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. unemployment falls to the lowest level since 1975 — but real wages also drop. also — the royal navy's

new flagship arrives home. 280 metre—long hms queen elizabeth — the navy‘s biggest ever warship — sails into her new berth in portsmouth. and — to bong or not to bong? mps will look again at plans to silence big ben — after the prime minister intervenes. 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. 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 want it to stay that way. soft toys and cushions are the latest protest against a hard brexit. they have been placed here between belcoo in northern ireland and blackline in the republic by people who don't want their towns divided by barriers once one is inside the eu and the other is outside. i crossed this border quite easily 15, 20 times a day, moving goods sometimes, sometimes just to manage staff, carry out, meet different people, whatever is involved in your daily work.

if there's any sort of checks that slow that down or anything else, it is definitely going to create a lot of logistical difficulties. customs posts were once a feature of the irish border. but these huts lie derelict now and the british government has made clear it wants them to stay that way. its position paper calls for no new buildings or 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 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. we do not see a return to a hard border and we are 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. 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 control.

crossing time today is two hours and 25 minutes. and the government says it has ruled out the idea of a customs border being placed between the islands of ireland and britain as unconstitutional and not economically viable. this position paper repeats phrases that have been used by government ministers countless times in recent months. like "there should be no return to the borders of the past, there "should be a frictionless and 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. i think it is important to say this, this is welcome today, we have more clarity than we had yesterday in relation to the british government approach towards brexit as it relates to northern ireland and ireland. but there are still unanswered questions. and we will be constructive, in terms of trying to find answers to those questions. but we will also be firm.

there is a will to find solutions, because tied up with the politics and practicalities are concerns about the potential impact to peace and prosperity at this, what is currently the softest of borders. chris buckler, bbc news. we can cross to westminster now and talk to our political correspondent alex forsyth. just give us both sides of the argument. we have the government's vision. they say they are going quite far to meet the eu concerns. critics say the plan lacked details. the government has faced some criticism for our lack of clarity in general around its approach to brexit. part of this and part of what we saw yesterday, which was detail about its thoughts on the customs union is about the gunmen tried to get on the front foot in the negotiations. saying we have got a plan and we have been thinking it

through. we were told this was never meant to be a technical blue trim dash blueprint. there have been some suggestions floated so when there are customs checks, the government suggest small businesses could be exempt from the customs regime and there could be trusted trade status. when it comes to food and agriculture, the uk government suggested it could line with eu regulations so there was no need for checks between food and agriculture produce. however, these arejust ideas being floated and still subject to negotiation. most of the paper is about the broad principles, maintaining the common travel area. i think there is consensus between brussels, westminster and the republic of ireland on a need to do all of that. there are questions about how you make it happen impact somewhere that the eu is willing to accept the uk government proposals.

as we heard yesterday, some people say the uk government wants frictionless trade and indivisible borders and it cannot have everything. mairead mcguinness is a vice president of the european parliament and a mep for the ruling fine gael party in ireland. shejoins me via webcam from drogheda. elegans hughes. this right yesterday that the customs proposals. the issue of the irish border is one of the key priorities for you. you have your constituency on the border as well. what is your initial reaction to what the government has set out? it is very welcome we have this paper. from the point of view of having common ground between the european union and the united kingdom, we find it around northern ireland and the peace process. i have always hoped we could build on

the common ground to find solutions. what is particularly welcome is an absolute commitment that there will be no return to the borders of the past, but ha rdboa rd be no return to the borders of the past, but hardboard as i remember, with all of what went with that. people living across the border will continue to do that. eye—macro how is that achievable? if you would just allow me to finish. when we look at section three, and i am glancing down at it, avoiding a hardboard for the movement of goods. there is a recognition from the uk side and the eu side that will have to be resolved in detailed negotiations about the future trading relationship. it was reflected in your very good report before this interview is that what we're trying to do and the uk appears to be doing the same, is to have exactly the same situation as of today in terms of how the island of ireland economy

