happen but it will need to be managed. we didn‘t vote this the damage british trade. stay in it, do negotiate a transitional period and if we have to go let it beat calmly and in an orderly way. on the issue of migration, a lot of people voted for

brexit to control migration. what concerns do you have is to look at the border after brexit between northern ireland and the republic about the movement of eu nationals into the uk? we are talking about a 300 mile border. it has about 290 crossing points that we know of. nobody knows what will happen there. but can you control that without some sort of physical infrastructure? leaving aside the issue of people creeping through forests at night and so on. can you really control this without the physical infrastructure? you will have to have id cards. it is the only way to cope. you can‘t have an iron curtain in closing northern ireland. it simply wouldn‘t work. what we can do is have a situation

where at the moment in dublin the united states custom and immigration people have their own office in dublin airport and they issue visas there. it is an agreement between america and ireland. could you imagine the political consequences, and the taoiseach has already talked about this, if we talked about having british customs officers in the republic? if you can‘t do it in dublin, or on the border, or until they get back into gb, they will need to have id cards.|j they get back into gb, they will need to have id cards. i want to ask you about big ben. you have been think that the bells going through the blitz. surely mps who were looking at this, did they not realise or ask the question how long will the bells fall silent for? and number of mps seem to be surprised at his four years. i am astounded! i didn‘t realise there was going to be

a lift at the lavatory built in the elizabeth power. it looks to me as if there has been a poverty of imagination here. nobody has worked away out of dealing with that. the bells will ring on special occasions, so isn‘t that good enough? no, it isn't. if the bells can ring on new year‘s eve, why can‘t you let the ring at other times? iwant can‘t you let the ring at other times? i want to respect the rights of the workers to work in a safe environment. is clearly not possible in this day and age for to have some sound attenuation? it can‘t be beyond the wit of woman or man. stephen pound, thank you very much. it has not been a bad start to the

day. most of us have seen morning sunshine but there are is a change coming in from the west. sunny skies earlier on in the day in dorset, head of this weather front that is already bringing wet weather to northern ireland. it will move in across scotland to the afternoon. the winds will pick up in strength with gale force strength on the coast and in the hills. it will stay mostly dry in the bulk of england. highs of 23. the ben bland will push eastwards overnight, the rain turning heavierfor a time eastwards overnight, the rain turning heavier for a time as well. something a little bit drierfor a time in scotland and northern ireland ahead of the next batch of showers that will working on thursday. sunshine and showers across north—western areas. 0utbreaks across north—western areas. outbreaks of across north—western areas. 0utbrea ks of brained across north—western areas. outbreaks of brained slowly clearing from the saudis to think that with

the skies brightening here. temperatures similar to today, highs between 19 and 23. this is bbc news. the headlines at three. an ‘unprecedented solution‘ for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit , is promised by the government. 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 donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after again blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville. i think there is blame on both sides. i have no doubt about in you don‘t have any doubt about it either. police investigating the kidnapping of model chloe ayling arrest the brother of the man alleged to have held her captive.