works and our relationships but that northern ireland would leave you european union with the united kingdom are becoming third country. intellectually, that is difficult to get your head around and from a practical point of view it is difficult to see what structures could be put in place or not put in place to make sure we have the sea mless place to make sure we have the seamless and frictionless trade. i was interested in some of the commentary around agriculture, a big issue in this constituenc y. there issue in this constituenc y. there is an all ireland east and west. will the uk except eu regulations? i hope that is the farmers are coming in going north, south, east and west. will the uk except eu regulations? i hope that is the is really positive that the united kingdom would understand and hold on to the the united kingdom might take

a different approach than the european union. if that is not the case, i think it is really positive that the united kingdom would understand and hold onto around food safety a nd understand and hold onto around food safety and transparency around the food supply to be the uk government has said there has to be an unprecedented solution situation. does it mean there has to be an unprecedented response from the rest of the eu bloc? what we need is dialogue. in one of the headings, there has to be dialogue on this point border situation. does it mean there has to be an unprecedented response from the rest of the eu bloc? what we need is dialogue. in one of the headings, there has to be dialogue on this the negotiators have come to the table with let's look at what prevails today, what oui’ look at what prevails today, what our objectives are. sometimes when i hear and lessen —— are trying to square hear and lessen —— are trying to square a hear and lessen —— are trying to square a circle. the square, if you like is brexit. how do you have the same conditions where a member state we are trying to square a circle. the square, if you like is brexit. how do you have the same conditions where a member state leave the european union let's not throw it out in its entirety. we are duty bound to look at the detail in it. i

think i would also say we need progress on phase one. this is really phase two in terms of the future trading relationships. the political commitments are important. everybody has said, including our government, this is more about the let's not throw it out in its entirety. we are duty bound to look at the detail in it. i think i would also say we need progress on phase one. this is really phase two in terms of the future trading relationships. the political commitments are important. everybody has said, including our government, this is more about and the political will rather than technical and bureaucratic solutions. in northern ireland we do not have an assembly. that is something i have concerns about. they're that is something i have concerns about. they‘ re not that is something i have concerns about. they're not hearing the voices of northern in this to stay we voted to stay in the european conversation. but it is not going to be the final i hope this paper will start a conversation. but it is not going to be the final document. if i may interrupt you say it will start a conversation. there are many different agendas that have to be satisfied. there is the issue of the

person living just across—the—board in the republic of ireland and the person living just across the border in northern ireland and how they go about their business. there is the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of migration and how you prevent eu people moving from the republic of ireland into the uk without any checks, if i may interrupt, you say it will start a conversation. there are many different agendas that have to be satisfied. there is the issue of the person living just across—the—board in the republic of ireland and the person living just across the border in northern ireland and how they go about their business. there is the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of trade, smuggling, also the issue of migration and how you prevent eu people moving from the republic of ireland into the uk without any checks, how long do you think it will take to work through all of these pretty i think longer than we britain will leave the european union in marchbritain will leave the european union in able to get over phase one of the negotiations. hopefully there will be progress in the next five, six weeks. if that is the case and we moved to the next phase. what is important and moved to the next phase. what is importantandi moved to the next phase. what is important and i think this week is significant. united kingdom understands the need for transitional arrangements. there is

something european parliament also voted for. the difficulty is that the united kingdom appeared to see the united kingdom appeared to see the transitional arrangement as leaving the customs union that coming back in under their terms. from an eu perspective, there are rules around being in the customs union and the rules applying to you. here we have some distance between the two positions. hardly surprising thatis the two positions. hardly surprising that is the case. when you talk about time, if you are wise enough the clocks are ticking ever louder. we could run out of time. there is a particular moment in time, because of the legal process, where the united kingdom ceases to be a member of the european union. that is in march 2019. a lot of work will have to be done to get to the divorce settle m e nt to be done to get to the divorce settlement & a place transitional arrangements and then look at the future partnership with the united kingdom. that is what the document

talks about. time is not on our side. i do hope that the momentum, and the goodwill. i do think we need more goodwill and understanding. i hope that the issues of northern ireland and the border are used to good effect in negotiations and are not used in an incorrect way as a bargaining chip. life on this island is better than it was because of the peace process. we have to make sure that that continues and we honour our commitments to the peace process and allow communities to live and work together in a way that is an handed. european union membership allows us to rise above some of our differences. i would allows us to rise above some of our differences. iwould hope allows us to rise above some of our differences. i would hope that rising above is not damaged now by a situation where the united kingdom leaves the european union. there is a lot at stake here. eye—macro thank you very much for your time. 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 supremacists, including the ku klux klan, in a decade. it soon turned into a violent confrontation with those opposed to them. and 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 were equally responsible for the violence and then just two days later, after coming under pressure, finally condemning the white supremacists. last night at yet another 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. and honestly, if the press were not fake, and it was honest, the press would have said what i said was very nice but 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 also lay with those protesting against the far right extremists. i watched those very closely, much more closely 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 but i will say it right now. do you think 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. all this sparking more condemnation. senior republican politician paul ryan tweeted... we must be clear, white supremacy is repulsive, this bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. there can be no moral ambiguity. but from the white supremacists who have 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. following the horrendous scenes we

saw in cha rlottesville, following the horrendous scenes we saw in charlottesville, i pour the racism and hatred and violence we have seen portrayed by these groups. ——iam have seen portrayed by these groups. —— i am poor. bio right groups have been described in the united kingdom. i see no equivalence between those with fascist views. it is important but all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views are ever we hear them. 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. police investigating the kidnapping of model chloe ayling have arrested the brother of the man alleged to have held her captive. michal konrad heba was arrested in the tivdale area of birmingham.

in sport, celtic are bidding to reach the group stages of the champions league tonight has brendan rodgers side play in the first leg of their qualifier celtic park. they knocked the kazakhstan and out in qualifying last season. stoke city have signed rodriguez on loan from paris st germain. he has become stoke boss max six signing of the summer. stoke boss max six signing of the summer. joe pavey wants to defend her european title next year, a month before her 45th birthday. she missed the world championships in london through injury but says she has no plans to retire. more on those stories just after half past. a man has been arrested regarding

the kidnapping of chloe ayling. his brother is being held by italian police after she was allegedly kidnapped in milan. 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 figures today showed little signs of that slowing down. low unemployment means a tight labour market so it is harder for places like this mode of cycle manufacturer to get the staff they need. the upside for workers is pay rises could improve in the

second quarter of the year. the downside is companies with full order books cannot go as fast as they might. at the moment i cannot drive growth as fast as we are able not because of models or orders or finance but people. it is super frustrating that we cannot get skilled staff to come in and take advantage of the orders we have or prototype design work for the next models and next generation of models. low unemployment makes economists worried that workers will bid up their paper pushing up inflation. so far about that fear of wage price spiral is far from realised. we hope that means we can run this economy permanently with lower unemployment and let's hope unemployment keeps falling as i think it will until wage inflation starts to pick up. the figures today tell us something interesting about the supply of workers from abroad. over the past 20 years this yellow line shows you the number of workers

from abroad from outside the eu. the blue line is the number of workers from within the eu so sharply increasing over the past seven years. then this number is the increase in non—uk nationals working here in the first quarter of the year, up 207,000 but then in the second quarter of the year it was up by much less, 109,000. a sharp slowdown. until the financial crisis investment in skills and machinery meant each year each worker could produce more per hour. that growth in productivity meant that companies could afford bigger pay rises. but today we have learned productivity fell 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. the 33—year—old was remanded in custody and will next appear month. 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 memorialfor the victims of the attack. 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 in 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. the biggest warship ever built for the royal navy — the aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth — has sailed into her home port of portsmouth for the first time after sea trials. she weighs 65,000 tonnes and cost more than £3 billion. huge crowds started gathering before sunrise to watch the queen elizabeth arrive. we can cross to duncan kennedy, who's live in portsmouth for us now. there she is, behind you. quite a sight, duncan. yes. everything about her is vast. from the crowds who came to watch her to the 900 foot long deck, to the ability to travel 10,000 miles around the globe for the also big about her, the cost. as

you said £3 billion. prime minister theresa may was on board today to look around for the she said it was worth it because this was about protecting british power and influence around the world for the next 50 years. this carrier does have its critics, who questioned those costs, and also say what role can something this big happy britain on the 21st—century? —— have for britain. 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. , best equipment. 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. the first of the jets due the first of thejets due on board will not get here until probably the end of next year. the whole carrier itself will not be fully operational until the mid 20 20s. there is an awful lot to loop between nine and that despite the criticisms we heard

ina that despite the criticisms we heard in a package, this really is a major change for the royal navy and also something very, very different for the entire british armed forces. we have never had something like this before. we have never deployed it like this before. as far as the government is concerned, they say it will never have influence like this before. looks like it was a pretty fine day for all those who arrived to check the queen elizabeth into birth. biggs fortunes across the uk. the best of the sunshine is in england, where the sunshine will last pretty much for the rest of the day. the exception is in the west of england. notjust exception is in the west of england. not just portsmouth. sunshine exception is in the west of england. notjust portsmouth. sunshine has been widespread. that continues in the afternoon. further north and west it is a different story. figure clad working in bringing pulses of rain to northern ireland and

scotland. some dampness arriving as well. the rain is arriving in fife. as we go through this evening, the rain starts to get more of a wiggle on. the rain band pushes eastwards. the rain will turn heavierfor a time. a mild night. temperatures between 13 and 16 for most of us. on thursday morning starting off rather cloudy. the rain band taking a while to clear away. behind that there will be sunshine coming through from the also a scattering of showers, most likely to affect north—western areas. there could be some heavy ones with thunder mixed info still be warmer in belfast in glasgow than it is today. similar temperatures across england and wales. that is the forecast. 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 outlining its proposals for a "seamless and frictionless" border. 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. police in birmingham have arrested the brother of the chief suspect in connection with the alleged kidnapping of model chloe ayling. 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, freetown. the president has declared several days of mourning. now the sport. celtic are bidding to reach the group stages

of the champions league, when they host astana in their first leg qualifier tonight. brendan rodgers' side knocked the kazakhstan champions 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 you have to approach it as if 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 to join newcastle earlier today. 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 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 not 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. obviously, it gets a lot darker elsewhere. that might not have as much of an impact as early as it did in australia with the light being around longer. obviously, the temperature being slightly different as well, whether the ball performs slightly differently. but it is interesting. it's great that we are giving it an opportunity to work here in england and it 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 three 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's all sport for now. leah boleto will be here for more in the next hour. 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. well, let's find out why the irish border is such a complicated issue. 0ur reality check correspondent

chris morris is here to explain the details for us. the government's proposals promise to uphold the good friday agreement in full and to maintain the common travel area, which allows irish and uk citizens in ireland to travel freely, but the determination to avoid a hard border after brexit is at the heart of the matter. 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, running for 310 miles. during the troubles, with tensions on the border there were just 20 official crossings between northern ireland and the republic. the british army shut down, spiked or cratered the rest. but following the good friday agreement, there has been considerable change and 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 1.85 million 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? remember, in an ideal world for the uk government there would still be no customs border at all, even after brexit. but if the eu won't agree to that, part of the proposal argues for a wide—ranging exemption under which small and medium—sized businesses will not have to comply with any new customs tariffs, along with a new pre—cleared ‘trusted trader‘ arrangement for larger companies. this goes well beyond arrangements at other external borders

of the customs union. there are places that operate with a pretty light—touch, but there aren‘t invisible borders with no physical infrastructure at all. so what the uk wants on the irish border is unprecedented and complicated by history. there‘s also the acknowledgement that regulations on things like food safety would have to be pretty much identical on both sides of the border. raising questions about what kind of political compromises might have to be made to get a deal done. there are many businesses that operate in both northern ireland and the republic of ireland, but how will an open border work with two governments that have different rules on trade and immigration? jennifer mckeever runs an airport shuttle service which has customers from both sides of the border and is vice—chair of the derry chamber of commerce. shejoins me from our studio in londonderry. give us a sense of how things work

right now if you want to move across the border between northern ireland and the republic? the first thing to explain is whenever people rivera to the border, that is not how we live. there are 200 crossings, three major crossings are around derry, londonderry. we serve customers, we come to work, we shop in a com pletely come to work, we shop in a completely porous border area. most of us have two wallets and bags with your roots and sterling is. we don‘t talk about the border like one line in the sand. this is a city which is surrounded on all sides by the border with the republic of ireland.

we have the common travel area but we can call it that, we just live on it and with it every day. it is only in the past year that all of a sudden we have examined these things. they have never been anything that we have had to define content with, it is just how we have lived here. so with these frictionless then, to use the term that has become common parlance in the political debate. what are your concerns about what might happen after brexit based on the discussion to have heard going on in the uk and from the eu? are concerns are very much around a hard border. some of the content of the position paper that has come out today gives businesses some assurance, first of all that there should be a transitional period so we are not looking at the cliff edge in march 2,00019. then some of the narrative

involved in these proposals are very positive, but they are largely aspirational. 0ur concern is really that while both the british and irish and european and northern ireland government all agree that this should be a frictionless border, that is still very much aspirational at this stage. anything that affects the prosperity and the peace in this part of the world is going to be something that will have a serious detrimental effect. the issue of trade, the issue of peace by the big issues for people in ireland, whether you are in the or northern ireland. they go hand in hand, you can‘t have one but the other. for some people who voted about exit, the issue of migration and how you stop people moving freely from the eu into the uk after brexit, i suppose that is not the prime issue for you there. it isn't,

but it causes us concerned when we hear these proposals, these optimistic and aspirational proposals that would suggest that there is not going to be anything other hard border. whenever we have heard that the browed rhetoric that went along with the referendum campaigns, so much of which had to do with the restriction of movement of people, that leaves a sceptical how you could achieve one without the other. thank you very much. 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. 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. house of commons authorities will look again at plans to silence the bongs of big ben for four years. it follows an outcry by mps and the prime minister adding her voice to the debate.

when parliament returns, the house of commons commission will consider the length of time that the bells will fall silent. during a visit to portsmouth to mrs may called for an urgent review of the plans. of course we want to ensure people‘s safety at work but it can‘t be right for big ben to be silent for four yea rs. for big ben to be silent for four years. i hope that the speaker, as chairman of the house of commons commission, will look into the surge of these we can ensure that we can continue to hear big ben through those four years. let‘s cross to westminster and talk to our political correspondent, leila nathoo. how did the mps not know that this was the length of time that the bells would be silent for? would it bells would be silent for? would it be normalfor mps bells would be silent for? would it be normal for mps to bells would be silent for? would it be normalfor mps to know

bells would be silent for? would it be normal for mps to know this sort of information? our mps are a resilient bunch but it seems that the silencing of big ben is one step too far. there has been a big outcry from various quarters saying this is not right, westminster is will be disabled by the regular chimes. it is true that various parliamentary committees did sign off on this work that it committees did sign off on this work thatitis committees did sign off on this work that it is not clear if mps knew this was how long it was going to take, a0 years, to repair the elizabeth power and big ben. the prime minister herself intervening in this issue, saying it is not right, there must be some other way. the commons daugherty is a note saying that the bells, you can probably hear them just behind me, rather timely, the commons authorities are saying that they will fall silent as planned on monday, but they are now going to review the length of time that this four—year periods will run, so that could be some shortening. the bells

will ring on special occasions, so why is that not enough if these concerns are being raised about health and safety for workers? there seems to be two reasons why the bells will not win. 0ne seems to be two reasons why the bells will not win. one is the clock mechanism and the mechanism that causes the hammers to strike the bells need attention. there will be dismantled and ta ken bells need attention. there will be dismantled and taken away for restoration and cleaning. the whole tower itself does did some renovation and improvement, so the idea that the workmen who will carry out those renovations can‘t be subjected to the regular ringing. they will be able to put the mechanisms back together for certain special occasions, like new year‘s eve, and remembrance sunday. the commons parities are insisting it is not practical to keep putting it together and taking it apart again. it is not practical or cost—effective to do so. some mps say why can‘t just cost—effective to do so. some mps say why can‘tjust ring in the evening when the workers have

finished? the plan for now is still to have them going on on special occasions as planned, but to review the four—year period that was initially planned. 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. police investigating the kidnapping of model chloe ayling have arrested the brother of the man alleged to have held her captive. michal konrad heba was arrested in the tivdale area of birmingham. 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 a.a% — 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 shares in admiral sank 5% 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. we‘re going to start with those unemployment figures.

it sounds like good news. at 75.1%, the proportion of people in work is the highest it has been since 1971. but the amount we are being paid for that work isn‘t keeping up with the rate at which prices are rising. yesterday‘s inflation figures told us average prices are up 2.6% and altho todays wage growth figures were slightly better than expected at 2.1% — that actually means we are taking a pay cut of half a percent. earlier, we werejoined by steve bell, chief economist at bmo global asset management. here‘s what he had to say. morejobs, lower more jobs, lower unemployment, it morejobs, lower unemployment, it is not so good news on pay. pay is inching up, slower than inflation. the big reason for that is that the pound has fallen a lot in the last year and you are spending plans that work less, so you are being squeezed. it is not surprising that employers are not putting operators to compensate for that because they

don‘t have that as profit. what it means as we can run this economy with lower unemployment, which is good news. it is a squeeze. anybody paying for railfares, good news. it is a squeeze. anybody paying for rail fares, they will be squeezed again from the news from yesterday. the rate at which the overall economic pie is growing, productivity growth, that has slowed and it looks to be permanent. we can look forward to getting back to real pay increases, but it will be that big. the good news is onjobs, the bad news is you pay packet is not going very far. in other business news: uber has been ordered to introduce tougher measures to protect the privacy of its drivers and their customers, following charges brought by the us federal trade commission. it also had to agree to have the effectiveness of the stricter controls assessed by an independent auditor every two years for the next 20 years. the charges relate to god view, a software program that enabled the ride—sharing company to monitor real—time locations

of customers and drivers. trade between the us, canada and mexico is worth more than $1 trillion a year — it happens under a free trade agreement known as nafta and today us, mexican and canadian officials are meeting in washington for the first round of talks to renegotiate the deal which covers industries from automobiles to dairy. nestle is launching three new varieties of the walnut whip, its oldest chocolate brand, without the walnut. a nestle spokesperson says the company simply wants "to extend the whip range". but some say strong global demand for walnuts, together with a poor crop in chile last year and the falling value of the pound has led to a prohibitive rise in prices. among chocolate fans it‘s certainly whipping up debate. the ftse is up a bed today. —— up a

bit today. shares in admiral sank as much as 5.5% earlier today after the insurer said the rising cost of personal injury claims hit profits. shares in construction firm balfour beatty have jumped 6% after a strong set of results implied its turnaround was on track. that‘s all the business news. after months of speculation, daniel craig has finally confirmed he will return as james bond in the next film which is due in 2019. he told an american television show that this appearance would be his last as 007. it‘s been a closely guided secret as to whether he would return as the m16 agent. will you return as james will you return asjames bond? yes. thanks so much, daniel craig everybody. let‘s get more reaction

with james chapman a film historian and author of licence to thrill: a cultural history of james bond films. hejoins us from milton keynes via webcam. good afternoon to you. at the end of the last bond film, daniel craig sounded a bit grumpy about the whole process , sounded a bit grumpy about the whole process, the whole experience. he seemed to be suggesting he would not returned. was that an elaborate ruse to get higher pay for this film? yes, daniel craig the tourist he said he would rather slashes risk and make another bond movie. he had just come off the back off and logistically complex and physically exhausting film that took months and months to show it. probably a bit of time for reflection and so want. yes, i wouldn‘t be too surprised

that there was some negotiation over the pay packet, as well. is this being welcomed by bond fans? yes, very much so. daniel craig has been an excellent james bond. very much so. daniel craig has been an excellentjames bond. the box office performance of the films demonstrate that. the bond community really warmed to him. we tend to forget that when he his casting was first announced there was quite a lot of controversy, people saying he was too short and too blonde to play the character. that criticism is pretty much died away now and he has been a fine james bond. do we have any hints about what the next james bond film will be like? yes, the 25th officialjames bond film will be like? yes, the 25th official james bond bond film will be like? yes, the 25th officialjames bond series film. there is no reliable information about plot casting.

there is speculation that christoph wa ltz there is speculation that christoph waltz might come back, that there might be another bluefield blow fell storyline. it is fun speculating. do we believe that the great that this will be the last? i thinki we believe that the great that this will be the last? i think i would. his first bond film was released in 2006. 2019 is the date for the next bond film. that will be 13 years. it will make him the longest serving james bond actor in terms of the number of years in the role. he will be in his early 50s and maybe that will be the time to go. we alluded to the title of the book you have written, how do you think the james bond films are weathering? do you

think daniel craig has robbed james bond into the modern era? he has done an enormous amount for the series. the bond films are written off every few years is being old—fashioned, outdated, off every few years is being old —fashioned, outdated, ideological reactionary and backward looking. they always refresh themselves with the casting of the actors, new directors, plots that are not necessarily realistic, but respond to changes in the wider geopolitical and cultural situation, so they have been very good at reinventing the franchise and keeping it fresh in the profile of popular cinema. good to talk to you, james chapman, film historian. time for a look at the weather. for your ice only, the prospect of some rain moving in today. some wet

weather pushing him from the west. we have seen that wet weather in the belfast area already. in northern ireland and scotland that has been quite soggy through the morning. this is how the afternoon will look. there is some sunshine in central and eastern england. in north yorkshire, that is what your skies look like at the moment. as we go to this evening and overnight, this band of rain pushes eastwards. the rain will turn heavier for a time through central and eastern entrance through central and eastern entrance through the night. the clearer skies will get into northern ireland and scotla nd will get into northern ireland and scotland for a time. perversely, this band of rainbow be slow—moving bursting across east anglia and the southern counties of england. there will still be a legacy of cloud here evenin will still be a legacy of cloud here even in the early stages of the afternoon. behind that there are sunshine and showers. it will be milderfor sunshine and showers. it will be milder for belfast and glasgow, temperatures at 19 or 20 degrees.

through the night time, we could see heavy rain moving across northern ireland and scotland, maybe the north of england, too. friday, another sunshine and showers day. a mixture of halo and thunder at times and feeling cool in the blustery winds. just 15 or 16 degrees the northwest. looking ahead to the weekend, we have to look right to cross the atlantic at this. this is hurricane gert, just to the north of it we have a normal area of low pressure that is sad just across the north—east of canada. these two systems will have a battle over the next few days as they work out into the mid—atla ntic. next few days as they work out into the mid—atlantic. they will merge and the low pressure will gobble up gert. this low pressure system will have rem na nts gert. this low pressure system will have remnants of the hurricane bringing rain and high winds for the west of the united kingdom. for

saturday, strong winds, feeling cool in the winds. a number of showers, particularly in the north—west, but feeling pleasant in the sunshine in the south and east. it is by sunday the south and east. it is by sunday the remnants of the hurricane system will begin to work in, bringing heavy rain to northern ireland and scotland. a bit of uncertainty over weather the heaviest rain will be, but it could be enough to cause localised surface flooding. we will be keeping a close eye on this over the next few days. this is bbc news. the headlines at four. an ‘unprecedented solution‘ for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit, is promised by the government. donald trump faces criticism after again blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville — theresa may condemns the far right. i see no equivalence between those

who compound fascist views and those who compound fascist views and those who oppose them. it is important for all of those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views were ever we hear them. unemployment falls to the lowest level since 1975 — but real wages also drop. at least 600 people are still missing after the sierra leone mudlslide — the country‘s president says entire communities have been wiped out. robbers escape on mopeds after using hammers to smash displays in a central london jewellers.